Raymond Whelan, 47, of Cheektowaga, NY, and David Nichols, 66, an American citizen residing in China, are facing federal charges for flooding the U.S. market with deadly counterfeit airbags—403 units sold for a total of $156,057 between February 2015 and March 2016. The pair was charged with entry of goods by false statement, trafficking in counterfeit goods, and conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods—crimes that carry up to 10 years in prison and a $2 million fine.
The scam unraveled when American Honda Motors Co., Inc. bought a counterfeit Honda Accord airbag for $395 from eBay user Rayscarparts71 on August 20, 2015. The packaging, serial number, labeling, and connectors were all inconsistent with genuine Honda parts. The red flags triggered an investigation, culminating in a second undercover purchase on December 14, 2015—another fake, this one sold for $295. Honda confirmed both units were unauthorized and potentially lethal imitations.
On February 25, 2016, federal agents raided Whelan’s business at 3149 Walden Avenue in Depew and his home at 125 Beale Avenue in Cheektowaga. They seized 31 counterfeit airbags, repair kits, four hard drives, a computer tower, laptop, and business records. Forensic analysis confirmed every airbag was fake—bearing logos from Honda, Nissan, Toyota, Mazda, Acura, Subaru, and Hyundai, none manufactured by the original automakers.
Digital evidence pulled from seized electronics exposed a chillingly casual conspiracy. Emails and Skype logs revealed Whelan messaging Nichols: “It’s been a great month! We have sold 50 units totaling approximately 20K! Would like to place another order asap as we are quickly selling out of these.” In another exchange, Whelan admitted he was assembling the airbags without expertise: “I tried to put some together but will need some instruction on the correct process. These are life saving devices after all.”
U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. didn’t mince words: “Those who traffick in counterfeit merchandise harm not only legitimate businesses but they potentially put the lives of consumers at grave risk.” ICE-HIS Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero added, “A counterfeit airbag has the potential to deploy and injure a vehicle’s occupants or worse, not deploy after a serious accident.”
Whelan made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder, was released, and is due back in court November 1, 2016. Nichols is scheduled for an initial appearance at a later date. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo.
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Key Facts
- State: New York
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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