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Gov. Bill Haslam doesn't know, not seeking details of Pilot Flying J raid
By Tom Humphrey
Knoxville News Sentinel
Posted April 16, 2013 at 11:35 a.m., updated April 16, 2013 at 12:20 p.m.
.Gov. Bill Haslam speaks to reporter s during an impromptu visit to the press suite at the legislative office complex in Nashville, Tenn., on Tuesday, March 16, 2013. The Republican governor said he still doesn't know why federal agents searched the Knoxville headquarters of the family-owned Pilot Flying J chain of truck stops. (— Gov. Bill Haslam said he knows little about a raid on Pilot Flying J headquarters in Knoxville and has “faith and confidence” in his brother’s ability to deal with the situation as CEO of the company.

In a brief meeting with reporters, the governor said there was “gossip and speculation” about the raid that is unfounded and unfair and “it’s not fair for me to play that game.”

“The truth is, I don’t know,” said Haslam.

He was asked, for example, about speculation that the raid could have been retaliation for his recent decision against expansion of Medicaid under the federal Affordable Care Act, and he rejected the notion.

“Absolutely not,” he said.

When he became governor in January 2011, Haslam put all his financial assets in a blind trust — except for his Pilot holdings. The governor said he has no role in managing the company, though he retains a substantial but undisclosed financial interest.

Haslam said he is leaving management to his brother, CEO Jimmy Haslam, and added, “I have faith and confidence in him.” In fact, the governor said he is not trying to learn any details of what happened and why.

“It’s not my job,” he said. “I’ve got a full-time job.”

On Monday, dozens of FBI and Internal Revenue Service agents raided the West Knoxville headquarters of Pilot Flying J, operator of the largest travel center network in North America, while executing a search warrant.

FBI supervisory special agent Marshall Stone said federal agents arrived at the corporate headquarters on Lonas Road as part of a “ongoing investigation.”

Stone declined to provide specifics of the raid.

“The FBI secured our headquarters today and informed us they are investigating Pilot Flying J,” Jimmy Haslam said in an email statement Monday afternoon.

“We will cooperate appropriately with any and all external investigations and conduct our own. I believe and trust there has been no wrongdoing. The integrity of our company always has been job No. 1.”

Knoxville-based Pilot is owner of more than 600 travel center locations across the U.S. and has more than 30,000 employees. It recorded revenues of $29.3 billion in 2011.

The company was founded more than 50 years ago by Jim Haslam and is run by his eldest son, Jimmy, who bought a majority ownership of the Cleveland Browns of the NFL last year.

Jimmy Haslam stepped down as CEO after buying the Browns but resumed his role as CEO less than six months later, replacing former PepsiCo President John Compton.

More details as they develop online and in Wednesday’s News Sentinel.

© 2013, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2013/apr/16/gov-bill-haslam-doesnt-know-not-seeking-details/

Hmmmm, Obamacare?

I felt it was criminal to replace Tom Heckert with Michael Lombardi and apparently the justice department agreed.

I was wondering what happened to the former CEO, John Compton, so I started looking back at past articles hoping to get a hint as to why he left. Well, it turns out that he didn't leave, and he wasn't fired.... he was promoted to running ALL of Haslam's family companies, including the Browns. So, basically, he got put in charge of everything so Haslam could go back to runing Pilot.


http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2013/02/browns_owner_jimmy_haslam_to_r.html

Quote:

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In the statement, Haslam said it "makes sense" to apply Compton's skills across all of the family businesses, including the Browns.

"Given John's broader role across our companies, I am very excited to re-assume the CEO role of Pilot Flying J, and look forward to working alongside our 25,000 team members in continuing to take great care of our customers, employees and shareholders," the statement said.
Compton is comfortable with his new role, according to the company statement, and looks forward to "assisting the Cleveland Browns" in an unknown capacity.

