Silicon Valley Man Pleads Guilty to Economic Espionage Act Violation Relating to Intel Trade Secrets

September 14, 2001

The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California announced that Say Lye Ow, 31, formerly of Penang, Malaysia, and now residing in Silicon Valley, pled guilty today to a superseding information charging copying a trade secrets in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1832(a)(2)(the Economic Espionage Act of 1996), and agreed to criminal forfeiture under Title 18, United States Code, Section 1834(a)(2).

According to the superseding information and plea agreement, Mr. Ow copied without authorization computer files relating to the design and testing of the Merced microprocessor (now known as the Itanium
microprocessor). At the time, Mr. Ow knew that it was a trade secret belonging to Intel Corporation. He copied that trade secret information with intent to convert it to his own economic benefit by using it at his then new employment. He also knew at the time that his act would injure Intel Corporation, in that he – as a former employee of Intel – possessed Intel's trade secret information without its knowledge. He also agreed that the information he copied was in fact a trade secret and that it was related to a product that was produced for and later placed in interstate and foreign commerce. The Itanium microprocessor was under joint development by Intel and Hewlett-Packard Co. since 1994 and was released earlier this
year.

The maximum statutory penalty for a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1832 is 10 years and a fine of $250,000 (or twice the gross gain or gross loss, whichever is greatest). However, the sentence will be dictated by the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of factors, and would be imposed in the discretion of the Court.

Mr. Ow also agreed to the criminal forfeiture of his interest in the computer system which was located at his residence and which he used, and intended to use, to commit and facilitate the commission of the copying a trade secret offense.

The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the High Tech Squad of the San Francisco Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIP) Unit of the United States Attorney's Office. Ross W. Nadel, the Chief of the CHIP Unit, is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who prosecuted the case, with the assistance of Lauri Gomez. The new employer to which Ow took the trade secret information has been fully cooperative in assisting the authorities in investigating and prosecuting this case.

All press inquiries to the U.S. Attorney's Office should be directed to Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Jacobs at (415) 436-7181 or Elizabeth de la Vega (408) 535-5032.

• More information on:  EEA Prosecutions and Press Releases
• More information on:  Economic Espionage Act

Want to receive news of updates to the cybercrime.gov website? Send a blank message to: cybercrime-subscribe@topica.com and we will add you to our email newsletter list. (Mailing list privacy information)

Go to . . . CCIPS Home Page  || Justice Department Home Page