Former Intel engineer Varun Gupta sentenced to 2 years probation, $34,472 fine for stealing company secrets

Intel

A former Intel employee, Varun Gupta, has been sentenced to two years of probation and fined $34,472 for stealing and misusing confidential company documents during his time at Microsoft, according to Oregon Live report. The sentence, announced on Tuesday, was significantly lighter than what prosecutors had pushed for.

Gupta, who worked at Intel for nearly a decade as a product marketing engineer, left the company in January 2020 to join Microsoft. Just months later, Intel discovered that Gupta had taken with him thousands of sensitive files nearly 4,000 documents that included pricing strategies, competitor analyses, and details linked to his role in product marketing.

The problem came to light when Intel employees noticed something odd: Gupta, now negotiating with them as a Microsoft representative, seemed to have insider knowledge about Intel’s operations. This raised red flags, and Intel launched an internal probe. Microsoft also cooperated in the investigation, which eventually revealed that Gupta had copied the documents to portable devices and even uploaded some onto his Microsoft-issued laptop.

Intel sued him in February 2021, leading to a confidential settlement just a few months later. Gupta reportedly paid Intel around $40,000 at the time. However, criminal charges followed, and in December 2024, he was formally charged with possessing stolen trade secrets.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Narus argued for an eight-month prison sentence, saying Gupta’s repeated misuse of Intel’s documents was “unique” and deserved jail time. But Gupta’s lawyer, David Angeli, countered that his client had already paid financially and professionally. Angeli stressed that Gupta did not profit from the stolen information nor share it with foreign entities.

Judge Amy Baggio sided with the defense, citing Gupta’s ruined career and loss of reputation as factors in her decision. Along with probation, she imposed a fine of $34,472 — equal to the cost of eight months in federal custody — to serve as a deterrent.

With his tech career over, Gupta has moved his family to France and is starting afresh. He is now pursuing graduate studies in vineyard management and plans to enter the winemaking industry.

The case has raised questions about data security and employee trust in the tech world, but for Gupta, it marks the end of one career and the beginning of a very different one.