Browns Owner Avoids Federal Prosecution With Massive Settlement

Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, who is the CEO of a truck stop empire that committed a whole bunch of fraud, probably won't be spending any time in prison for presiding over a company that bilked customers out of tens of millions of dollars. That's because his company, Pilot Flying J, just agreed to pay $92 million to the U.S. government in exchange for an assurance from the feds that he and his company will not be prosecuted.

Haslam's company has already paid $56 million in settlement money to other companies that were sued once the fraud—which consisted of Pilot Flying J offering outrageous fuel rebates that it just never paid—became public. And so Haslam, who maintains that he knew nothing about the scam despite being the CEO and having been at a meeting where the scam was discussed, has purchased himself a very expensive get-out-of-jail-free card.

Technically, Haslam isn't completely out of the woods just yet. This latest settlement protects him from federal prosecution, but he is still vulnerable to prosecution from any of his company's defrauded customers who still wants to bring a case. But Haslam will likely be able to settle any such case, and in all likelihood we are once again going to see him yukking it up like a shitbag in his owner's box, as only a man who has enough money to beat a federal charge can.

[ Justice.gov]