Washington Man Gets 6 Months for Counterfeit Airbags

Federal prosecutors say a Vancouver, Wash., man has been sentenced to six months in prison for importing and selling more than 950 counterfeit vehicle airbags on eBay and Craigslist.

Vitaliy Yaremkiv pleaded guilty last May to conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods. He was sentenced Friday in federal court in Tacoma.

U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan says the bogus airbags can be extremely dangerous and during testing have been known to catch fire, spew hazardous debris and separate completely from the vehicle.

Prosecutors say Yaremkiv sold more than $137,000 worth of the airbags out of his home. Investigators think many of the items were sold to independent garages that think they purchased a genuine product.

The man has agreed to pay restitution of more than $137,000.