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Eureka! You've hit it. The government saw the inept staff Haslam put together to run the Browns so they figured the Pilot Flying J staff must be as inept and since they Pilot Flying J is actually making money they gotta be doing it illegally.

Haslam press conference: web page

PFT

New warrant sought for Pilot Flying J headquarters

Posted by Mike Florio on April 16, 2013, 2:25 PM EDT

A day after the IRS and FBI raided the headquarters of the family-owned business run by Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, the FBI is seeking another warrant.

According to the Associated Press, the new warrant would permit another search of the offices.

Meanwhile, all interested parties have been largely quiet.  Haslam has sent via email a letter to the headquarter employees apologizing for the “unexpected disruption” and reiterating his belief and trust that there has been no wrongdoing.
H
Haslam is schedule to meet with the media in Tennessee later today.  His brother, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, has claimed to have no knowledge of the focus of the investigation.

Long story short: He says it's not a tax issue (deals with rebates not paid to customers) and will not affect the Browns at all.

Jimmy Haslam

FBI and IRS agents executed sealed search and seizure warrants Monday and Tuesday at Pilot Flying J headquarters in Knoxville, TN as part of an unknown investigation into one of the largest family-owned companies in the United States. Billionaire Jimmy Haslam, who runs the company as CEO in addition to owning the Cleveland Browns, said that Pilot Flying J is cooperating with the authorities.

No arrests have been made so far, but reports indicate that it may be part of a long-term investigation. According to an unnamed employee who talked to the Knoxville News Sentinel, agents seemed particularly focused on IT, accounting, and customer service offices. The employee said, “Certain people in certain departments were asked to stay. Mostly people who collect data.”

Forbes continues to follow this developing story. See continuing updates at the bottom.

Pilot operates 650 gas stations and convenience stores across 47 states and Canada and employs 25,000 people. The company brings in revenues of $29 billion, placing it sixth on the 2012 Forbes Largest Private Companies list.

Haslam ran Pilot for 18 years before stepping down in October 2012 after finalizing his purchase of the Browns. However, he resumed his CEO role again last February, saying he missed his “first love.” Haslam’s brother Bill is the governor of Tennessee and their father founded the company in 1958. Together, the family still owns 59% of the company.

On Tuesday, Haslam sent a statement to employees in which he said Pilot is “cooperating appropriately” with the investigation. “We believe and trust there has been no wrongdoing,” he said. “We will keep you informed, and I encourage you to rely on that information rather than random news reports and gossip that is surely to follow.”

2:oo pm update: News Sentinel reporter Carly Harrington posted this statement from the company on Twitter Tuesday afternoon: “The investigation appears to revolve around the application of rebates to a small group of PFJ trucking company customers.”

Pilot also announced that Jimmy Haslam will hold a press conference at 2:30 pm.

Quote:

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What the heck do the FBI and IRS care about a rebate program?!?

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Consumer fraud and fictitious expense reports, maybe?

Well, I guess it would depend on the amount of the rebate, if it was taxable income, etc. If we're talking about millions of dollars that weren't claimed, or were claimed to have been paid but weren't, etc., then you start having issues.

Burn it all.

Nothing to do now but wait for the indictments... or not.

And if it shows the rebates were paid i think someone in this trucking company should be getting nervous pretty soon...How hard is it to match a check to an account...or a credit to a bill..

Sealed search and seizure warrants for a rebate program, eh?

It's either a massive amount of rebates, or it's not really about rebates, I'd guess.

Yeah, this is the thing that worries me. The FBI doesn't get involved with some complaints from a small number of trucking companies about some rebate program. Also it seems as if Haslam has no Idea why the IRS is involved, but you can't deny the fact that they are.

I am concerned simply due to the fact that I don't know how this would effect ownership status if there is criminal activity going on here.

I cant stomach much more blowing up of the organization.

Could it be that the FBI finally checked into my "Plus" gasoline theory?

Hey if he is fighting the IRS I am on his side. Of course I would be on Hillary Clintons side if she was fighting the IRS

If they happen to freeze Haslam's assets, would he be able to shell out cash for FA's?

jc...

