The Jimmy Haslam Thread

[TwoPistols]

Actually, the people of the country would. The "government" is an extension and representation of the people.

Supposedly

 

[Dinner Bell Mel]

Well, I'm no expert, but I would say that President Obama would be the new "owner" of the team.

they would appoint a received to watch over the browns. nothing would change in the short term (the receiver would surely let banner, lombardi, et al. just do their thing). obviously long term, you'd get a new owner. preferably a yankee.

 

[Shakalu M.D.]

they would appoint a received to watch over the browns. nothing would change in the short term (the receiver would surely let banner, lombardi, et al. just do their thing). obviously long term, you'd get a new owner. preferably a yankee.

They should just gift the team to the people of Cleveland. Let us own it like the Packers. I think us fans have more than earned it.

 

[Frank Stallone]

Whatever...we'll be fine. There's always money in the banana stand.

So we SHOULDN'T burn down Browns Stadium...?

 

[Sly]

Feds allege Pilot Flying J has engaged in “fraud” for 5-7 years

Posted by Mike Florio on April 18, 2013, 6:46 PM EDT

AP
It’s really hard to be a Browns fan.

Three days ago, the FBI and IRS raided the headquarters of Pilot Flying J, the company run by Browns owner Jimmy Haslam III and founded by his father in 1958. On Tuesday, Haslam downplayed the issue in a session with the media, calling it a minor issue involving a “very insignificant number” of customer rebates, involving no tax violations.

The federal government disagrees. Strongly.

According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, documents filed in court on Thursday allege that Pilot Flying J engaged in fraud aimed at keeping money owed as rebates for “many years.”

And it gets worse. The federal government alleges that Jimmy Haslam knew about the practice, which “targeted unsophisticated trucking companies.”

A 120-page affidavit contends that the scheme was in place for five to seven years, and that one company lost nearly $150,000 because of it. The affidavit refers to a “confidential informant” who blew the whistle on the company’s practices — and on Haslam’s knowledge of the alleged scheme.

The investigation began in May 2011, well before Haslam launched his effort to purchase the Browns. Whether and to what extent the league was aware of the situation when approving the transaction isn’t currently known.

Haslam abruptly returned to Pilot Flying J as CEO in February, only months after former PepsiCo president John Compton took the job. It’s now fair to infer whether Compton stepped down once he caught wind of what was going on.

It’s also fair to wonder how this will play out. Eddie DeBartolo lost ownership of the 49ers after pleading guilty to failing to report an extortion attempt in Louisiana, which triggered a one-year suspension by the NFL. If Haslam ultimately pleads guilty to or is convicted of any crime, the Browns could once again be changing hands.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...flying-j-has-engaged-in-fraud-for-many-years/

 

[DJTJ]

This is going to be absolute bullshit. Can this city catch a break in the Sports world?

 

[red.]

Bye Haslam.

 

[winner0274]

That was fast. Time to blow the team up again!

 

[EdMonix11]

He's gotta go. Plain and simple.

Sad for the City of Cleveland......

 

[Pyro]

He's gotta go. Plain and simple.

Sad for the City of Cleveland......

 

[Lee]

My guess is that Haslam will throw some mid level manager under the bus and will escape with a fine. This doesnt make Haslam any less sleezy, but I do have a feeling he will escape still with the team.

But man, what was that company thinking? This would never come out?

 

[Shakalu M.D.]

My guess is that Haslam will throw some mid level manager under the bus and will escape with a fine. This doesnt make Haslam any less sleezy, but I do have a feeling he will escape still with the team.

But man, what was that company thinking? This would never come out?

This happens all the time. I think the guys running these companies are just so arrogant that they don't think they'll ever get caught. Otherwise there's no explanation for why this stuff just happens repeatedly.

 

[MRMsix6]

why can't we ever have nice things?

 

[Dinner Bell Mel]

My guess is that Haslam will throw some mid level manager under the bus and will escape with a fine. This doesnt make Haslam any less sleezy, but I do have a feeling he will escape still with the team.

But man, what was that company thinking? This would never come out?

This is the real world dude. Jimmy doesn't get to just pick some gas station attendant and throw him under the bus. Jimmy is NAMED and IMPLICATED several times in the affidavit supporting the search warrant. The feds are after HIM. The feds get who they're after 99% of the time. If the affidavit only stated that the FBI was only after the company, then Jimmy would MAYBE have a chance to skirt responsibility. But it's clear, they're after him. And he can bring in the best lawyers money can buy, but it probably won't matter. Unlike in state court, the feds usually have all the evidence they need for a conviction before they even go public with their investigation.

