The president of a trucking company based in Sioux Falls, SD, has pleaded guilty to forcing a driver to falsify logs and harassing a safety inspector.

According to The Associated Press, Michael Walsh, president of Action Carrier Inc., pleaded guilty to violating federal transportation laws by interfering with a safety inspector officer by harassing him and trying to prevent him from filing a report. In addition, Walsh pleaded guilty to causing a truck driver to falsify trip log entries.

The AP reported that Action Carrier was originally charged with 35 counts of making false statements, but that was reduced to all but one count as a result of a plea bargain.

The charges stemmed from an audit conducted in 2000 by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. During the audit, Walsh refused to hand over a personal file and ordered the inspector to leave the room.

Then, in March 2002, the company forced one of its drivers to falsify logbooks to skirt around hours-of-service regulations. Authorities searched Action Carrier’s offices at that time and found that other driver records had been falsified as well.