Two Pilot Flying J Employees Plead Guilty in Fuel-Rebate Case
Two Pilot Corp. employees pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges as the U.S. government investigates fuel-rebate practices at Pilot Flying J’s truck-stop business, Bloomberg News reported.
Arnold Ralenkotter and Ashley Judd were charged this month with participating in a scheme to reduce rebate check amounts to some of Pilot’s trucking company customers while pretending to pay agreed-upon discounts, Bloomberg reported.
Both Judd, a sales representative, and Ralenkotter, a regional sales director, have agreed to cooperate in a criminal probe of the nation’s largest diesel fuel distributor, the Knoxville (Tenn.) Sentinel reported Thursday. Pilot is headquartered in Knoxville.
The developments follow Pilot Flying J CEO Jimmy Haslam’s appearance at an Indianapolis trucking forum earlier this month, at which he said he was “absolutely not aware” of any alleged scheme by his employees to underpay the company’s customers.
“The statements released by the federal court today do not come as a surprise given what we’ve been learning in our own internal investigations, but are nonetheless disappointing,” Pilot Flying J spokesman Tom Ingram said in an e-mailed statement.
“We want to assure our customers that we are taking every step to correct any wrongdoing that has occurred and to make certain that it does not happen again,” he said.
Ralenkotter pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud Wednesday in federal court in Knoxville, Tenn. Judd also pleaded guilty to conspiracy, Bloomberg reported.
