Two former top executives for now-defunct Celadon Group Inc. have agreed to an undisclosed court settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with civil fraud allegations dating to 2019.

An agreement has been reached to sell the last remaining operating trucking company, Taylor Express, that is part of the now-bankrupt Celadon Group of Indianapolis.

Celadon Group has been authorized by a bankruptcy court to spend $1.2 million before Jan. 3, 2020, to maintain operations for Hope Mills, N.C.-based Taylor Express Inc. — the last of its operating units that is still in business — while it pursues a sale of the company.

Recent headlines concerning the trucking industry’s economy have been somewhat foreboding, but industry leaders are optimistic workers laid off can find new jobs.

Celadon Group Inc. is filing for bankruptcy and shutting down immediately amid falling freight rates and the effects of penalties levied by the U.S. Department of Justice for settlement of securities fraud charges brought against prior management.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and federal prosecutors on Dec. 5 charged two former top executives of Indianapolis-based trucking company Celadon Group Inc. for their participation in an accounting fraud in 2016 and 2017 that allegedly inflated the company’s income and earnings per share.

An investor that helped Celadon Group Inc. refinance its debt has acquired nearly half of the company through a $165 million deal that the motor carrier said will help it move forward with its turnaround plans.

Class 8 orders were down to their lowest level since 2010 in July, according to preliminary numbers from ACT Research.

As the trucking industry enters a new age, fleets increasingly are turning to a new generation of leaders.