She has been charged with the intention of leaking confidential documents and samples of products to rival soft drinks manufacturer Pepsi. If convicted of conspiracy, Williams could face up to 10 years in prison.
The alleged offense came to light in May last year, when Pepsi warned Coca-Cola of the plot and an undercover FBI investigation was launched. Williams, who was an administrative assistant to the Coca-Cola Company's global brand director, was subsequently fired and indicted alongside two men, Edmund Duhaney and Ibrahim Dimson, on a single federal charge, accused of stealing new product samples and confidential documents from Atlanta-based Coca-Cola and trying to sell them to Purchase, New York-based PepsiCo Inc.
Dimson and Duhaney have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. Duhaney is expected to testify against Williams, although it is unclear if Dimson will.
The two men served prison terms together at a federal penitentiary in Montgomery, Atlanta. Duhaney served nearly five years of a seven-year sentence on a cocaine charge before being released in 2005; Dimson served less than one year of a two-year sentence on a bank fraud charge before his release in 2004.
Williams' lawyer, Janice Singer, said she plans to make the two men's credibility a key issue in her client's defense. Unlike the others, Williams does not have a criminal record.
‘The case is about two felons who manipulated and used my client without her knowledge,’ Singer said. ‘She did not take any documents she believed to be trade secrets to share with these people or to harm Coke and benefit Pepsi, nor did she intentionally knowingly give them any documents.’
The episode has prompted Coke to re-evaluate its safeguards for protecting trade secrets, and other corporations have asked whether they should do the same. The products allegedly stolen weren't locked up in a bank vault like the recipe for Coca-Cola's flagship soda brand.
Coca-Cola’s general counsel sent a memo to employees afterward urging them to come forward if they see someone doing something inappropriate.
Potential jurors will be given a jury questionnaire today and the panel will be chosen tomorrow. Opening statements have been delayed until 22 January, Singer said. The trial, including jury selection, is expected to last up to two weeks.
The questionnaire gauges whether potential jurors own Coca-Cola stock, work for the company or have already made up their mind about the facts of the case based on pre-trial publicity, Singer said.
IP review online will be monitoring the case and will report any major developments.
