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Source: The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Tenn.存倉Oct. 29--Pilot Flying J is pushing back against claims that an alleged fraud scheme at the company constitutes a violation of federal racketeering laws.On Monday, the Knoxville-based truck stop chain filed a memo in an Alabama lawsuit in which it said the plaintiff, Wright Transportation, had failed to adequately state a claim under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act."As a threshold matter, Plaintiff's RICO claims are merely dressed-up breach of contract or fraud claims and do not state an independent cause of action," the memo said.The filing comes in the case of Wright Transportation, an Alabama trucking company that sued Pilot in July.The lawsuit came in the wake of an investigation in which federal authorities alleged that Pilot employees had engaged in diesel fuel rebate fraud against unsophisticated customers.Seven former Pilot employees have pleaded guilty in the investigation, and Pilot is facing multiple civil lawsuits.Wright Transportation specifically alleged that Pilot had secretly withheld rebates or discounts it owed to the company, and described Pilot as a RICO enterprise.Pilot has asked a judge to dismiss the case, and said in its memo that RICO is "a disfavored and often abused statute." The memo also cited a separate court which cited the need to "always be on the lookout for the putative RICO case that i儲存 really nothing more than an ordinary fraud case clothed in the Emperor's trendy garb."Specifically, the Pilot memo said Wright Transportation alleged that mail and wire fraud were the predicate acts of its RICO claim, but said the allegation that Pilot failed to provide required rebates and discounts was insufficient to state a RICO claim.Pilot previously reached a settlement deal with several plaintiffs who sued in federal court. The proposed settlement -- in which Pilot agreed to pay 100 percent of losses plus 6 percent interest and attorney's fees -- is scheduled to receive a fairness hearing in November.Scores of entities have opted out of that settlement, though, a necessary step in order to file separate litigation.Wright Transportation's lawsuit also named as defendants Jimmy Haslam, Pilot's CEO; Mark Hazelwood, the company's president; former vice president of sales John Freeman; and Brian Mosher, who was identified in the federal affidavit as director of sales for national accounts.In its memo, Pilot identified those individuals as "current and former employees" but did not say which of the four are still at the company.More details as they develop online and in Wednesday's News Sentinel.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 the Knoxville News-Sentinel (Knoxville, Tenn.) Visit the Knoxville News-Sentinel (Knoxville, Tenn.) at .knoxnews.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