Tag: Jimmy Haslam

Cleveland Browns One of Next NFL Teams in Line with Large Taxpayer Stadium Subsidy Request

The Center Square
Cleveland Browns Stadium

Cleveland is one of the next cities asking for public funding for a renovation or new NFL stadium after the city councils of Charlotte and Jacksonville each approved more than $600 million in public funding.

Browns’ ownership, the Haslam Sports Group, has reportedly pitched Cleveland and Ohio state leadership on funding half of a potential $1.2 billion renovation of Cleveland Browns stadium or having state and local governments each pay $600 million of taxpayer funds – a total of $1.2 billion – toward building a new stadium in Brook Park.

Read the full story

Cleveland Browns Owners Endorse State Senator Matt Dolan for U.S. Senate

Hannah Poling

The Cleveland Browns owners on Monday endorsed State Senator Matt Dolan (R-Chagrin Falls) in his run for U.S. Senate against U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) in 2024.

The Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam announced their support for Dolan, who owns a stake in another professional sports team, the Cleveland Guardians, saying they have taken on the roles of his Senate campaign’s Statewide Finance Chairs.

Read the full story

Judge Orders Pilot Flying J Prosecutors to ‘Make a List and Put the Guiltiest on Top’ As Sentencing Phase Begins

Admin

U.S. District Judge Curtis L. Collier issued an order to federal prosecutors Tuesday to “make a list of convicted Pilot Flying J fraudsters and put the guiltiest at the top,” Knoxville News Sentinel reported, as 17 former executives and staffers begin the sentencing phase of their trials after being found guilty in their roles in a massive rebate scam aimed at fleecing truckers who participated in the ill-fated program. The order comes after a jury in the U.S. District Court in Chattanooga found former Pilot Flying J President Mark Hazelwood and ex-staffer Heather Jones guilty of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. Former vice president Scott “Scooter” Wombold was acquitted of participating substantially in the scheme, but for a single count of fraud. Account representative Karen Mann was found not guilty the charges filed against her. Meanwhile, 14 other former executives and staffers plead guilty for their roles in the scam since the April 2013 raid of the Pilot Flying J headquarters in Knoxville. Knox news reports: Each of those 17, including Hazelwood, now must face Collier for sentencing hearings. The law requires that Collier assess each co-conspirator’s individual bad behavior and personal history. Collier also must decide each co-conspirator’s…

Read the full story

GUILTY: Former Pilot Flying J President Found Guilty of Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud and Witness Tampering

Admin

Former Pilot Flying J president Mark Hazelwood was found guilty by a jury on Thursday of three out of the four federal charges brought against him – including conspiracy to commit mail/wire fraud and witness tampering – in connection with his role in a multi-million dollar rebate scam to bilk customers out of a total of $56 million. He was found not guilty on the remaining charge of wire fraud. Additionally, former Pilot vice president Scott Wombold and former direct sales person Heather Jones were found guilty of a single count of mail/wire fraud and wire fraud, respectively. The trio will learn their sentencing on June 27th in Chattanooga. Pilot Flying J is the 14th largest privately held company in the United States. A majority of the company’s stock is owned by the Haslam family, which includes company founder Big Jim Haslam and his sons, company CEO Jimmy Haslam and Gov. Bill Haslam. Earlier this year, Pilot Flying J announced it had completed a deal to sell a controlling interest in the company to Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway company. WBIR was outside the courthouse and spoke to Hazelwood’s attorney, Rusty Hardin. Reacting to the verdict, he told reporters, “We continue to believe he’s…

Read the full story

Pilot Flying J Held Employee Training Sessions on Defrauding Trucking Companies, According to Recording Played at Trial

Wendy Wilson

Pilot Flying J held training sessions to instruct employees on defrauding trucking companies of promised diesel fuel rebates, according to a secret recording played for jurors last week and covered by the Knoxville News-Sentinel. Four former employees of the truck stop chain are on trial in U.S. District Court in Chattanooga in connection with the scheme. A total of 18 former employees were charged in the scheme and 14 pleaded guilty. CEO Jimmy Haslam, brother of Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and owner of the Cleveland Browns football team, has denied knowledge of the fraud and has not been charged, although a recording played for jurors earlier this month indicated he did know about it and endorsed it. Former sales director Vincent Greco was wired by investigators to make secret recordings, including of training sessions. The recording played in court last week featured a conversation between former vice president of sales Scott Wombold, one of the four currently on trial, and Jason Holland, an employee who was being introduced to the fraud scheme and expressing discomfort with it. The Knoxville News-Sentinel reports: Wombold suggested that if Holland wasn’t comfortable lying, he could instead be vague with his trucking firm customers. He used an…

