A year after the raids:Haslam, Pilot Flying J continue court battles .......

A year ago, federal agents searched the offices of Jimmy Haslam's family business, Pilot Flying J. In that time, the Browns owner has suffered legal setbacks as the federal investigation continues....

On April 15, 2013, federal agents searched the headquarters of Pilot Flying J, the nation's largest travel center company run by Browns' owner Jimmy Haslam and his family.

--More than 30 trucking companies sued Pilot Flying J. The travel center company paid out $85 million in settlements. --Ten employees have pleaded guilty to fraud-related charges in U.S. District Court in Knoxville, and they are cooperating with prosecutors. One of them, Brian Mosher, is responsible for as much as $20 million in fraud, according to court records. Mosher, in fact, taught a session at a company sales seminar on how to bilk trucking businesses, records show.

You start at the bottom and work your way up,'' Mearns said. "You need discipline, patience and persistence. These cases take a lot of time.''
In the case of Pilot Flying J, prosecutors began charging employees who were on the lowest rung of the company sales staff ladder: Ashley Judd, Holly Radford, Janet Welch, James Stinnett, Kevin Clark, Scott Fenwick and Arnold Ralenkotter.


In January, they charged Brian Mosher, the company's national sales director, as well as Christopher Andrews, a regional sales manager in Texas, and Lexie Holden, an account rep for Mosher and others.


"It has to be difficult for people who were once your employees who worked for you, to have to be in the difficult position of having to save themselves,'' said Cornish, the former Pilot Flying J official who knows Haslam well.


Root's affidavit accuses several others involved in the case. One is John Freeman, who served as Pilot Flying J's vice president of sales. Root's affidavit said Freeman joked with an FBI informant in February 2013 about getting caught by Western Express, a Nashville trucking company.



Jimmy Haslam....the owner of the Cleveland Browns and CEO of Pilot/Flying J



Robert Root, a veteran FBI agent who has investigated white-collar crime and corruption, wrote a 120-page federal affidavit suggested widespread fraud in the company's sales department involving its rebate program and described how a confidential informant said Haslam knew about it. Haslam said he knew nothing about the scheme. He has not been charged so far by a grand jury.

Freeman, according to Root's affidavit, said he wanted to write a check to the company for $1 million. Instead, Western asked Freeman to buy a plane, which Western owed $1 million on. Pilot Flying J eventually did.


"I mean, I called Jimmy (Haslam) and told him I got busted at Western Express,'' Freeman told the informant, according to the document.

"What did he say?'' the informant asked.

"Oh, he knew it,'' Freeman said.

"Oh, he did?'' "Absolutely. I mean, he knew all along that I was cost-plussin this guy. He knew it all along. Loved it. We were making $450,000 a month on him.''

Western sued Pilot Flying J, claiming it took more than a $75 million hit when Pilot wrongly withheld fuel rebates. Included in its assessment was $68 million in expenses related to additional debt obligations the company said it was forced to assume.


Western later settled out of court with the company.

comment from subscriber:
lbj4glory_redux
3 Days Ago
Jimmy's top sales leadership have been charged, along several others. Even a below avg CEO is always plugged into what his national sales manager is doing. Maybe the most important person in the organization, leading sales.

Haslem's defense that "I know nothing!" crumbles when you look at a comparison with the Browns and he as owner. He micromanages and knows what the front office is doing. The Flying J Hot Mess defense would be like him not knowing who we might draft in first few rounds of the draft, not know that there's a stadium revenue vote coming up, or not aware what the Browns' record was.



It aint over until the fat lady sings!

Federal Prosecutors are still building a case against Flying J top brass and Brown's owner Jimmy Haslam. They continue looking at all the evidence in the Pilot/Flying J sceme to defraud trucking companies....meanwhile the top dog still claims he knows nothing.


Source:http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/04/a_year_after_the_raids_haslam.html#incart_river