Cleveland Browns Owner Jimmy Haslam has Business Raided by FBI and IRS
By Josh Hill
The Cleveland Browns are hoping they can finally get out of the losing rut they’ve been in for the last decade and become the pride of Cleveland once again. Jimmy Haslam, the Browns new owner, is the man spearheading that movement, but the plan may have hit a snag. Haslam’s business, Pilot Flying J was raided by the FBI and IRS on Monday as agents locked down Haslam’s corporate headquarters in Knoxville.
Agencies raiding Haslam’s headquarters called it part of an “ongoing investigation”, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
“We will cooperate appropriately with any and all external investigations and conduct our own,” Haslam said. “Pilot Flying J is confident that the matter will be resolved fully.”
Haslam reportedly sent an email to the Knoxville Sentinel that stated again he’d fully cooperate, but also stated that he and his company would be conducting their own investigation as well.
“The FBI secured our headquarters today and informed us they are investigating Pilot Flying J,” Haslam said in an email statement to the Knoxville News Sentinel, via ProFootballTalk. “We will cooperate appropriately with any and all external investigations and conduct our own. I believe and trust there has been no wrongdoing. The integrity of our company always has been job No. 1.”
For the record, Haslam’s brother is the Governor of Tennessee, so this Rabbit hole might go deeper than we know. It’s still unclear why the FBI and IRS are investigating Haslam, and this really isn’t the place for speculation. Connections can be made back to other FBI and IRS raids on private businesses, but since the full circumstances of this raid remain unknown, we can’t be fully sure why Haslam is being investigated.
The NFL is aware of the situation but has no new information.