North Carolina man sentenced for counterfeit airbag imports, sales

A Raleigh, North Carolina, man has been sentenced for importing and selling thousands of counterfeit airbags locally and to online buyers through Facebook Marketplace over the past two years.

Mateen Mohammad Alinaghian, 31, was sentenced in federal court to one year and a day and ordered to pay restitution of over $83,400 to the victims who unknowingly purchased from him as well as car manufacturers, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office Eastern District of North Carolina. He was also ordered to forfeit nearly $154,700.

“Selling fake airbags recklessly puts our citizens in danger,” said U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle, in the release. “This sentence makes clear that we do not tolerate criminals who endanger drivers on our roads. We will keep working with our partners to take these threats off the streets and out of our cars.”

Secretary of State Elaine Marshall added that the case spotlights the serious consumer health and safety dangers posed by counterfeit products and “exemplifies the importance of interagency cooperation in protecting public safety and bringing counterfeiters to justice.”

Alinaghian imported 2,500 counterfeit airbags with Honda, Chevrolet, General Motors, and Toyota markings into Raleigh from a UK supplier between May 2022 and April 2024, the release states.

According to testing conducted by Honda, GM, and Toyota, the steering wheel airbags obtained and sold by Alinaghian were not manufactured by them. They often included materials of lesser quality, causing the airbags to either not inflate fully or on time, posing a serious risk of injury to the driver.

“Unregulated and untested counterfeit airbags threaten the safety of the traveling public and place unsuspecting consumers at significant risk,” said Greg Thompson, USDOT Office of Inspector General Mid-Atlantic Region special agent-in-charge, in the release. “This sentencing underscores DOT-OIG’s commitment to working with our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners to keep these dangerous products out of the nation’s vehicles and off our roads.”

During the investigation, Alinaghian’s house was searched, resulting in the seizure of 20 counterfeit airbags. U.S. Customs and Border Control also seized multiple packages from the UK containing counterfeit airbags en route to Alinaghian, according to the release.

U.S. Homeland Security Investigations HSI contacted law enforcement abroad. As a result, the City of London Police’s Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PICU) searched two residences and one business, seizing 500 counterfeit airbags and an estimated £140,000 in cash. Materials recovered from the search included steering wheel airbag covers with Mercedes-Benz and BMW markings.

Three men were arrested on suspicion of fraud by false representation, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to distribute counterfeit goods, the release states. The UK investigation is ongoing.

Although not specifically linked to this case, the release notes that, according to a consumer alert published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), three people in the U.S. were killed, and two people suffered injuries from September 2023 to July 2024 as a result of their vehicles being fitted with substandard replacement airbags.

In October, the Automotive Anti-Counterfeiting Council (A2C2) stressed the dangers of counterfeit airbags and urged repair shops to report possible counterfeits during a presentation in California.

“We’ve been fighting this for a very long time, and we do fight with the online platforms and other sources out of China to hamper this,” said Jon Ruttencutter, with A2C2. “In the last few years, we’ve been taking our messages out to the field — talking to technicians, talking to insurance companies, talking to folks that could really help us put an impact on stopping the dangers of counterfeit auto parts, specifically counterfeit air bags.”

OEM air bags are meticulously engineered for safety and correct deployment, then rigorously tested following high standards, he added.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office encourages individuals who suspect they purchased a counterfeit airbag to consult their brand’s dealership or a reputable mechanic to determine if the parts need to be replaced. It says counterfeit parts should be reported to local Homeland Security Investigations offices or submitted online to the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center or NHTSA.

Airbag recalls

The Wall Street Journal reports that about 2.6 million, or around 22%, of vehicles with recalled airbags haven’t been fixed, according to its analysis of the latest NHTSA data.

Between 2015 and 2024, nearly 12 million vehicles under 37 recalls were reported to have safety defects that could result in undeployed airbags, the article states. The recalls include models made by GM, Ford, Mercedes, and Audi. The WSJ also reports that about 154,000 Kia vehicles, roughly 37%, affected by an airbag-related recall from the OEM remain unfixed.

WSJ’s investigation found that 12 people who died after crashes in Toyotas and other vehicles where the air bag was under recall, hadn’t been repaired, and didn’t deploy.

Brayan Garcia, 22, was one of the victims who died at the scene when his Toyota Corolla rear-ended a Ram pickup truck, sustaining heavy damage and ripping the hood off. However, the Corolla’s airbags didn’t deploy.

“Toyota had recalled Garcia’s car in 2020 over a dangerous defect that could stop its airbags from deploying,” the article states. “But Garcia’s vehicle hadn’t gotten the fix, like millions of others currently on the road.

“The NHTSA data reveal a broader problem: Roughly one in three cars recalled for all reasons goes unfixed. The rate is roughly the same even for serious flaws such as failing brakes, engine fires, or the airbag defects reviewed by the Journal.”

The article notes that NHTSA is considering a recall of an estimated 49 million cars equipped with airbags using ARC Automotive inflators, which can fatally rupture, as well as investigating reports of counterfeit airbag parts associated with several deaths.

Approximately 67 million airbags used by 19 OEMs have been recalled and linked to Takata airbag canisters, which cause explosions upon deployment, causing serious injuries or death. Twenty-eight deaths have been linked to Takata, according to NHTSA.

Takata, a now-bankrupt parts supplier, was responsible for manufacturing airbag canisters in defective airbag inflators that can explode and spray sharp metal fragments toward the driver and passengers, comparable to shrapnel from an exploding grenade, which has caused severe injuries and deaths.

Images

Featured image: Counterfeit airbag materials and money seized by the City of London Police’s Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PICU). (Provided by City of London Police)