A one-time top lieutenant with truckstop chain Pilot Flying J has been named a target of an investigation that the company bilked trucking customers out of money from rebates in order to inflate company profits.
Former Pilot Flying J President Target of Criminal Probe
A one-time top lieutenant with truckstop chain Pilot Flying J has been named a target of an investigation that the company bilked trucking customers out of money from rebates in order to inflate company profits.
Former president Mark Hazelwood has received a “target letter” from federal prosecutors that he is under investigation and they have evidence linking him to crimes, according to WBIR-TV in Knoxville. He left the company this past May.
This makes him the highest level current or former employee of the company connected to the alleged scheme in which 10 others earlier pleaded guilty to charges, but have yet to be sentenced. CEO Jimmy Haslam reportedly has not received such a letter.
The investigation became public in April 2013 when federal agents raided the Knoxville headquarters of Pilot Flying J along with other offices.
Since that time the company has settled a class action lawsuit with customers and agreed to pay a big fine to the federal government, allowing the company, but not individuals, to not be prosecuted.
Read more about it from WBIR-TV.
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