Former Executive Alleges Fraud at Coke

A former Coca-Cola Co. executive claims that he was fired because he complained about a cover-up of the company’s use of defective, moldy beverage dispensers and improper accounting for missing equipment.

Former Vice President Robert Lowe, 49, made the allegations in a lawsuit accusing the world’s largest soft-drink maker of fraud and age discrimination. He sued in U.S. District Court in Atlanta on Wednesday.

Coca-Cola spokesman Ray Crockett said Lowe’s wrongful firing claims were false and already had been rejected by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Labor Department.

Crockett also said Lowe didn’t raise the allegations until after he was fired.