Approximately 2,500 counterfeit airbags were imported into Raleigh between May 2022 and April 2024 with counterfeit markings of Honda, Chevrolet, General Motors and Toyota
New Bern, N.C.—A federal judge has sentenced a Raleigh 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, sold the counterfeit airbags locally and to online buyers through Facebook Marketplace.
The court also ordered Alignaghian to pay restitution in the amount of $83,405.95 to the victims who unknowingly purchased a counterfeit airbag, and to the car manufacturers, and forfeit $154,693.16.
“This case spotlights the serious consumer health and safety dangers posed by many counterfeit products like fake vehicle airbags and exemplifies the importance of interagency cooperation in protecting public safety and bringing counterfeiters to justice,” said Secretary of State Elaine Marshall.
According to court documents and other information presented in court, Alinaghian, imported approximately 2,500 counterfeit air bags into Raleigh between May 2022 and April 2024. Alinaghian imported airbags with counterfeit markings of Honda, Chevrolet, General Motors, and Toyota, from a supplier in the United Kingdom.
Alinaghian then sold the counterfeit airbags to unsuspecting customers using the Facebook Marketplace seller profile of “Matt AutoParts” or “Medo Smith” to advertise and sell the counterfeit airbags.
According to testing done by Honda, General Motors, and Toyota, the steering wheel airbags obtained and sold by Alinaghian were not manufactured by the car companies and often included materials of lesser quality. In testing, the counterfeit airbags often malfunctioned, either not fully inflating or inflating late.
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