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Office of Inspector General |
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| Title: | California Trucking Company Safety Director and Four Drivers Sentenced for Their Role in a False Driver’s Log Book Scheme |
| Date: | July 21, 2008 |
| Type: | Investigation |
| Summary: | On July 21, 2008, in the U.S. District Court, Fresno, California, 5 defendants were sentenced after pleading guilty for false statements, and aiding and abetting related to their false driver’s log book scheme. Sukhwinder Singh, Tarsem Singh Pahal, Bhinder Singh RAJU, Daljit Singh, and Jaspreet Singh were sentenced for keeping false driver’s log books while employed as truck drivers for Nijjar Brothers Trucking, Inc. of Madera, CA. Mr. Sukhwinder Singh, the company’s Safety Director, was sentenced to 6–months home detention and 24–months probation. The remaining defendants were sentenced to 3–months confinement, 3–months home detention, and 24–months probation. In addition, all defendants were ordered not to work in the trucking industry unless approved by the Probation Office.
During the OIG investigation, a driver for Nijjar Brothers Trucking, Inc caused a four–vehicle collision, killing a father and his 13–year–old son and seriously injuring six others. The driver, Baljinder Singh, had been driving for at least 19 hours. He was subsequently convicted and sentenced for falsifying his log book entries and served time in jail. As a part of a sentencing agreement, the owners of the trucking company were required to inactivate their DOT numbers, dissolve the company, and each pay a fine of $50,000. The OIG investigation was conducted with assistance from the FMCSA and California Highway Patrol. |