Pilot Flying J’s motion to have its fraud case dismissed has been denied.
On Tues., Aug. 2, Judge David Young of Franklin County Common Pleas rejected Pilot Flying J’s request for the dismissal of an ongoing case concerning a large-scale rebate fraud at the family business. The rejection of the move for dismissal may soon lead to Browns’ owner Jimmy Haslam being required to testify in the case.
According to a report from Cleveland.com, attorneys for two trucking firms want to question Haslam under oath this fall. Haslam has already denied any knowledge of the fraud that has led to his company paying more than $175 million in settlements to a number of trucking companies and the U.S. Justice Department. Haslam has not been charged in the case.
Pilot Flying J was sued last year by a number of trucking companies. Reportedly, court records show that sales employees withheld millions of dollars in agreed-upon rebates to trucking companies. According to Cleveland.com, 10 Pilot Flying J have pled guilty to the fraud charges and agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors. Additionally, eight of the company’s top sales executives were indicted in February. These executives, however, have denied the charges and will go to trial in October 2017.
Pilot Flying J has agreed upon an $84 million settlement with trucking companies across the country, but two trucking companies have opted out of the settlement, believing that once the case is closed, Pilot Flying J will owe each company hundreds of thousands of dollars, Cleveland.com reported.