FBI investigation of Jimmy Haslam's Pilot Flying Jay a concern for Cleveland Browns fans: Terry Pluto


By Terry Pluto, The Plain Dealer The Plain Dealer

April 16, 2013 at 7:45 PM, updated April 17, 2013 at 6:41 AM

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- There are so many unanswered questions about the FBI's investigation of Jimmy Haslam's Pilot Flying J company.

But this much Browns fans do know: It's never good when the FBI shows up at your office and raids the place. It's even worse when the Internal Revenue Service comes along -- and do so on April 15th.

So you can understand why some fans are very nervous about what's happening with the owner of their favorite football team. Maybe Haslam is right, and the investigation is only about "rebates" to trucking companies. Maybe it's an "insignificant number of customers," as Haslam said at a Tuesday press conference.

There are more maybe's. Maybe he is correct that there "are no tax issues involved," and that the company did nothing wrong. Maybe none of this will affect the Browns, as Haslam insists it will be "business as usual." Maybe he will be exonerated, as he "disagrees" with the contention that there are problems with his rebate payments to trucking companies.

But candidly, as the owner likes to say, fans are worried about their team and the new owner. At the very least, the FBI probe will divide his attention. It's never cheap to defend yourself in this type of criminal investigation.

Haslam bought the team in August (the deal finalized in October) for $1 billion. He vowed to be an active owner, moving from his Knoxville home to Northeast Ohio to be closer to the Browns. Fans considered former owner Randy Lerner absent and unengaged. Lerner was camera shy and hadn't had a press conference in year. In his first few months on the job, Haslam embraced the media and the big stage of the most popular franchise in town.

As the 2012 football season opened, Pepsi president John Compton was hired to replace Haslam as CEO of Pilot Flying J. According to media reports, Compton didn't take over the company until January 1. On February 11, only six weeks after assuming control, Compton was named an "advisor" as Haslam returned to Knoxville and his old job.

On April 15, the investigation hit.

Since the end of the season, Haslam has kept a very low media profile until his Tuesday press conference.

Fans have endured decades of Art Modell searching for cash, even bragging that he had to go to "five banks" to secure a loan to pay free agent receiver Andre Rison. That was in 1994. A year later, Modell took the team to Baltimore.

Then the Browns returned in 1999, owned by Al Lerner. It was on his private jet that Modell signed the deal to move the franchise. The Lerner family was forgiven because they were the owners of the new Browns. But after only two winning seasons and the NFL's worst record from 1999-2011, most fans welcomed the sale to Haslam last season.

It helps that Browns CEO Joe Banner is an experienced football executive, having run the Philadelphia Eagles. Maybe this will all work out for Haslam and the Browns.

But big questions do hang over the franchise.

web page

jc

fbi involvement kind of makes sense, i would assume these transactons would cross state and maybe even national lines ( is Flying J in Canada?).

anyway that would seem to indicate a national investigation and not local hence the FBI .

Just thinking.

The IRS tags along on many of these things

If there are large rebates involved on taxable (or deductible)goods, I can see where the IRS would be involved. If someone is claiming they paid full value for something that he could deduct the cost of, and then received a rebate....I'm sure he'll be accused getting over on the gubment.

I can understand the FBI involved but the IRS that is a question in itself!

I don't believe you read my post.

so the billion dollar check bounced?..hehe

jc

If the rebates were not paid, but shown as an accounting entry as paid because of a computer program, that could mean IRS trouble for a tax entry as an expense when it was really "undeclared income". The amount involved and "intent" would be a factor in the charges filed in a possibible inditment. In other words, this could be an IT error corrected by penanlty and fine or fraud.

Ruh Roh.

Cleveland Browns owner Himmy Haslam's travel center company has engaged in fraud for 'many years', FBI says

Jimmy knew about it? if they have proof, then boom goes the dynamite on this short-lived venture.