Friday, February 2, 2007

Coca-Cola logo

After deliberating for 11 hours a jury found Joya Williams, now former Executive Administrative Assistant for Coca-Cola Inc., guilty of plotting to steal Coke's secrets to sell them to Pepsi Inc.

Williams, 41, took confidential documents and unreleased samples of products to Ibrahim Dimson and Edmund Duhaney in an attempt to sell the items to Pepsi for about US$1.5 million. Dimson and Duhaney also pleaded guilty.

Williams claimed in court that even though she brought the documents and unreleased samples to her home, Dimson and Duhaney went into her home and took them. Duhaney denied the statement and said Williams gave the documents and unreleased samples to them.

In May 2006, Coca-Cola received a letter from the Purchase, New York based company Pepsi stating that a person had offered to sell samples and other confidential information regarding Coke products to Pepsi.

The former secretary could face up to 10 years in prison.

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