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Man takes plea deal in fake airbags case

UNION COUNTY, N.C. — A Union County man has taken a plea deal for trafficking fake airbags.

Federal agents raided Igor Borodin's Indian Trail home in August. They said he was trafficking fake airbags in the Charlotte area.

Borodin pleaded guilty to two counts on Monday. He has not yet been sentenced.

Igor Borodin quietly stood before the judge and only answered yes sir when asked a series of questions about his plea agreements.

He pleaded guilty to trafficking counterfeit airbags -- maximum of 10 years and delivering hazardous materials -- maximum 5 years.

A family member walked out of court and past cameras after Borodin's court appearance Monday morning.

In August, we were on scene in as agents raided his home in Indian trail and seized 1600 airbags ready to be sold.

Weeks later the government would issue a warning to anyone who had an airbag replaced by someone other than the manufacturer.

The airbags would either not deploy or could injure the driver.

Prosecutors said Borodin made $1.4 million in revenues from Feb. 2011 through May 2012.

Eyewitness News spoke to Borodin's attorney after his guilty plea.

"My client is an example of the American dream gone bad by dealing with Chinese manufacturers. Its what happened in this case. He regrets it. He accepts responsibility for it," said Christopher Fialko.

Prosecutors said sentencing could take several months and may happen in the spring.

Right now they're working to track down the estimated 7,000 airbags Borodin sold.

The federal government said those kinds of fake airbags are in one of every 1,000 cars and impact almost every major auto brand.

The warning is only for drivers who had an airbag replaced after a crash and didn't go to a dealership.