The Jimmy Haslam Thread

[Soda]

Haslam stated today that the incident with Pilot/Flying J will not affect his ownership of the Browns in "any way shape or form"..

Pilot Flying J's Jimmy Haslam says he absolutely had no knowledge of fuel rebate cheating by sales managers

INDIANAPOLIS -- Pilot Flying J's Jimmy Haslam, addressing trucking company executives this morning, said he had no knowledge of deliberate fuel rebate shortages to some of the Knoxville truck stop chain's customers.

"Absolutely not. I will say absolutely not," Haslam told a capacity audience of hundreds of transportation industry officials. "I was not aware of any of this."

Haslam said a review under way by auditors shows that about 250 trucking companies out of 400 that were on a "manual" fuel rebate program may have problems with their rebates. That's out of about 5,000 trucking company customers served by Pilot Flying J. He called the initial assessment "a little fluid" because auditors are still digging into what transpired.

Haslam initially was not on the agenda for the two-day seminar held by Scopelitis, Garvin, Light, Hanson & Feary in Indianapolis.

But he accepted the firm's invitation to address trucking officials about claims that Pilot Flying J, the nation's biggest diesel fuel retailer, cheated customers out of rebates on bulk fuel purchases.

Scopelitis handles transport-related legal issues exclusively. It collected questions from clients and forwarded 18 to Haslam, all of which he addressed this morning.

"I apologize for the actions of our people. And I want to look everyone in the eye and say we'll do everything we can to make things right," Haslam said.

The Pilot CEO, who bought a majority share of the Cleveland Browns last year -- and was said then to be a leader expected to be closely involved with the team's operations -- said in a brief interview after his address that "Unfortunately, there were some things that happened a couple of levels below me" at Pilot Flying J that he missed.

"It's a blip. It may be a substantial blip. But in no way, shape or form does it affect my ownership of the Browns," he said.

During his 40-minute presentation, Haslam answered questions screened by his lawyers. Scopelitis President Gregory Feary said he didn't want to put Haslam in the position of answering on-the-spot questions because of the federal investigation. Feary said he was waiting to see how Pilot Flying J resolved any rebate issues with his trucking company clients, rather than filing a lawsuit.

"He's been awfully forthright and candid in his communications," he said. "As long as that continues, we see no need to get into a litigation situation."

FBI and IRS agents who descended on Pilot Flying J's headquarters in Knoxville, Tenn., on the morning of April 15 were looking for evidence of rebate fraud that took place at the company for more than five years, according to a search warrant affidavit used in the raid.

Haslam released a statement later in the day saying he believed there was no wrongdoing.

Then U.S. Attorney William Killian took the unusual step of ordering the search warrant affidavit unsealed. It showed that inside informants secretly recorded conversations among Pilot employees who brazenly discussed a rebate scheme, known by terms such as "trimming," "cost-plussing" and "screwing."

An embarrassed Haslam said that his company had been sullied by the claims, and he called for a series of changes in the way Pilot Flying J does business.

The affidavit indicates rebate fraud was widespread and used to boost sales commissions and company profits. It lists 35 current or former Pilot employees that it said are or were involved in supervising or supporting the sale of diesel fuel.

It doesn't suggest that all them were involved in illegal activity. But it says Haslam and Pilot President Mark Hazelwood knew about shortchanging customers because they attended sales meetings where it was discussed.

Haslam has said he had no knowledge of cheating and said "any willful wrongdoing" was "intolerable."

Rich Bren of Phoenix-based CMS, which provides technology services for trucking firms, said "It's sad to think that someone would be so abusive to their customer base."

But Bren said of Haslam, "Give the man a chance. I would hope that everything's done right, to make restitution."

The owner of a southern Indiana trucking company with annual revenues of $50 million said he was "shocked, as the rest of the world was."

The executive, who did not want his name published, said his company did a "spot audit" after the FBI aired and didn't identify any rebate problems.

Among the trucking companies the affidavit said were defrauded are Chicago-based JKC Trucking Co. and W.N. Morehouse Truck Line Co. of Omaha, Neb. Neither sent representatives to Indianapolis.

"I've been getting so many calls from so many places, I wish we hadn't been mentioned," said Michael Kucharski, JKC vice president.