Read the full story

Jimmy Haslam Knew About and ‘Loved’ Fuel Rebate Scam, According to Recording Played at Pilot Flying J Trial

Wendy Wilson

Jimmy Haslam, CEO of Pilot Flying J, knew about a fuel rebate scheme at his company and “loved it,” according to what an executive said in a secret recording that jurors heard in court Tuesday. Haslam, brother of Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and owner of the Cleveland Browns football team, has denied knowledge of the widespread fraud scheme and has not been charged. Four former employees of the truck stop chain are currently on trial in U.S. District Court in Chattanooga. In all, 18 former employees were charged in the scheme and 14 pleaded guilty. The fraud involved shorting trucking companies on promised diesel fuel rebates. “He knew – absolutely,” John “Stick” Freeman, former Pilot Flying J vice president of sales, said of Jimmy Haslam in the recording played in court Tuesday, according to the Knoxville News-Sentinel. Federal prosecutors released a transcript of the recording after Pilot Flying J was raided by federal agents in 2013, but Tuesday was the first time the recording was heard publicly. The recording was made by Vincent Greco, then a sales director for the company, who wore a wire for investigators. Freeman said in the recording that former president Mark Hazelwood also knew about the scheme.…

Read the full story

Pilot Flying J Trial in Chattanooga Reveals Details of Scheme to Defraud Truck Stop Customers

Wendy Wilson

Defense attorneys for the highest-ranking Pilot Flying J executive charged in a fuel rebate scandal say former president Mark Hazelwood was too busy doing his job to be involved in the scheme, reports the Knoxville News-Sentinel. That also goes for CEO Jimmy Haslam, defense attorneys say. Jimmy Haslam, who has not been charged, is the brother of Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and owner of the Cleveland Browns football team. The truck stop giant is a Haslam family business. Gov. Haslam is no longer involved in its daily operations. The trial of Hazelwood and three others started last week on Monday in U.S. District Court in Chattanooga and is expected to last until at least late December. Former vice president of sales Scott Wombold and regional account representatives Heather Jones and Karen Mann are also standing trial in Chattanooga on charges of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. Hazelwood and Wombold deny involvement in the scheme and Jones and Mann have said they simply followed orders. In secret recordings made by a sales employee for investigators, Hazelwood’s voice can be heard in talk of the scheme. Haslam’s voice is not heard in any recordings that have been released. Prosecutors say Pilot…

Read the full story

Report: Pilot Flying J ‘To Pay Ex-Staffers Legal Bills’ in Fraud Case Set to Begin Next Week

Tennessee Star Staff

The Associated Press is reporting that the board of Pilot Flying J, which is owned by the Haslam family, “has agreed to pay the ex-staffers legal bills,” in the upcoming fraud trial set to begin next week in Chattanooga: The truck stop chain controlled by the family of Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam has publicly distanced itself from former employees charged with defrauding customers. But court records show the board of Pilot Flying J has agreed to pay the ex-staffers legal bills. Pilot Flying J has been under scrutiny in recent years because of a diesel fuel rebate scam. Fourteen former staffers have pleaded guilty, while another four — including the company’s former president — are scheduled to go on trial on Oct. 31. Court records indicate a May 2013 “undertaking agreement” in which Pilot agreed to cover attorneys’ fees and other expenses. They agreed to repay the money if they are convicted or lose on appeal. The FBI began investigating the Pilot Flying J scandal back in 2012, around the time CEO Jimmy Haslam purchased the NFL’s Cleveland Browns for a little over $1 billion. Jimmy Haslam has not been charged in the scandal,…

Read the full story

John Rose Touts Fundraising for His Congressional Campaign, Helped Some by Haslam Family and Democrats

Wendy Wilson

John Rose on Thursday touted his campaign’s first quarter of fundraising, noting that he has more than four times the resources of State Rep. Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma), who is also vying for the Republican nomination for the 6th Congressional District seat. A small business owner and farmer, Rose briefly served as Tennessee agriculture commissioner under former Republican Gov. Don Sundquist. Rose has $468,029 cash on hand after expenditures totaling $74,421, according to his filing with the Federal Election Commission. More than $250,000 came from self-funding. Rose’s campaign got a boost from Democratic contributors and a somewhat bigger one from members of the Haslam family. Charles Robert Bone, a Nashville attorney, businessman and Democratic Party fundraiser, contributed $2,700. His wife, Sacha, contributed an additional $2,700. Nashville Democratic political strategist Dave Cooley contributed $500. “You will not find two bigger Democrats in this state than Obama bundler Charles Bone and Bredesen ‘political enforcer’, Dave Cooley,” said one longtime GOP insider. “What is perplexing is that Rose thought accepting these contributions from two notorious liberal Democrats would somehow help him with conservative Republicans. I predict his eagerness to ask Democrats for money will cause him major trouble among GOP primary voters,” the insider…

