Auditors OK Pilot Flying J’s Rebate Amount

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Internal auditors at Pilot Flying J properly calculated the amount owed to truckers under a rebate program that is the subject of a continuing Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service probe.

Pilot Flying J's Knoxville, Tenn., headquarters were raided by both federal agencies on April 15, 2013 in an effort to investigate alleged rebate fraud. Since then, 10 former Pilot Flying J officials have pleaded guilty to charges that they deliberately reduced promised rebates to many trucking firms throughout the country. In addition, as CSNews Online reported on May 20, Pilot Flying J President Mark Hazelwood abruptly left his post.

Under a settlement agreement with several trucking companies, Pilot Flying J agreed to pay $85 million to resolve several of the subsequent lawsuits brought against the company. As part of the settlement, an independent auditor was hired to review transactions that took place from Jan. 1, 2005 to July 15, 2013.

According to the audit, filed by Horne LLP in U.S. District Court in Little Rock earlier in June, Pilot Flying J calculated the amount owed to truckers properly.

However, according to The Tennessean, the audit report also states that Pilot Flying J's internal auditors agreed to make some modifications to their procedures in response to concerns raised by the Horne team.

Pilot Flying J still faces about a half-dozen lawsuits from trucking firms. These additional suits have been merged before a federal judge in Kentucky.

Pilot Flying J is the operator of approximately 650 travel centers and travel plazas throughout North America.