Bring nothing for them, admit nothing. Consult a lawyer for a few hundred to get advice.

Depending on the size of the company and severity of the information in question, you just need to say very noncommital and very specific phrases (lawyer speak):

I understand your concerns, however I think there has been a misunderstanding. How can I help resolve your concerns?

Again consult a lawyer. And tread the fine line between being contrite and admitting anything. Even in my advice I almost worded it wrong. See a lawyer. You admit nothing concrete because your admissions become fact, give them nothing without a lawyer, because even if you truly did give them the only PC and USB stick with it on it, acknowledge nothing directly (again this becomes admission in a legal sense). Whatever evidence they have right now, it is on them to prove intent unless you do it for them. And they don't want to spend on legal fees for no reason.

In the end you want them to have the feeling that this was truly a misunderstanding while giving no admissions to concrete actions like copying, moving, or replicating any data. They may have records, but that's a different matter.

It may be that a lawyer could just act as an intermediary to clarify, and ask what evidence they might need to feel assured in the safety of their IP. Note: most documents produced while at an employer are technically company IP in most cases, and you aren't alone wanting to reference your own code work, but many companies are paranoid about this for good reason.

Try not to lose your nerve. You just need to plant your feet, and keep in mind you have done nothing wrong morally. You have fucked up technically, but your mission now is to keep their trust in your somehow without digging your hole any deeper. So again, speak with a lawyer and get the right language.

The company does not want to waste money suing you. So don't hand them an obvious violation that have to pursue. Try to keep it together. Remember your intent. And convey that, as obliquely and in indirect statements as you can.

I don't want any issues with XXXX corp, and always planned to have a good reference from my time here. The files XXX Corp is concerned with today hold no value to me, only my personal photos and data do. If you could acknowledge there's been no wrongdoing I think we can easily resolve all this.

Avoid the temptation to let them set the terms too much. They will ask for devices and hardware. What you want is a document clearing you of any wrongdoing before you provide anything that could be used against you. Then handing things over might be okay. Again. Speak to a lawyer, even briefly.

Companies will always try to scare you after you quit if they can, as a way to enforce their “intellectual property”

A former company that I worked at sent me a legal threat after I left, I had told some other engineers which company I was going to and a few decided to check it out and apply too. The company I was leaving accused me of illegally poaching their employees.

Thing is the company has the burden of proof if they want to show that I damaged them somehow. And IANAL but I think the same would apply here. They have to show that this has damaged them somehow to go after you.

If you got laid off with a severance package of some sort they might try to go after that. They may have made you sign some sort of exit paperwork. Even that though would be pretty epically petty.

But I’m not a lawyer, you might want to sit down and consult with a lawyer before you meet with them. I wouldn’t sign anything they give you in that meeting, “I need to have my lawyer review this first” is something I say to people when they want to pressure me to sign things. It’s pretty hard to argue against that, it’s a very reasonable thing and demanding you sign something you’ve just been given without having a lawyer look it over is unreasonable.

Also if you don’t work for them you don’t have to meet with them, you definitely don’t have to meet them on their terms. You can tell them you are happy to discuss with at your lawyers office. Good luck, lawyers aren’t super cheap, but they are worth every penny in protecting your rights.

Yeah, that wasn’t a very smart idea. Good luck, hope it turns out ok!

There was a Waymo vs Uber lawsuit awhile back over an employee that stole LIDAR designs from Waymo and brought them to Uber. A friend lawyer explained to me that there wouldn't have been a case if Uber had only stolen the IP, but because Waymo had evidence that the IP was being used by Uber, that's what made the case.

Patents are IP, and those are published for everyone to see. You only get in trouble if you use them.

i think they want to know what you moved, how important that stuff is etc, i doubt they would have called all those folks to lay you off, they would have just sent an email or whatever. i think you are good. don't be nervous. go and be honest

You might have some issues with that…it sucks and can be unfair.

Reminds me of the season from Silicon Valley.

Always assume your company is watching your behavior on their equipment. I work in IT for my company and users have no idea the kinds of things we can see. Not that we do, but we can and do when necessary like security incidents.