Virginia-based Beam Bros. Trucking, and several of its top executives, have been indicted on 126 criminal charges for forcing employees to falsify log books and violating safety regulations.

The indictments come after a 7-year investigation into the company, which employs more than 500 drivers and operates in 17 states hauling mail as a contractor for the United States Postal Service.

Federal prosecutors say company managers regularly ordered truckers to exceed legal driving hours, and on some occasions, ordered them to lie about it in order to get paid, WHSV reported.

According to an affidavit, one truck driver told investigators that he received a letter from company management, ordering him to destroy a logbook that showed he exceeded legal driving hours, and create a new one which falsely indicated he was within the legal limits. The driver said his pay was withheld until he complied with their orders.

The company has earned more than half a billion dollars over a 10-year period from their federal contract with the USPS. In 2015 alone, they were paid $76,180,489 by the government agency.

The company has received several civil penalties for similar violations in the past, however this is the first time that criminal charges are being brought against them.

Back in 2003, the company was fined $22,670 by the FMCSA after an investigation discovered that the company allowed a driver to exceed legal driving hours on five occasion. In 2010, the company was fined $31,480 after an investigation revealed 23 similar violations.

In addition to the company’s indictment, owners Gerald Beam and Garland Beam, son Shaun Beam, and former CFO Nikolas Kozel were also indicted after investigators discovered emails from the men indicating that they knew about, and actively encouraged, the violations.

All four men have pleaded not guilty.

“The charges are entirely without merit and illustrate government overreaching at its worst. We will aggressively defend this case and are confident we will be completely vindicated at trial,” said a letter from a Beam Bros. attorney.