Kucharski said several people from Pilot Flying J have recently contacted his company. He declined to say what was discussed.

Curt Morehouse said Haslam called and settled up by paying about $150,000 his business was owed.

"We got all our money. I got a news sales rep," Morehouse said this week. FBI and IRS agents are scheduled to visit his company tomorrow, he said.

Meanwhile, five trucking firms have called Morehouse looking for tips on how to detect rebate shortages. It would be difficult detective work because they don't have software that tracks fuel prices, Morehouse said.

His advice to the companies: Check bills, find a few examples of questionable rebates and then call Pilot and ask them to finish going over their payment history. Haslam has said Pilot has a team of internal auditors reviewing every one of the company's 3,300 contracts with trucking customers.

"Make them do the work," Morehouse said.

http://www.cleveland.com/business/i..._flying_js_jimmy_haslam_t.html#incart_m-rpt-1

 

[theshad]

Haslam stated today that the incident with Pilot/Flying J will not affect his ownership of the Browns in "any way shape or form"..

Doubt that it's true, but that sure would be nice.

 

[Chris]

Already talking new ownership. lmfao. Only the Browns. So depressing.

 

[Sly]

JH3 is the kind of guy who goes commando. No regard,

 

[Damage]

Already talking new ownership. lmfao. Only the Browns. So depressing.

Can we please stop with the only the browns shit? It's getting old.

 

[DawgOnKing]

I'm presently sitting at the Downtown Grill and Brewery in Knoxville. A nice middle-aged couple beside us starts asking us where we're from, etc.

The discussion quickly turns to UT and I decide to ask about Flying J. The gentlemen happens to work for the government and it also in the trucking biz.

You can't make this stuff up.

Anyway, I ask about Jimmy. Tell him that those of us in CLE are a little concerned. He proceeds to tell me (for 15 mins) that there's nothing to worry about. Haslam has such as stronghold on the market and massive amount of liquid cash that he can get away.

The concern is that the gov't does want to take a bite out of him financially. He said the old head of the FBI has a firm that is leading the suit against Haslam.

Wish I could be more specific but I'm on iPhone at the bar. I do think this guy has a pulse on the situation.

Jimmy walks.

 

[MDLT]

Problem for Haslam isn't so much about money though, it's about whether he's found guilty and how involved he was in all this. The NFL just can't have a guy involved in fraud running the franchise, no matter how much money he is worth.

 

[The Voice]

Well hopefully he can fraud the rest of the league and get us some superbowls.

 

[MalTalm]

I'm presently sitting at the Downtown Grill and Brewery in Knoxville. A nice middle-aged couple beside us starts asking us where we're from, etc.

The discussion quickly turns to UT and I decide to ask about Flying J. The gentlemen happens to work for the government and it also in the trucking biz.

You can't make this stuff up.

Anyway, I ask about Jimmy. Tell him that those of us in CLE are a little concerned. He proceeds to tell me (for 15 mins) that there's nothing to worry about. Haslam has such as stronghold on the market and massive amount of liquid cash that he can get away.

The concern is that the gov't does want to take a bite out of him financially. He said the old head of the FBI has a firm that is leading the suit against Haslam.

Wish I could be more specific but I'm on iPhone at the bar. I do think this guy has a pulse on the situation.

Jimmy walks.

What this doesn't take into account is the NFL's response to the scandal. Haslam's main enterprise is Pilot Flying J, and the scandal for a new NFL owner sheds negative light on the league as a whole. The NFL has a multitude of options for punishment, including revoking ownership privileges and forcing the team into an auction type scenario. Of course, that would likely get tied up into a nasty legal battle, so it probably wouldn't be option 1.

What I suspect will happen is the NFL will wait for the FBI to carry out it's legal case. If they get a conviction 2 or 3 years down the road, Haslam will likely be barred from active participation in all NFL events, including control over his own team. This would effectively put Haslam out of the NFL, but allow Jimmy the courtesy of taking the time to line up a buyer personally and getting the largest monetary return on his investment rather than putting the team on an auction block.

