Summary

On November 14, four former drivers for Nijjar Brothers Trucking, Inc. were sentenced to varying jail terms by a U.S. District Court judge in Fresno, CA on charges of making false statements. The four men had all previously pleaded guilty to keeping false driver's log books while employed as truck drivers for the Madera, CA-based trucking company. Greg Allen Mello was sentenced to 15 months in prison. Pedro Farias-Lopez and Muhammad Arshid Chaudhry each received a three month jail sentence. Baljinder Singh was sentenced to 135 days imprisonment. Each driver was also ordered to pay a $100 fine and serve 24 months supervised release. Nine other drivers for Nijjar previously pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

Separate criminal charges are pending against Baljinder Singh in Arizona for the September 30, 2003, death of a man and his 13-year-old son in a collision with Singh's truck. Singh allegedly had been driving for at least 19 hours without rest. Six other people were injured in the four vehicle crash. OIG investigated the criminal case with assistance from FMCSA and the California Highway Patrol.