Prosecutors think a federal judge should first sentence three former Pilot Flying J employees convicted in a diesel fuel fraud scheme and then follow a sentencing order for other ex-employees based on how deeply they took part in the scam, documents show.
In court records filed this week, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Trey Hamilton and David Lewen offer a way to view just how guilty all 17 ex-employees were in the scheme, which went on from at least 2008 through April 2013.
Last month, U.S. District Court Judge Curtis L. Collier ordered the government to list in approximate order the degree to which the ex-Pilot sales personnel were involved in the plot. He's seeking the list to help him prepare for sentencing.
Three, including ex-president Mark Hazelwood, were convicted Feb. 15 after a three-month trial in Chattanooga. Fourteen others have pleaded guilty with the expectation they could get a sentencing break for cooperating with the government.
It's up to Collier to decide what prison time each deserves, a process that will take hours if not days.
After pondering the judge's order, Hamilton and Lewen organized the 17 into five groups. They relied on the corporate structure of Pilot's direct sales group.
At the top, representing the person with the greatest culpability, is Hazelwood. He worked at Pilot nearly 30 years and was its president at the time of a federal raid April 15, 2013, of Pilot's Bearden headquarters.
Hazelwood made millions at Pilot and left in October 2014 with a $40 million employment agreement for which he's still being paid. The government alleged at trial that Hazelwood knew about and encouraged the diesel fuel scam, even pushing for a broader net of potential victims.
According to the prosecutors, the next most culpable group consists of John Freeman and Brian Mosher, two of the biggest cheerleaders of the scam that promised some fuel customers rebates at one rate but actually paid at another.
Also, the group includes a sales director, Arnie Ralenkotter, and Jay Stinnett, a senior regional sales manager, as well as Scott Wombold, who was convicted of a single mail fraud count.
The lowest category or group consists of six women who worked at Pilot headquarters in support of sales personnel who were out in the field dealing directly with fuel customers.
Several of the women testified at trial about the scheme. One, Jones, was convicted of taking part in a conspiracy to cheat some trucking customers.
Under the proposal by Hamilton and Lewen, Collier would first sentence Hazelwood, Wombold and Jones. June 27 has been set for that in Chattanooga.
The lawyers then suggest the judge take up sentencing for Freeman, Mosher, Stinnett and Ralenkotter. All four pleaded guilty before trial, but only Mosher and Ralenkotter ended up testifying.
The women, having the lowest level of involvement in the scheme, would end up being the final group to face sentencing under the government's suggested order.
A May 8 sentencing date previously had been set for Freeman and three others. The prosecution suggests scrubbing that in favor of the new sentencing proposal.
Sentencings will be in Chattanooga, where Collier is based.
Collier, in his order, said defense attorneys were welcome but not required to respond to the government. They have seven days from Hamilton and Lewen's Feb. 28 filing.
None of the defendants are in custody pending sentencing.
Former Pilot employee Vincent Greco, who helped the government by secretly recording Pilot meetings before the April 2013 raid, was not charged.