Counterfeit Airbag Supplier Sentenced To Prison

CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051

BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that David Nichols, 69, of Marysville, OH, who was convicted of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit air bags, was sentenced to serve one year in prison and ordered to pay $75,846 in restitution by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo who handled the case, stated that from August 2015 through March 2016, Nichols and co-defendant Raymond Whelan imported and sold counterfeit automobile air bags from China. Since Nichols lived in China at the time, he was responsible for locating manufacturers that would produce the counterfeit air bags at the lowest cost.
Nichols imported approximately 364 counterfeit automobile air bags from China that were subsequently sold as a genuine air bags to unsuspecting customers over the internet.

Today’s sentencing is the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Kevin Kelly, and Customs and Border Protection, under the direction of Rose Brophy, Director of Field Operations.

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