Cleveland Browns owners, the Haslam family, accused of bribery in company sale – MARCA.com
The Haslam family, who owns the Cleveland Browns, is currently facing accusations of bribery in their attempt to sell a company. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has claimed that the Haslam family tried to bribe executives at the Pilot truck stop chain. In a counter-lawsuit, Berkshire also alleges that the Haslams paid millions of dollars to inflate the company’s profits this year.
If successful, the Haslams could potentially force Berkshire to pay more for their remaining 20% stake in the company, which is valued at around $3.2 billion. Berkshire recently became the majority owner of the company earlier this year.
The Haslam family, which includes Cleveland Browns managing partner Jimmie Haslam and former Tennessee governor Bill Haslam, had initially sued Berkshire Hathaway for allegedly attempting to understate Pilot’s earnings this year by changing its accounting practices.
According to the Associated Press, Berkshire claims that “Jimmy Haslam 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.”
The offer was reportedly made at a country club dinner in Knoxville, Tennessee, in March and was repeated to at least four other high-level executives. The former CEO of Pilot also extended the offer to at least 10 other executives in April, according to Berkshire’s filing.
“Those are wild inventions”, say the lawyers
In response to these allegations, attorney for the Haslam family, Anitha Reddy, stated, “We called Berkshire’s allegations wild inventions in our opposition brief. I don’t think we could have been clearer that we dispute them. And if there is any doubt in Berkshire’s mind, we think they’re false and we intend to defeat them on whatever schedule the court orders.”
The original lawsuit is scheduled to take place sometime in January. Both parties will have the opportunity to present their arguments and evidence before a decision is made.
This case has attracted significant attention due to the involvement of high-profile individuals and the large sums of money at stake. The accusations of bribery and financial manipulation have serious implications for both the Haslam family and Berkshire Hathaway. It remains to be seen how this legal battle will unfold and what impact it will have on the future of the Pilot truck stop chain.
