COKE EMPLOYEES ARRESTED TRYING TO SELL COKE TO PEPSI
Randy L. Harrington
July 06, 2006
GEORGIA -- Three people have been charged in federal district court with trying to sell the secret Coca Cola formula to Pepsi. The three also attempted to sell a sample of the new Coca Cola drink to Pepsi.
Three three Coca Cola employees-- including an executive administrative assistant that had access to company secrets, have been charged with several counts of wire fraud, theft and attempted sale of trade secrets, and conspiracy. The U.S. Attorney in Atlanta says that the three tried to sell the proprietary information for as much as $1.5 million.
Pepsi notified Coke of the theft, and attempted sale, and provided Coke with a letter they received from an individual that claimed to be an executive level employee with Coca Cola, and offered to Pepsi “very detailed and confidential information.”
Pepsi spokesman Dave DeCecco said that “We just did what any responsible company would do. Competition can be fierce, but it also needs to be fair.”
When Coke was alerted by Pepsi, they called the Federal Bureau of Investigation who began an investigation, which included an undercover operation. The FBI operation is what eventually led to the criminal charges.
Neville Isdell, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Coca Cola sent a memo to all employees and said “While this breach of trust is difficult for all of us to accept, it underscores the responsibility we each have to be vigilant in protecting our trade secrets.” Isdell said in his memo that no personal employee information was compromised, and that he had ordered an audit and review of the companies information protection practices. Isdell gave his “sincere appreciation” to Pepsi for alerting Coca Cola to the theft of its secrets, and attempted sale to Pepsi.
Prosecutors have charged Ibrahim Dimson, 30, of Bronx, New York, Edmund Duhaney, 43, of Decatur, Georgia, and Joya Williams, 41, of Norcross, Georgia in the complaint filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. FBI investigations found that telephone records as well as undercover operations showed that Williams, who was an executive administrative assistant at Coca Cola was the source of the information being offered to Pepsi. Coca Cola company representatives have confirmed that Williams was an executive assistant to a senior Coca Cola manager that had access to confidential information.
Video surveillance obtained by the FBI showed that Williams was at her desk going through confidential files in search of documents, and was then seen placing them in her bags.
She was also seen holding a white labeled liquid container, that resembled Coca Cola's new drink product sample, before putting the bottle into her personal bag. Coca Cola verified that the sample was genuine.
Prosecutor allege that on May 19 Pepsi provided Coca Cola with a copy of a letter that was in an official Coca Cola envelope, and contained a postmark from Bronx, New York. The letter was believed to be from Ibrahim Dimson of New York that used an alias of “Dirk.” He claimed to be a senior level employee with Coca Cola who had confidential information that was available for sale to Pepsi.
Later, “Dirk” provided undercover FBI agents with a 14-page document that Coca Cola later confirmed that the documents were highly confidential.
Dirk ask the FBI undercover agent for $10,000 cash for the documents, and later agreed to accept $75,000 cash for the new Coca Cola drink sample.
The three were arrested when they were supposed to make a deal to sell other trade secrets to FBI undercover agents for $1.5 million in cash.
It is uncertain whether or not the Court has set bond or conditions of pretrial release for any of the defendants.
SOURCES/CONTRIBUTORS: REUTERS
Copyright 2006 Randy L. Harrington. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Three three Coca Cola employees-- including an executive administrative assistant that had access to company secrets, have been charged with several counts of wire fraud, theft and attempted sale of trade secrets, and conspiracy. The U.S. Attorney in Atlanta says that the three tried to sell the proprietary information for as much as $1.5 million.
Pepsi notified Coke of the theft, and attempted sale, and provided Coke with a letter they received from an individual that claimed to be an executive level employee with Coca Cola, and offered to Pepsi “very detailed and confidential information.”
Pepsi spokesman Dave DeCecco said that “We just did what any responsible company would do. Competition can be fierce, but it also needs to be fair.”
When Coke was alerted by Pepsi, they called the Federal Bureau of Investigation who began an investigation, which included an undercover operation. The FBI operation is what eventually led to the criminal charges.
Neville Isdell, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Coca Cola sent a memo to all employees and said “While this breach of trust is difficult for all of us to accept, it underscores the responsibility we each have to be vigilant in protecting our trade secrets.” Isdell said in his memo that no personal employee information was compromised, and that he had ordered an audit and review of the companies information protection practices. Isdell gave his “sincere appreciation” to Pepsi for alerting Coca Cola to the theft of its secrets, and attempted sale to Pepsi.
Prosecutors have charged Ibrahim Dimson, 30, of Bronx, New York, Edmund Duhaney, 43, of Decatur, Georgia, and Joya Williams, 41, of Norcross, Georgia in the complaint filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. FBI investigations found that telephone records as well as undercover operations showed that Williams, who was an executive administrative assistant at Coca Cola was the source of the information being offered to Pepsi. Coca Cola company representatives have confirmed that Williams was an executive assistant to a senior Coca Cola manager that had access to confidential information.
Video surveillance obtained by the FBI showed that Williams was at her desk going through confidential files in search of documents, and was then seen placing them in her bags.
She was also seen holding a white labeled liquid container, that resembled Coca Cola's new drink product sample, before putting the bottle into her personal bag. Coca Cola verified that the sample was genuine.
Prosecutor allege that on May 19 Pepsi provided Coca Cola with a copy of a letter that was in an official Coca Cola envelope, and contained a postmark from Bronx, New York. The letter was believed to be from Ibrahim Dimson of New York that used an alias of “Dirk.” He claimed to be a senior level employee with Coca Cola who had confidential information that was available for sale to Pepsi.
Later, “Dirk” provided undercover FBI agents with a 14-page document that Coca Cola later confirmed that the documents were highly confidential.
Dirk ask the FBI undercover agent for $10,000 cash for the documents, and later agreed to accept $75,000 cash for the new Coca Cola drink sample.
The three were arrested when they were supposed to make a deal to sell other trade secrets to FBI undercover agents for $1.5 million in cash.
It is uncertain whether or not the Court has set bond or conditions of pretrial release for any of the defendants.
SOURCES/CONTRIBUTORS: REUTERS
Copyright 2006 Randy L. Harrington. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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