KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- In U.S. District Court in Knoxville, Tenn., federal prosecutors and defense attorney on Tuesday filed a joint motion to delay sentencing for 10 former Pilot Flying J employees who previously pleaded guilty for their roles in cheating trucking companies out of millions in diesel fuel rebates, reported newsnet5 Cleveland.
According to court documents cited by the news outlet, "the status of this matter remain unchanged," and "neither party is requesting the court to schedule a sentencing date at this time".
They asked U.S. Judge Amul R. Thapar to approve a new date for a status conference for sentencing by June 24, 2015.
Sources close to the investigation told newsnet5 that this could signal that federal prosecutors need additional time to sift through evidence that could lead to indictments of additional Pilot employees.
Ten former employees have pleaded guilty to the scheme to defraud customers since federal agents raided Pilot Flying J's headquarters in Knoxville, Tenn., in April 2013. CEO Jimmy Haslam has not been charged with any crime.
Pilot Flying J agreed to pay $92 million in fines and accept responsibility for the criminal conduct of its employees while the government agreed not to prosecute the company. The agreement required Pilot Flying J to comply with several conditions, including cooperation in the investigation of people who may have been involved in the fraud. It did not protect any individual from prosecution.
Most of the lawsuits against Pilot Flying J were resolved by a class-action settlement, in which the company agreed to pay out nearly $85 million to 5,500 customers.
Pilot Flying J, the largest operator of truckstops in North America, has more than 650 retail locations.
Click here to view the full newsnet5 report.
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