Pilot Flying J has been the subject of scandal for its diesel rebate fraud scheme over the last several years. Now, a whistleblower who helped the government crack the case says trucking companies weren’t the only cheated entities — the U.S. government was also defrauded by the company.
John Verble, who worked as a broker at Morgan Stanly Smith Barney’s Knoxville office, claims he was fired in 2013 for working as an FBI informant in the Pilot Flying J case and for alerting authorities to questionable business practices he discovered during his time in working for the company. So far, courts have denied Verble’s requests for whistleblower protections, and he is now asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.
In Verble’s petition to the Supreme Court, he alleges Pilot Flying J cheated the Postal Service out of significant amounts of money in promised fuel rebates. The rebate scheme was publicized in early 2013, but reports at the time did not reveal any information about the U.S. government being one of the defrauded entities. Most of the attention focused on the trucking companies that did not get the rebates they were promised.
Pilot Flying J admitted liability in defrauding private trucking companies, saying members of its sales staff cheated trucking customers on diesel rebates. However, the company strongly denies it cheated the federal government in any way.
Whistleblower retaliation is highly illegal
Verble’s latest allegations have not yet been proven. If, however, he can prove he was fired for blowing the whistle on improper business practices at Pilot Flying J, he could be eligible for significant compensation. There are many protections afforded to whistleblowers under federal law.
For more information on the right steps to take if you have been retaliated against as a whistleblower, contact a skilled Dallas attorney at Whistleblower Law for Managers.
