Eight other former employees are facing indictments.
Mark Hazelwood, the former president of Pilot Flying J was indicted Tuesday, Feb. 9, in connection with the ongoing investigation into a federal rebate scheme that came to light after a raid on the company’s Knoxville headquarters in 2013.
According to a report by the Tennessean, Hazelwood is facing charges of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and witness tampering. Hazelwood’s compensation was reportedly tied to the profitability of diesel fuel sales at Pilot, according to the indictment.
Owner and CEO Jimmy Haslam who also owns the NFL’s Cleveland Browns, has not been indicted and he has repeatedly denied any knowledge of the scheme.
The Tennessean reported that eight other defendants were indicted including Scott Wombold, John Freeman, Vicki Borden, John Spiewak, Katy Bibbe, Heather Jones and Karen Mann, all of whom at one point worked for Pilot. All are accused of participating in “a scheme and artifice to defraud certain interstate trucking companies and for obtaining money from certain interstate trucking companies by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representatives and promise.”
Hazelwood pleaded not guilty during a court appearance Tuesday.
The alleged conspiracy took place between Feb. 1, 2008, and April 2013.