A federal judge has sentenced a Raleigh man to a year and a day in prison for importing and selling thousands of counterfeit car airbags across the Raleigh area over the past two years.
Prosecutors said 31-year-old Mateen Mohammad Alinaghian, an engineer with the N.C. Department of Transportation, marketed the fake airbags locally and through Facebook Marketplace. In addition to the prison term, the court ordered him to pay $83,405.95 in restitution to victims and car manufacturers, and to forfeit $154,693.16.
“Selling fake airbags recklessly puts our citizens in danger,” said U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle. “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.”…