Former N.J. exec admits he shared top secret soda recipe with competitors

A former executive for a New Jersey-based company has admitted to sharing the secret formula for a soda with the business' competitors.

Andrew Blum, 63, of North Brunswick, pleaded guilty in Newark federal court on Wednesday to possessing and conspiring to possess stolen trade secrets, the U.S. Attorney's Office District of New Jersey said.

From 2013 to 2018, Blum served as the vice president of product development for company that specializes in the production of oil products and proprietary flavors. Federal authorities have not disclosed the name of the company.

In December 2018, the business' IT department started investigating suspicious emails between two employees. The investigation found that another employee used a personal email account to send Blum 82 files containing proprietary and trade secret information, federal prosecutors said.

The files contained secret formulas to all of the products in Blum's department as well as sensitive formulas that Blum should not have had access to, according to investigators. Emails between Blum and the other employee also mentioned that they were both planning on getting jobs at competitor companies, prosecutors said.

During a search warrant, FBI agents discovered hand written notes pertaining to a product that the company produces for a large soda company in Asia, federal authorities said.

Blum's sentencing is scheduled for March 20.

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