Former Coke Secretary Sentenced In Trade-Secret Case
A federal judge sentenced a former Coca-Cola Co. secretary to eight years in prison for conspiring to steal trade secrets from the beverage maker, a punishment longer than recommended in government guidelines.
U.S. District Judge J. Owen Forrester told Joya Williams, 42 years old, that he was meting out the long prison term because, "This is the kind of offense that cannot be tolerated in our society."
Ms. Williams had faced as many as 10 years in prison on the single conspiracy charge in a failed scheme to sell Coke's trade secrets to rival PepsiCo Inc. for at least $1.5 million. Sentencing guidelines, which federal judges aren't bound by, called for a sentence of 63 months to 78 months.
Ms. Williams was convicted Feb. 2 following a jury trial in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, where Coca-Cola is based.
"I can't think of another case in 25 years that there's been so much obstruction of justice," the judge said.
A co-defendant, Ibrahim Dimson, was sentenced to five years in prison.
Judge Forrester ignored a tearful apology by Ms. Williams, which marked the first time she acknowledged what she did. Ms. Williams had testified during the trial that she didn't commit a crime.
"Your honor, I have expanded my consciousness through this devastating experience," Ms. Williams said before she was sentenced. "This has been a very defining moment in my life. I have become infamous when I never wanted to become famous."
She added, "I am sorry to Coke and I'm sorry to my boss and to you and to my family as well."
The government said Ms. Williams stole confidential documents and samples of products that hadn't been launched by Coca-Cola and gave them to Mr. Dimson and a third defendant, Edmund Duhaney, as part of a conspiracy to sell the items to Pepsi. Mr. Duhaney, like Mr. Dimson, pleaded guilty to conspiracy.
Mr. Duhaney will be sentenced later.
The conspiracy was foiled after Pepsi warned Coca-Cola that it had received a letter in May 2006 offering Coca-Cola trade secrets to the "highest bidder."
The Federal Bureau of Investigation launched an undercover investigation and identified the letter writer as Mr. Dimson.
On Ms. Williams's conviction in February, her lawyer said she planned to appeal.
Source: Wall Street Journal, May 24, 2007
SURETY'S TAKE ...
It’s the Real Thing...In highly competitive industries, companies need to ensure that their trade secrets and R&D intelligence are kept in confidence. To allow seemingly unrestricted access to crucial corporate IP demonstrates a lack of understanding of the importance of a comprehensive data security and management policy.
DeterrenceSurety’s AbsoluteProof® makes it easy for companies to unequivocally prove the ownership and authenticity of valuable company trade secrets and deter potential tampering and theft.
GovernanceTrade secrets are the most powerful, but also among the most risky, form of IP in any organization. Corporations hold this information in such sanctity that the rare moment of jeopardy can turn competitors into cooperators.
Litigation ReadinessIf Coca Cola had protect their IP with sophisticated and readily available data-level security tools such as third-party trusted timestamp, the risk of unauthorized users accessing valuable company secrets and R&D intelligence would have been diminished.