The Atlanta offices of Coca-Cola should also bring in a bug sweeper right
about now and give the R&D areas and good evaluation.
So, what have I been saying for years that spies always come in groups of
three?
-jma
http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/07/05/coke.secrets.ap/index.html
Three charged with stealing Coca-Cola secrets
Prosecutors: Pepsi says suspect tried to sell rival's secrets
ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- Three people have been arrested and charged with
stealing confidential information about drink recipes from The Coca-Cola
Co. and trying to sell it to rival PepsiCo Inc., federal prosecutors said
Wednesday.
The suspects include an executive administrative assistant at
Atlanta-based Coke, Joya Williams, who is accused of rifling through
corporate files and stuffing documents and a new Coca-Cola product into a
personal bag.
Williams, 41, of Norcross, Georgia; 30-year-old Ibrahim Dimson, of New
York; and 43-year-old Edmund Duhaney of Decatur, Georgia, are charged
with wire fraud and unlawfully stealing and selling Coke trade secrets,
federal prosecutors said.
They are expected to appear before a federal magistrate judge on Thursday
in Atlanta.
Pepsi spokesman Dave DeCecco said his company did what any responsible
company would do in cooperating with Coke and the investigation.
"Competition can sometimes be fierce, but also must be fair and
legal," DeCecco said. "We're pleased the authorities and the
FBI have identified the people responsible for this."
Coke's chief executive, Neville Isdell, said in a memo to employees
Wednesday that the company is cooperating with federal
authorities.
'Breach of trust'
"Sadly, today's arrests include an individual within our
company," Isdell wrote. "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. Information is
the lifeblood of the company."
He said Coke will review its information protection policies, procedures
and practices to make sure it safeguards intellectual property.
According to prosecutors, on May 19, Purchase, New York-based PepsiCo
provided Coke with a copy of a letter mailed to PepsiCo in an official
Coca-Cola business envelope.
The letter, postmarked from the Bronx in New York, was from an individual
identifying himself as "Dirk," who claimed to be employed at a
high level with Coca-Cola and offered "very detailed and
confidential information."
"Dirk" was later identified as Dimson, the FBI says.
Coca-Cola immediately contacted the FBI and an undercover FBI
investigation began.
Prosecutors say Williams was the source of the information Dimson offered
to provided Pepsi.
They say that "Dirk" provided an FBI undercover agent 14 pages
of Coca-Cola documents marked classified and confidential. The company
confirmed that the documents were valid and highly confidential and were
considered trade secrets.
Williams works for a senior Coke manager, though the company would not
say Wednesday which one. The company also would not say if she has been
fired.
'Dirk' was the alleged point man
Prosecutors say "Dirk" requested $10,000 for the documents.
"Dirk" later produced other documents that Coca-Cola confirmed
were valid trade secrets of Coca-Cola and highly confidential.
He also agreed to be paid $75,000 for the purchase of a highly
confidential product sample from a new Coca Cola project, prosecutors
said.
Then on June 27, an undercover FBI agent offered to buy other trade
secret items for $1.5 million from "Dirk." The same day a bank
account was opened under the names of Duhaney and Dimson, and the address
used on the account was that of Duhaney's Decatur residence, prosecutors
said.
Video surveillance showed Williams at her desk at Coke headquarters going
through multiple files looking for documents and stuffing them into
bags.
She also was observed holding a liquid container with a white label,
which resembled the description of new Coca-Cola product sample before
placing it into her personal bag, prosecutors say. Coca-Cola later
verified the sample was genuine and is in fact a product being developed
by the company, prosecutors added.
Dimson, Williams and Duhaney were arrested in Atlanta on Wednesday, the
day the $1.5 million deal was to take place, prosecutors say.
We Hunt Spies, We Stop Espionage,
We Kill Bugs, and We Plug Leaks.
James M. Atkinson, President and Sr. Engineer
Granite Island Group
127 Eastern Avenue #291
Gloucester, MA 01930-8008
Phone: (978) 546-3803
Fax: (978) 546-9467
Web:
http://www.tscm.com/
E-Mail:
jm..._at_tscm.com
Received on Sat Mar 02 2024 - 00:57:25 CST