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Former top execs at Jimmy Haslam owned Pilot Flying J found guilty of conspiracy in fraud case

Posted at 4:22 PM, Feb 15, 2018
and last updated 2018-02-15 17:51:51-05

Former top executives at Jimmy Haslam's Pilot Flying J truck stop company have been found guilty of charges stemming from a scheme to cheat truckers at the fuel pump.

Former company president Mark Hazelwood, plus an inside sale representative, were found guilty of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

Former vice-president Scott Wombold was also found guilty of one count of wire fraud.

Pilot Flying J owner Jimmy Haslam, who also owns the Cleveland Browns, was never charged with a crime and has consistently denied any knowledge of the scheme to cheat truckers.

The verdict was reached in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee following an extensive federal probe into Pilot Flying J's business practices that became public after an April 2013 FBI investigation at the company's Knoxville, Tennessee headquarters.

Today's guilty verdict follows previous guilty pleas by 14 other former Pilot employees, who admitted their guilt and cooperated with prosecutors.

Two others were granted immunity.

Pilot Flying J has also acknowledged responsibility, paying $92 million dollars in civil penalties, as well as $85 million in settlements to truckers.

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