Vehicle manufacturers’ testing confirmed steering wheel airbags were not built by the companies. A federal judge sentenced a Raleigh, N.C. man to one year and one day in prison for importing and selling approximately 2,500 counterfeit airbags over a two-year period, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina announced. Mateen Mohammad […]
NHTSA Issues Warning After 2 More Deaths Linked to Chinese Replacement Airbag Inflators
Eight drivers have been killed and two seriously injured by ruptured inflators. Two additional drivers died in December crashes involving substandard replacement airbag inflators manufactured in China and likely illegally imported into the United States, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced yesterday. The agency has now documented 10 crashes resulting in death or serious […]
North Carolina Man Sentenced for Selling Dangerous Counterfeit Car Airbags
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina announced Wednesday, that on September 30, a federal judge sentenced a Raleigh, N.C. man to one year and a day for importing and selling thousands of counterfeit car airbags into the Raleigh area over the past two years. The defendant, Mateen Mohammad Alinaghian, 31, […]
Tennessee Man Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Trafficking in Counterfeit Airbags
More than 500 airbags were sold over four years. A federal judge has sentenced a Memphis, Tenn. man to 24 months in federal prison to be followed by two years of supervised release for trafficking in counterfeit motor vehicle airbags and transporting a hazardous material on an aircraft carrier without declaring it as a dangerous […]
Safety Awareness Campaign Warns About Counterfeit Airbags
Vehicle owners and drivers across the country should be on high alert for unsafe and potentially deadly counterfeit auto parts as the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center) launches its new campaign, “Put the Brakes on Fakes.” The campaign was launched with the support of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Customs and Border […]
Miami Used Auto Parts Store Owner Charged with Dealing in Counterfeit Airbags
On March 20, a criminal complaint was filed in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit in Miami-Dade County, Florida against Michael Keith Reid, owner of Mike’s Auto Miami, Inc., for dealing with fake airbags, forgery, and counterfeiting more than $20,000. The U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General (DOT-OIG), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Customs and Border […]
Retired Memphis Auto Technician Pleads Guilty to Trafficking Counterfeit Airbags from China
A retired auto mechanic in Memphis, Tenn. pled guilty in federal court March 6 to trafficking counterfeit airbags and causing a dangerous good or forbidden explosive to be placed onto a commercial aircraft. United States Attorney Kevin G. Ritz announced the guilty plea March 7. According to information presented in court, Mohammed Al-Abadi, 51, imported […]
Memphis Man Charged with Trafficking Counterfeit Airbags from China
More than 2,000 counterfeit airbags recovered. Mohammed Al-Abadi, 51, of Memphis, Tenn., has been indicted and arrested for one count of trafficking in counterfeit goods and one count of causing the criminal transportation of hazardous materials by air carrier. United States Attorney Kevin Ritz announced. According to United States Attorney Ritz and the information presented […]
Philadelphia Auto Technician Pleads Guilty to Trafficking Hazardous Automobile Airbags from China
United States Attorney Jacqueline Romero announced that Emiliano Rodriguez, 45, a citizen of the Dominican Republic residing in Philadelphia, Pa. pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in counterfeit goods, and two counts of causing the delivery of hazardous materials by air carrier in connection with a scheme to utilize counterfeit goods in used vehicles, […]
Federal Authorities Arrest Philadelphia Man Who Allegedly Imported Counterfeit Airbags
Federal authorities arrested a suspect February 2 following a years-long investigation of counterfeit vehicle airbag inflators that included seizures by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in 2019. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania is charging Emiliano Rodriguez, 44, a citizen of the Dominican Republic residing in Philadelphia, Pa., with […]