PepsiCo thwarted an audacious scheme in 2006 when a Coca-Cola employee attempted to sell company trade secrets for $1.5 million. Instead of capitalizing on the offer, Pepsi alerted Coca-Cola, triggering an FBI investigation that led to multiple arrests and convictions.
The mastermind behind the plot was Joya Williams, an executive assistant at Coca-Cola earning $50,000 annually. Feeling undervalued and mistreated in her position, Williams hatched a plan to profit from her access to sensitive information. She enlisted two accomplices, Ibrahim Dimson and Edmund Duhaney, and together they stole confidential documents and a sample of a new Coca-Cola beverage still in development. Their target? Pepsi, Coca-Cola’s fiercest competitor, to whom they offered the secrets for a hefty $1.5 million.
Pepsi, however, chose a different path. In a move that underscored ethical responsibility over corporate rivalry, the company notified Coca-Cola immediately upon receiving the offer.
“We only did what any responsible company would do,”
said Pepsi spokesman Dave DeCecco.
“Competition can sometimes be fierce, but also must be fair and legal.”
This decision set the stage for a dramatic takedown.
Coca-Cola did not waste time reporting to the FBI and arranged for a sting operation to catch the culprits in the act. An undercover agent posing as a Pepsi executive arranged to meet with Dimson at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta. In the transaction, Dimson handed over the stolen documents and test drink for a down payment of $30,000 with the rest to be handed later. The FBI moved swiftly and arrested Williams, Dimson, and Duhaney on July 5, 2006. The three were charged with serious crimes, such as theft of trade secrets and wire fraud, with possible sentences of up to 30 years in prison.
The legal fallout was swift and severe. In the ensuing trial, Williams was convicted of conspiracy and sentenced to eight years behind bars. Dimson and Duhaney opted to plead guilty, receiving sentences of five and two years, respectively. Prosecutors built a rock-solid case using wiretapped phone conversations and video surveillance footage that captured Williams removing the confidential materials from Coca-Cola’s offices.
The episode was against the backdrop of the long-standing “cola wars,” a decades-old competition between Coca-Cola and Pepsi for market share. This action by Pepsi to warn its competitor rather than take advantage of it was recognized by officials as a rare case of cooperation. Coca-Cola CEO E. Neville Isdell ordered a thorough review of the company’s information-security policies to prevent future intrusions.
