Pilot Flying J’s corporate headquarters is pictured in a 2013 file photo. (MICHAEL PATRICK/NEWS SENTINEL)The Morgan Stanley executive who apparently was a key confidential source in the FBI investigation into Pilot Flying J filed a whistleblower lawsuit in federal court last week alleging he was fired after his role in the investigation was discovered.
Financial planner John Verble filed the suit in federal court in Knoxville on Thursday seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars in back pay and personal brokerage funds held with Morgan Stanley, which he says the company has frozen.
In a statement, Morgan Stanley dismissed the allegations and promised to fight the suit.
It was Verble’s collaboration with the FBI that directly led to the federal prosecution of at least 10 Pilot Flying J employees, according to his lawsuit. The investigation related to rebates Pilot Flying J owed but never paid to trucking companies as part of a complicated fraud scheme that implicated top executives.
The FBI did not respond to a request for comment left by The Associated Press.
Pilot Flying J is owned by the Haslam family, which includes Gov. Bill Haslam and Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, who is the company’s CEO.