Brian Mosher, the company's national sales director, was recorded telling colleagues that he had engaged in cutting rebates since Pilot's nearest competitor filed for bankruptcy in 2008.

NPR: Informant: Haslam Aggressive Sales Tone At Pilot

Court documents in Ralenkotter's and Judd's cases show that fraud was well-known among sales staff and that Pilot's national account sales director taught employees how to defraud trucking companies out of rebate money without getting caught.

NPR: More Charges May Come In Case Involving Haslams

"I loved sailing, I had my own boat, and I wanted to do it with someone who got the same excitement and pleasure out of it, " McLaren-Morris, a former sales and marketing director at National Geographic, said.

CNN: Lonely sailors search online for love on the high-seas

Many of the nation's governors Republicans and Democrats have been lobbying the federal government for years for the authority to collect sales taxes from online sales, said Dan Crippen, executive director of the National Governors Association.

NPR: Senate Bill Jeopardizes Tax-Free Online Shopping

Movie theaters, meanwhile, are concerned because beverages account for more than 20 percent of their overall profits and about 98 percent of soda sales are in containers greater than 16 ounces, according to Robert Sunshine, executive director of the National Association of Theatre Owners of New York State.

WSJ: Critics seek to delay NYC sugary drinks size limit