Coke may face criminal charges

ATLANTA — Federal investigators have granted immunity to at least two former Coca-Cola Co. employees in return for testimony about how officials of the beverage company rigged marketing tests at Burger King four years ago, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Thursday.

That and testimony this week before a federal grand jury indicated that prosecutors are considering criminal charges in the case.

A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment Wednesday, and Coke spokesman Ben Deutsch reiterated that the company is continuing “to cooperate with the authorities,” the newspaper said.

Receiving immunity are Ed Zambie and Beth Sturm, attorneys familiar with the case told the newspaper.

Coke admitted undermining the test and said the employees involved were disciplined. The company offered Miami-based Burger King and its franchisees $21 million as part of an apology, and the Coke executive who oversaw the division responsible for the test stepped down a year ago.

In October, Coke agreed to pay $540,000 to Matthew Whitley, a former company finance manager, to settle a whistleblower lawsuit that led to the criminal investigation. Whitley sued in May 2003 for wrongful termination and accused Coke of falsely inflating the popularity of Frozen Coke at Burger King restaurants in Virginia during the test marketing.

In the Burger King case, Coke acknowledged in June 2003 that a midlevel executive, John Fisher, had approved a plan to spend up to $10,000 to boost demand for Frozen Coke as part of a test conducted at restaurants in Richmond, Va.

According to an internal memo written by Coke employee Bob Bader in March 2001, the Richmond test was not producing the desired results when it first began.