Jimmy Haslam, the owner of the Cleveland Browns, is under investigation by Federal prosecutors from the Southern District of New York for an alleged bribery scheme, as reported by Bloomberg. The prosecutors are reviewing claims by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway that Jimmy Haslam offered bribes to a dozen executives at Pilot Travel Centers to inflate profits affecting a sale to Berkshire Hathaway.
This investigation is part of a legal battle between the Haslams family, including Jimmy’s brother Bill Haslam, the former Governor of Tennessee, and Berkshire Hathaway over the Haslams’ remaining 20 percent stake in Pilot Travel Center. In 2017, Berkshire Hathaway agreed to a deal with the Haslams to buy 80 percent of the company by 2023, and the Haslams would have an option to sell the remaining 20 percent of the company. It’s reported that the 20% share is worth close to $3 billion.
In late October, Pilot Corp. sued Berkshire Hathaway charging Berkshire Hathaway of changing their accounting rules to suppress the family’s stake. Berkshire Hathaway countersued Pilot a month later for the alleged Haslam bribery scheme.
On December 13th, the Haslams received some good news when a Deleware judge ruled that Berkshire Hathaway could not use the bribery allegations to defend itself in the Pilot Corp. lawsuit.
The Haslams and Pilot J were investigated by the FBI over a decade ago for a rebate scam which resulted in them paying a $92 million fine.
