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“Whistleblower” Claims Pilot Flying J Also Cheated U.S. Government With Fuel Rebate Scam

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The informant who helped bring to light the Pilot Flying J fuel rebate scandal in 2013 has now also accused the company of cheating the U.S. Government in the same way that it cheated thousands of truckers.

For those unfamiliar with the infamous rebate scam, Pilot Flying J was sued by trucking companies all across the U.S. after a 2013 FBI raid at the company’s corporate headquarters led to charges that Pilot employees conspired to commit rebate fraud — promising truckers fuel rebates that they would never receive.

FBI informant John Verble was instrumental in bringing the case to light.

Verble has recently accused Pilot Flying J of defrauding the U.S. Postal Service as part of a petition to the Supreme Court for whistleblower protection.

From Verble’s petition:

“This (rebate fraud) scheme was revealed to the public in April 2013, but what was not revealed is that one of Pilot Flying J’s largest customers is the U.S. government, which buys hundreds of thousands of gallons of diesel fuel periodically for use by the Postal Service, and that the U.S. government was defrauded of its rebates in the same fashion as private trucking companies.”

Pilot has dismissed Verble’s accusations and says that it has already paid out everyone it owes for the diesel fuel rebate scheme.

Verble’s lawyer says he expects to hear whether the Supreme Court will hear the case within the next few months.

Pilot CEO Jimmy Haslam sat in court for a day long deposition back in December. He has not been personally charged and maintains that he had no knowledge of the rebate scam.
Sources:
NBC Sports
WKYC

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