Coca-Cola gets justice in trade-secret theft

An ex-administrative assistant of Coca Cola has been sentenced for stealing confidential product information and samples. Joya Williams, 42, faces eight years in jail, followed by three years of supervised release, and has been ordered to pay $40,000 in restitution.

On May 19, 2006, PepsiCo provided to Coca Cola headquarters in Atlanta a copy of a letter mailed to PepsiCo in an official Coca Cola business envelope. The letter was from Williams’ co-conspirator, who identified himself as ‘Dirk’ and claimed to be a high-level employee at Coca Cola. He offered "very detailed and confidential information." Video surveillance presented at trial showed Williams at her desk, rifling through a looseleaf file for documents and stuffing them into bags. The evidence at trial also showed a glass container with a white label, which resembled the description of a new Coca Cola product sample falling out of her personal bag. Coca Cola later verified that the sample was genuine, and is in fact a product being developed by the company.