Frankly, if this is the type of guy that Haslam is, we don't want him owning the Browns anyway.

 

[MalTalm]

An affidavit filed in federal court in Knoxville, Tenn., asserts employees of truck-stop giant Pilot Flying J conducted a scheme to deceptively withhold diesel-fuel price rebates and discounts from Pilot Flying J customers without those customers' knowledge or approval.

The purpose of the alleged scheme, described in detail in the 120-page document, was designed not only to increase sales commissions, the affidavit says, but also to boost profitability of Pilot Flying J, the largest chain of truck stops in North America.

Pilot generally agrees to pay its trucking customers rebates based on volume purchases and other variables. The affidavit asserts that Pilot employees didn't pay the companies the full amounts they were owed.

The affidavit, which was filed under seal April 11 and unsealed Thursday, sought search warrants in connection with a Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal probe into Pilot Flying J. The company's headquarters were searched by FBI and Internal Revenue Service agents for hours earlier this week.

The owners of Pilot Flying J, which is one of the largest privately-held companies in the U.S., include Chief Executive Jimmy Haslam III, the majority owner of the Cleveland Browns football team; his brother, Bill Haslam, the governor of Tennessee; and CVC Capital Partners Ltd., a London-based private-equity firm.

Jimmy Haslam III had stepped down as CEO last fall, relinquishing his corporate job to John Compton, a former president of PepsiCo. In February, though, Mr. Haslam suddenly returned to Pilot. Mr. Compton is still an adviser to the company and the family. "It's a great company, great people, high integrity," Mr. Compton said Thursday before the affidavit became public. "They always try to make the right decisions. I didn't see any red flags."

The FBI special agent who filed the affidavit, Robert H. Root, said some of his information about the alleged fraud had been provided by a current employee and a former employee, among others. The affidavit says one informant, an employee of the company, advised FBI and IRS agents that "rebate fraud has occurred with the knowledge of" Pilot's chief executive, Jimmy Haslam III, "due to the fact that the Rebate Fraud-related activities have been discussed during sales meetings" Mr. Haslam had attended.

Earlier this week, Jimmy Haslam III said the probe appeared to be centered on "a very insignificant number of customers and applications of rebates."

Responding to the unsealed affidavit, he said Thursday in a statement: "I maintain that the foundation of this company is built on its integrity and that any willful wrongdoing by any employee of this company at any time is intolerable."

The company would continue to cooperate with the federal investigation and continue its own, the chief executive said. "I value the relationships we have with our customers and our vendors and our team members across this country and regret that they have to go through this with us," he said, "but I trust and believe their faith in this company and its principles has never been misplaced."

The affidavit details that all locations where the search warrants were executed have been under surveillance by the FBI. Informants and others also taped numerous conversations with Pilot employees that were given to the FBI, according to the affidavit. Many of the conversations presented in the affidavit detail the alleged schemes to defraud trucking customers on diesel fuel rebates they have been promised. The rebate fraud scheme allegedly was given various names by the employees involved, including "manwell," "cost-plussing" and crasser terms, according to the agent's affidavit.

Though the affidavit doesn't detail the total dollar amounts of the alleged scheme, the document includes transcripts of sales staff in alleged recorded conversations discussing millions of dollars not being paid to trucking-company customers.

If the only evidence the FBI has on Haslam's involvement is based on a former employee's claim Haslam knew because he was allegedly present at meetings where the scam was discussed, it will never stick. The fact that there were code names used to cover up the scam gives Haslam plausible deniability, and he'll certainly have a strong enough legal counsel to ensure the court understands that. It's also telling that, now that the affadavit has been unsealed, Haslam's tone has changed. He's no longer denying any wrongdoing, but instead seems to be preparing for an employee to take the fall. A man this powerful would have had to make some unlikely mistakes if he didn't keep a layer between him and this fraudulent activity. I mentioned it before, but the Murdock's faced similar allegations in England, and managed to walk away unscathed, though their company took a sizable hit.

Of course, if the FBI has been recording conversations between employees and Haslam has found his way onto one of those tapes, it's over. Hard evidence is the only thing which will stick in this case, as far as criminal charges are concerned.

The company is in trouble though.