Summary

On May 7, 2012, Valerjis Belovs was sentenced in U.S. District Court, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for his role in a false logbook scheme that resulted in a fatal truck crash in Philadelphia.  Mr. Belovs was sentenced to 18 months in prison, 36 months supervised release, and imposed $2500 in fines.

In October 2011, Mr. Belovs, a truck driver responsible for a crash that killed one and injured several others, pled guilty to 15 false statement counts.  Mr. Belovs admitted to falsifying his Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulated logbooks to conceal the fact that he drove in excess of the allowable driving hours without the required period of rest.  The federal charges are related to an accident on US 76 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in which one person died and five others were seriously injured when Mr. Belovs' truck plowed into stopped traffic.  

Mr. Belovs previously pled guilty to various state charges including one count of vehicular homicide.  OIG analysis of Mr. Belovs' regulated driver logbooks revealed that he was driving in excess of FMCSA maximum hours of operating a commercial vehicle at the time of the accident. 

The truck's owner, Victor Kalinitchll, was previously sentenced on state charges, as was Joseph Jadczak, who admitted to selling inspection stickers to Mr. Kalinitchll without inspecting the truck that plunged into stopped traffic.

The investigation was conducted jointly with the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office and the Pennsylvania State Police.  FMCSA assisted with the investigation.