A Gainesville business is alleging that a former employee stole trade secrets, costing it more than $14 (M) million.
Benjammin Clayton Tombs is charged with theft of trade secrets. Gainesville Police spokesman Kevin Holbrook said Thursday the scheme began to unfold last fall.
“Police were called to America’s Home Place on October 25th…in regards to a former employee that may have stolen from the company,” Lt. Holbrook said. “…Toombs allegedly stole proprietary information and intellectual property that contained exclusive use of trade secrets from the company, a value of over $14,000,000.
“Toombs ended his employment with the company, at which point electronic data provided suspicious activity, thus leading the company to the theft,” Holbrook said. “The investigation is still active and ongoing.”
Toombs was booked at the Hall County Jail earlier this week and was freed Tuesday night on a $16,700 bond.