If the FBI case is as open-and-shut as it would seem, this would be the largest scandal any professional owner in the NFL has ever faced, and Haslam won't be allowed to continue on; the league won't allow it. The good news is, we're likely a couple years away before any action is taken, so hopefully Haslam has the right guys in place and we can establish ourselves before being subjected to yet another "rebuild."

 

[billmac91]

The Pilot CEO, who bought a majority share of the Cleveland Browns last year -- and was said then to be a leader expected to be closely involved with the team's operations -- said in a brief interview after his address that "Unfortunately, there were some things that happened a couple of levels below me" at Pilot Flying J that he missed.

I think Haslam's mouthpiece through this ordeal should be Jay Carney.....He's got this rap down perfectly

 

[I.K.W.T]

I'm presently sitting at the Downtown Grill and Brewery in Knoxville. A nice middle-aged couple beside us starts asking us where we're from, etc.

The discussion quickly turns to UT and I decide to ask about Flying J. The gentlemen happens to work for the government and it also in the trucking biz.

You can't make this stuff up.

Anyway, I ask about Jimmy. Tell him that those of us in CLE are a little concerned. He proceeds to tell me (for 15 mins) that there's nothing to worry about. Haslam has such as stronghold on the market and massive amount of liquid cash that he can get away.

The concern is that the gov't does want to take a bite out of him financially. He said the old head of the FBI has a firm that is leading the suit against Haslam.

Wish I could be more specific but I'm on iPhone at the bar. I do think this guy has a pulse on the situation.

Jimmy walks.

I know you can't make it up, and you're not lying. I'm just not going to believe a story from some random dude in a bar in Knoxville who thinks or wants to portray that he has inside information.

 

[DawgOnKing]

I know you can't make it up, and you're not lying. I'm just not going to believe a story from some random dude in a bar in Knoxville who thinks or wants to portray that he has inside information.

It wasn't that type of conversation. The couple was in no way, shape, or form trying to act as if they had inside info. By all means it was a very casual conversation with some locals.

When I asked if they were familiar with Flying J/Haslam they both immediately opened up and knew that he owned the Browns. They also mentioned his political ties.

I don't wanna make it seem like I had lunch with a sports reporter or law enforcement official. Again, just a couple locals. The gentleman used to drive trucks for the state of Tennessee. He said he presently worked for the gov't but I didn't ask in what capacity. He knew a lot about Flying J and in his opinion Haslam has the cash and political connections to get off. That's the end game here.

This is America. That doesn't seem too far fetched.

 

[Chris]

Can we please stop with the only the browns shit? It's getting old.

You know what else is getting old.

Well, you already know what I'm going to say because you've been living it year in and year out just like the rest of us. You literally can't make up the misfortunes that occur within this franchise. It's absurdity stacked upon absurdity. The stuff of books and movies, fantastical stuff.

 

[MalTalm]

You know what else is getting old.

Well, you already know what I'm going to say because you've been living it year in and year out just like the rest of us. You literally can't make up the misfortunes that occur within this franchise. It's absurdity stacked upon absurdity. The stuff of books and movies, fantastical stuff.

Brandon Weeden?

 

[Soda]

2 plead guilty in fed's probe of Haslam family's truck stop chain

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Two employees of the truck stop chain owned by the family of Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam have pleaded guilty in a federal probe of the company's business practices.

Regional sales director Arnold Ralenkotter pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud in U.S. District Court in Knoxville, Tenn. Regional accounts representative Ashley Smith Judd also pleaded guilty to conspiracy.

They are the first to be charged in the investigation. Federal prosecutors allege members of Pilot Flying J's sales team deliberately withheld rebates to boost Pilot profits and pad sales commissions.

Ralenkotter's lawyer Ed Yarbrough says his client has agreed to cooperate with authorities.

The Knoxville-based chain is run by CEO Jimmy Haslam, the governor's brother.

Pilot Flying J spokesperson Lauren Christ told NFL.com the company had "no statement at this time."

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap10...familys-truck-stop-chain?campaign=Twitter_atl

I just thought this was pertinent and contained some info I didn't realize before. It seems there is a motive there for people other than Jimmy to cheat the companies. This helps our owner.

On a side note: I saw today that the "Cleveland Browns Stadium" sign is being removed. I realize the need for the change.. That doesn't mean I need to be upbeat about it..