(Filed Under Fashion News). Two former employees of major trade show organizer ENK face federal conspiracy charges after allegedly trying to steal confidential business information, local media reported.

According to a complaint filed in the U.S. Court in Manhattan, Morgan Gantt, 24, used ENK computers in August to send information about more than 440 retail buyers and 500 trade show attendees to Jeffrey White, 27, a former ENK employee who had been fired in July for insubordination, the North County Gazette reported.

ENK CFO Mark Greene said the company is not commenting on the issue.

Gantt, of Jersey City, N.J., and White, of Brooklyn, N.Y., were each charged yesterday with one count of conspiracy to commit unauthorized computer access and conspiracy to commit theft of trade secrets.

White surrendered Monday and federal authorities anticipate Gantt will follow today. If convicted, both face a maximum sentence of 11 years in prison.

Gantt was fired from ENK on Aug. 21, after the New York-based company discovered she was running a temporary employment agency catering to exhibitors at fashion shows - some of them ENK shows - partly from her ENK workspace.

As Gantt was preparing to leave ENK's offices after her firing, ENK management said they saw her remove a USB storage drive from her company computer, according to the complaint. She would not turn over or reveal the contents of the drive to management, and proceeded to leave the building, prosecutors said.

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Published 10-28-2008 by Raquel Christie