Two men from Wayne County arrested in fake air bag scheme

(WXYZ) - Two men from Wayne County are now facing charges in connection to a nationwide counterfeit air bag scheme.

The feds say they've been watching Samar Ayoub from Dearborn Heights and Hussein Jomaa from Dearborn for two years.

According to the criminal complaint, Ayoub bought fake air bags from a manufacturer in China, then sold them to Jomaa, who worked as the general manager at an auto repair shop in Northwest Detroit.

The feds say Jomaa was planning to install the air bags in cars destined for Africa. It's unclear whether any fake air bags were installed in cars owned by customers in Metro Detroit.

Earlier this month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a video showing what can happen if a fake air bag is installed in a car.

The fake air bags may not inflate, or they could catch fire or shoot out metal shrapnel.

Federal officials say tens of thousands of cars may have counterfeit air bags, but the problem only affects cars that have had new air bags installed after a crash.

The feds seized 73 counterfeit air bags in connection to the investigation into Ayoub and Jomaa.

Both men were in court Monday afternoon and were charged with knowingly trafficking counterfeit merchandise, which carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.