Sarah Mirando  |  May 8, 2013

Category: Legal News

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest Class Action Lawsuit Settlement News!

 

Pilot Flying J Fuel Rebate Scam Class Action Lawsuits Pile Up

By Mike Holter

 

Pilot Flying J

UPDATE: A class action settlement has been reached in one of the cases.

 

Pilot Flying J Travel Centers LLC has been hit with a fifth class action lawsuit accusing the truck stop operator of intentionally overcharging its fuel rebate customers. The company is run by Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and operates over 600 truck stops, travel centers and travel plazas in 44 states nationwide.

The class action lawsuits follow a raid last month by IRS and FBI officials over the alleged fuel rebate scam. According to an FBI affidavit released April 18, Pilot Flying J is accused of defrauding transportation companies by charging them more for fuel than their contracts stipulated and concealing the overcharges.


Secretly recorded conversations of sales employees reveal the company was preying on what they called “unsophisticated” trucking companies who didn’t realize they were being ripped off.

The latest Pilot Flying J class action lawsuit, filed May 1, is the first to name private equity backer CVC Capital Partners, Haslam and other top company executives as defendants.

The class action lawsuit accuses the defendants of engaging in an intentional scheme to defraud and cheat trucking companies who belonged to a fuel rebate program in which Flying J was required to credit or refund a certain percentage of their fuel purchases on a monthly basis. Since at least January 1, 2005, however, the defendants intentionally reduced and withheld fuel rebates and/or discounts owed to them in order to increase Flying J’s profits, according to the class action lawsuit.

“Nothing in the nature of the above-described intentional scheme to defraud and cheat [customers]  … demonstrates that their wrongful actions would ever have terminated but for the United States government’s or this court’s intervention,” the complaint states.

The FBI affidavit says Haslam and Pilot Flying J President Mark Hazelwood, also named in the most recent class action lawsuit, knew about the fraud.

The proposed class action lawsuits are seeking to represent all individuals or entities that participated in the Flying J fuel rebate program from January 1, 2005 to the present.

The latest case is Edis Trucking Inc. v. Pilot Corp. et al., Case No. 13-cv-03294, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

 

We tell you about cash you can claim EVERY WEEK! Sign up for our free newsletter.

 

Updated July 26th, 2013

 

All class action and lawsuit news updates are listed in the Lawsuit News section of Top Class Actions

LEGAL INFORMATION IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE
Top Class Actions Legal Statement
©2008 – 2013 Top Class Actions® LLC
Various Trademarks held by their respective owners

One thought on Pilot Flying J Fuel Rebate Scam Class Action Lawsuits Pile Up

  1. Dorothy says:

    send a claim form thanks.
    EDITOR’S NOTE – Dorothy, we are not settlement administrators and do not process claims. You must contact the settlement administrator (if there is a settlement) for any assistance filing a claim or to request a claim form.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. By submitting your comment and contact information, you agree to receive marketing emails from Top Class Actions regarding this and/or similar lawsuits or settlements, and/or to be contacted by an attorney or law firm to discuss the details of your potential case at no charge to you if you qualify. Required fields are marked *

Please note: Top Class Actions is not a settlement administrator or law firm. Top Class Actions is a legal news source that reports on class action lawsuits, class action settlements, drug injury lawsuits and product liability lawsuits. Top Class Actions does not process claims and we cannot advise you on the status of any class action settlement claim. You must contact the settlement administrator or your attorney for any updates regarding your claim status, claim form or questions about when payments are expected to be mailed out.