Three more employees of the truck stop chain
owned by Jimmy Haslam have pleaded guilty in an alleged scheme to cheat
trucking firms out of rebates. Jimmy Haslam is also the new owner of the NFL
franchise Cleveland Browns and brother of the Governor of Tennessee.
Regional sales manager Kevin Clark, account
manager Holly Radford and senior regional salesman Jay Stinnett, all pleaded
guilty to mail fraud in federal court in Knoxville. Kevin Clark was based out
of Missouri.
Prosecutors allege that the sales team of Pilot
Flying J, the country's largest diesel retailer, short-changed trucking
companies to boost profits and commissions. The rebate scheme involved Pilot executives singling out trucking companies
and manually reducing the fuel rebates they were owed on diesel purchases. They
chose customers they thought were unsophisticated and would not catch the
discrepancy.
Stinnett helped set up a training session to teach others how to carry out
the fraud. Another was a sales manager who was secretly recorded bragging about
his role in shorting customers. A third was an account representative based in
Knoxville who helped handle the reductions.
Stinnett
faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a $150,000 fine and restitution.
Clark faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. It is unknown what
kind of prison time or fine Radford faces.
Along
with two Pilot executives who pleaded guilty last month, the federal government
has garnered five total plea deals since agents raided the Pilot's Knoxville
headquarters April 15.
