Safety Director Sentenced to Home Detention for Driver's Log Scheme
On July 21, 2008, in the U.S. District Court, Fresno, Calif., five defendants were sentenced after pleading guilty for false statements and aiding and abetting related to a false driver's log book scheme. Five men were sentenced for keeping false driver's log books while employed as truck drivers for Nijjar Brothers Trucking Inc. of Madera, Calif. The company's safety director was sentenced to six months of home detention and 24 months of probation. The remaining defendants were sentenced to three months of confinement, three months of home detention, and 24 months of probation. In addition, all defendants were ordered not to work in the trucking industry unless approved by the Probation Office.
During the DOT Office of Inspector General investigation, a driver for Nijjar Brothers caused a four-vehicle collision, killing a father and his 13-year-old son and seriously injuring six others. The driver had been driving for at least 19 hours at the time of the accident. He was subsequently convicted and sentenced for falsifying his log book entries and served time in jail. For more information, visit www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2335.
As a part of a sentencing agreement, the company owners were required to inactivate their DOT numbers, dissolve the company, and each pay a fine of $50,000. The DOT OIG investigation was conducted with assistance from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the California Highway Patrol.