Read the full story

Mae Beavers Calls on Randy Boyd to Return and Refuse Donations from Haslam Family

Admin
Tennessee Star

Mae Beavers released the following statement today on the NFL protests, Randy Boyd, and the Haslam family’s support for the radical leftists pushing the un-American protests of the National Anthem. “Randy Boyd should immediately return any donations the Haslams have made to his campaign,” Beavers opened. “What’s more, Randy Boyd should refuse to accept any further financial support from the Haslam family,” Beavers said. Jimmy and Dee Haslam, the owners of the Cleveland Browns, have embraced the radical, un-American NFL protests against the National Anthem and the American Flag,” Beavers asserted. “The NFL remained silent when the Rams attacked law enforcement with their “hands up don’t shoot” demonstration, the NFL refused to allow the Dallas cowboys to honor fallen officers massacred by Black Lives Matter, and defying belief, the NFL even barred their players from honoring 9/11 victims,” Beavers said. “Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has not only refused to condemn the disrespectful actions of his players, he has encouraged them “The Haslams have been involved in a variety of business deals with Boyd over the years,” Beavers noted. “Governor Haslam appointed Randy to his position at ECD by  and the Haslam family has been one of Boyd’s largest contributors.” “Randy Boyd needs…

Read the full story

Commentary: Are the Haslams the First Family of the Never Trumpers?

Tennessee Star Staff

There may be plenty of “Never Trumpers” on the Republican side of the aisle, with John Kasich and Jeb Bush immediately coming to mind, but no family can claim more current political power in the “Never Trumper” sphere than the Haslam family of Tennessee. The controversial NFL protests against the National Anthem and the American Flag have been embraced by Jimmy and Dee Haslam, the owners of the Cleveland Browns. Jimmy Haslam is Governor Bill Haslam’s older brother. The family owns Pilot-Flying J, the 14th largest privately owned company in the country. Jimmy Haslam is the company’s CEO. The Haslams have supported their players’ protests and issued a harsh statement speaking out against Trump’s comments where he called for NFL owners to fire any players or employees who take a knee or don’t stand at attention during the National Anthem. Statement from Dee and Jimmy Haslam pic.twitter.com/QvCmKPkKwc — Cleveland Browns (@Browns) September 24, 2017 “We must not let misguided, uninformed and divisive comments from the President or anyone else deter us from our efforts to unify,” the statement said in part. The Haslam family’s animosity towards President Trump is nothing new. During the 2016 Presidential election Governor Bill Haslam announced…

Read the full story

State Rep. Judd Matheny Calls on Gov. Bill Haslam to Use Influence to Stop Players with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns from Dishonoring National Anthem

Wendy Wilson

  State Rep. Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma) on Tuesday called on Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam to do what he can to stop NFL players from taking a knee during the playing of the national anthem. Haslam’s brother, Jimmy, is owner of the Cleveland Browns in addition to being CEO of the Pilot Flying J chain of gas stations and convenience stores. Matheny, who is running for Congress in the Sixth Congressional District, posted the following on Facebook Tuesday morning along with a photo of Cleveland Browns players taking a knee at a game Monday evening. A dozen players were reported to have taken a knee. Governor Haslam, your family owns the Cleveland Browns. Would you please use your influence to put an immediate stop to the behavior displayed in the NFL last night. These individuals who disrespected our flag and anthem should be returned to normal jobs and help build our community. Their actions only set poor examples for our youth to follow-all this in a time when we need national cohesion worse than ever. Would the citizens of Tennessee, Ohio and the rest of the country please DEMAND this behavior stop. We cannot let public figures continue to get away with…

Read the full story

Mastermind Of Pilot Flying J Rebate Scam And Three Others Sign Plea Agreements

Wendy Wilson

  Four former Pilot Flying J employees officially agreed Monday to plead guilty in the company’s diesel fuel rebate scam, reports WSMV Channel 4. John “Stick” Freeman, the mastermind of the scheme, along with John Spiewak, Vicki Borden and Katy Bibee, signed plea agreements filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. With Monday’s filings, there are now 14 sales staff members and executives who have agreed to confess and talk, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel. Pilot Flying J, which is headquartered in Knoxville and operates hundreds of gas stations and convenience stores in the U.S. and Canada, is owned by the family of Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam. The billionaire CEO is his brother Jimmy Haslam, who also owns the Cleveland Browns. Their father founded the company in 1958. Jimmy Haslam has not been charged in the scandal, although the FBI indicated in testimony and court records that he was a suspect, according to the News Sentinel. He has denied knowing about the scam. Gov. Haslam has not been involved in running the company for many years but has an ownership share in the business. He has said his holdings were placed in a blind trust when he…

Read the full story