As the federal investigation continues, a total of five employees have now accepted plea deals.
Three more Pilot Flying J employees pleaded guilty on Tuesday of being part of a scheme to defraud trucking companies out of rebates, USA Today reported.
The three employees included a sales manager who helped set up a training session to teach others how to carry out the fraud; a sales manager who was secretly recorded bragging about his role in the scam; and an account representative based in Knoxville, Tenn. who helped handle the reductions.
Jay Stinnett, senior regional sales manager for Pilot who helped set up the training, faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a $150,000 fine and restitution. Regional sales manager Kevin Clark faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Clark and Stinnett, along with account representative Holly Radford, all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, USA Today reported.
The federal government has gained five total plea deals since its investigation became made public when agents raided Pilot Flying J’s Knoxville headquarters April 15. The affidavit filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in April made clear that investigators have top Pilot executives under scrutiny.
Pilot spokesman Tom Ingram said the company was “disappointed in the actions of these employees towards our customer.”
“We assure our customers that our five-step plan to correct any wrongdoing and to make certain these actions do not happen again is ongoing, and that our customers’ confidence in the vast majority of our 23,000 team members nationwide remains well-placed,” he said.
