The FBI Blows The Cap Off A Bizarre Plot To Allegedly Sell Coca-Cola’s Secrets To Arch Rival Pepsi

There used to be an old expression that summed up the sometimes cut-throat world of business: does Coke tell Pepsi?

The phrase was meant to refer to the competition between two industry giants about the secrets each is keeping from the other. But on Wednesday, the world found out that Pepsi really does tell Coke – at least through the FBI.

And therein hangs a bizarre tale that sounds like a plot from a work of fiction. But according to law enforcement officials, it actually happened.

Three people, including a high level Coca-Cola employee, are under arrest in Atlanta after being accused of trying to smuggle the soft drink maker’s super secret new formula to the competition.

The intrigue first surfaced in May, when PepsiCo received a copy of a letter mailed in a Coke envelope. It was from a person calling himself “Dirk” and offered what officials say was “very detailed and very confidential information” about several items Coke was working on.

Pepsi wanted nothing to do with what it believed was stolen data and notified Coke. They called in the FBI, which set up a sting. Undercover agents contacted “Dirk”, who allegedly offered to provide them with 14 pages of highly confidential info from the soft drink giant’s inner sanctum. He’s said to have demanded $10,000 for the information.

Authorities claim he also asked for $75,000 for a sample of a top secret new product Coke was planning to introduce to the marketplace. Coca-Cola brass told the feds the information was accurate and the investigation escalated.

By late June, the plot had thickened, with “Dirk” being offered $1.5 million by FBI agents for other select trade secrets. A bank account being used to hold the money helped the lawmen find those they claim are behind the plot.

And that led them to a woman named Joya Williams, a Coke executive’s administrative assistant. The FBI claims to have video surveillance of the woman rifling through confidential files and stuffing a container with a white label and some liquid inside into a bag.

The 41-year-old is under arrest, along with two alleged co-conspirators – 43-year-old Edmund Duhaney and 30-year-old Ibrahim Dimson, whom the FBI claims is also known as the mysterious “Dirk”.

All are charged with wire fraud and unlawfully stealing and selling trade secrets.

The entire episode has left a strain on both companies and each is working hard to distance itself from the scandal.

“Sadly, today’s arrests include an individual within our company,” Coke’s chief executive Neville Isdell told employees in a memo. “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.”

Pepsi brass note they never had any thoughts of acting on any of the illicit information.

“Competition can sometimes be fierce, but also must be fair and legal,” advises spokesman Dave DeCecco. “We’re pleased the authorities and the FBI have identified the people [allegedly] responsible for this.”

The trio, who was taken into custody on the day the big $1.5 million payoff was supposed to take place, faced a judge on Thursday.

Williams was released on bond while her two co-accused were remanded pending a preliminary hearing.

If convicted they could all go from soft drink to hard time.