Fake airbag sales worth $1.4M lead to guilty plea in federal court INDIAN TRAIL, N.C., Oct. 23 (UPI) -- A North Carolina man has pleaded guilty selling counterfeit airbags on the Internet, netting him $1.4 million in the fraud. Igor Borodin, 27, of Indian Trail, N.C., allegedly bought some 7,000 fake airbags produced in China and sold them on the auction website eBay.com from February 2011 to May 2012, prosecutors said. The sales amounted to $1.4 million. Safety inspections for the Chinese knock-offs found the airbags did not properly inflate, the Charlotte (N.C.) Observer-Dispatch reported Tuesday. "My office will not allow fake airbags to endanger the safety of the drivers in our communities," U.S. Attorney Anne Tompkins said in announcing Borodin's guilty pleas. Airbags that do not meet the quality and safety standards of the automobile manufacturers pose a serious threat to human life because they fail to work when they are needed the most - during a car accident. Fake airbags can pose a serious risk to passengers, the National Transportation Safety Board reported. The fakes may not inflate. Some have actually shot flames or shrapnel at the passenger during a front-end collision. Borodin was arrested in August and pleaded guilty Monday to two federal charges. The first charge, trafficking in counterfeit airbags, carries a potential 10-year prison sentence and a $2 million fine. Airbags are also classified by the federal government as containing hazardous materials so a charge of trafficking in hazardous materials carries a potential five-year prison term and a $250,000 fine.