He’s only owned the Browns since Oct. 2012 and he’s already seen more press then he would like.
Per ESPN, The FBI has been relentless on their investigation on Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, who is the CEO of Pilot Flying J, a company suspected of being fraudulent in their business transactions. In a 120 page document filed in a federal court in Knoxville, Tennessee, where the company is based, the FBI alleges that members of the company sales force exploited smaller trucking companies by reducing the amount of rebates they were owed for buying certain amounts of fuel. An unidentified employee told the investigators that the rebate scheme was discussed during sales meetings attended by Haslam and the President of the company, Mark Hazelwood.
Even though the investigation has yet to cease, nothing has stopped the new owner from fully engaging in making his Browns a NFL contender. Cleveland will participate in next weeks draft with the 6th overall pick. Even Browns CEO Joe Banner has said that Jimmy has been quite the active owner.
“This is the first year Jimmy has really owned the team and has the chance to put his imprint on it, so I think he’s excited in general,” Banner said. “We’re glad to have him here. He asks good questions. He’s a good asset to have as an owner.
“Jimmy isn’t in there, watching film [of potential draft picks], but he’s very involved with our entire process.”
I dont think Haslam can get around this investigation with the amount of evidence against him and employees speaking out on his business tactics. 2013 is going to be a rocky road for him. Hopefully he wont have to remove himself as the Browns owner.