Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has a Warren Buffet problem.
Via the Associated Press, Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway has accused Haslam of attempting to bribe multiple executives of Pilot, the truck-stop chain founded by Haslam’s father. Berkshire Hathaway contends that Haslam wanted the executives to inflate the company’s profits.
The fight traces to a sale of Pilot by the Haslam family to Berkshire Hathaway. The specific claim is that the Haslams wanted to boost the value of the company, in order to increase the price paid for the final 20 percent of the company that was sold to Berkshire Hathaway earlier this year.
The allegation appears in a counterclaim filed by Berkshire Hathaway in response to a lawsuit alleging that the company changed Pilot’s accounting practices to decrease the value of the remaining 20 percent.
Berkshire Hathaway claims it only became aware of the alleged effort to bribe executives earlier this month. Berkshire Hathaway specifically contends that Jimmy Haslam (via the AP story) “offered to personally pay bonuses to the executives that would far exceed their annual salaries based on the price the family received for its remaining stake.”
Haslam allegedly made the offer to roughly 15 employees at a dinner in March, and he allegedly repeated the offer to at least four other high-level executives.
It’s not the first time allegations of financial irregularities have been made in connection with Pilot. An out-of-the-blue raid on April 15, 2013 resulted in years of litigation and prosecution regarding a scam in which the company shorted customer on rebates and discounts. Pilot ultimately paid a $92 million fine. Haslam never faced criminal charges.
Haslam also faced no scrutiny from the league under the Personal Conduct Policy.
