Pilot Flying J strikes deal to avoid prosecution

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The past 15 months since the service of a variety of search warrants on the operations of Pilot Flying J have consisted largely of waiting for the next shoe to drop.

For the first time, news has emerged of a shoe that won’t drop.

According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, the company won’t be prosecuted.  The corporation, run by Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and founded by his father, has agreed to pay a monetary penalty of $92 million over the next two years and to fully cooperate with the ongoing investigation of fraud against the company’s customers.

While “the company” doesn’t necessarily include Haslam, it’s unlikely that the company would agree to a deal that would result in the payment of $92 million and full cooperation that would in turn get Haslam indicted and potentially convicted.

Multiple employees of the company have pleaded guilty since the scam was exposed, with the feds working their way higher and higher up the ladder.

40 responses to “Pilot Flying J strikes deal to avoid prosecution

  1. Well if the $92MM figure is an appropriate calculation to make up for the missing money plus a healthy amount extra for good measure then so be it. No problem as long as the big check is big enough to move on to other cases where missing money needs to be located and secured into the right hands.

  2. the Feds must have been ready to pop the top off of the org chart for the company to all of a sudden agree to this settlement

  3. Wow! Rich criminals avoiding jail with $$$. Terrible injustice! It teaches rich people, it is ok to break the law! If someone stole an apple because they were hungry, they would be doing hard time.

  4. Yeah, so the rich white guy won’t be prosecuted but for the “multiple employees of the company [who] have pleaded guilty” it’s their own fault for participating in the rip-off scheme. Crooks.

    I gotta laugh to think that some of them may have decided to plead guilty in hopes of putting Haslam on the hook, too. That didn’t happen. I’ll bet they stew over that for the rest of their lives.

  5. The vast majority of the lawsuits had already been settled. If tried and found guilty the corporation would have been fined, hence the $92 Mil.

  6. What a bunch of garbage! This should not be allowed for anyone for any amount of money. If you broke the law you would be prosecuted. Why do corporations continually get a free pass? Simple, money in politics. Answer=No vote, no campaign contribution. One vote, $10 dollars max. Level the playing field already.

  7. Oh good, now Haslam can get back to important things like polling homeless guys about who to draft next year.

  8. BTW, the agreement with the government offers NO protection to any individual or employee. Nobody is off the hook yet.

  9. Haslam’s also throwing in a free corn dog and a soda to the customers affected.

  10. can you imagine what Citi must have done to warrant a backroom deal of 70X’s this amount?!?!?

    This is white-rich-man on white-rich-man crime, focus on the big biz extortion of the common folk if you want to complain

  11. How old is that pic? Gas for $3.68/gallon. Haven’t seen that price in over a year to two.

  12. “Pilot flying j stole my rebate money and all I got was a lousy 92 million.”

    Would look good on a tee-shirt this fall. Just sayin’.

  13. If I were Haslam, I’d hope Manziel’s antics stay in the news so that my name stays out.

  14. Wilf defrauded people. Nothing.
    Haslam defrauded people. Nothing.
    Irsay drives high on pain killers with loads of cash in his pocket. Nothing.

    Poor Lavon Brazill smokes some pot. Career lost.

    Way to protect the shield Rog.

  15. Haslam also agreed to publicly state that the Redskins name was offensive. Because that’s the way our government works these days.

  16. In the US if you defraud people for millions or billions, it’s no problem. All you have to do is pay a portion of it back.

    If you defraud for someone for 1/10,000th that amount, you’re doing hard time and/or paying a fine of 100 times more than what you defrauded them for.

  17. Anyone doubt our double-standard justice system anymore?

    It’s a wonder that Flying J Pilot didn’t get a government bailout for this.

  18. I’ve defended Goodell so far. But he better handle this with some kind of punishment.

    Everyone knows exactly whats going on here.

  19. “$92 million over the next two years”
    Revenue: $30.43 B

    Yeah he’s really going to notice that.

  20. I don’t understand what people are whining about. From all info available Haslem not only has done no wrong doing but was the FIRST to make it right without government intervention with his own money.

    Not only that but didn’t the NFL do a background check on the guy TWICE and find nothing on him while the government was monitering him.

    Finally didn’t he leave the company just to take his position back less than a year later? Kind of awkward behavior for someone knowingly defrauding people at the level the info given says happened.

    But hey ask Josh Gordon (who still hasn’t been suspended despite the media planning the end of his career)… In the eyes of NFL fans and media you’re Guilty until proven innocent and then you’re still guilty because you were accused in the first place. Race has nothing to do with it.

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