COLUMBUS, OHIO — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Ohio, Southern), published as received.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – John Bojorquez, 35, of Columbus, pleaded guilty in federal court to trafficking in counterfeit goods by importing counterfeit airbags from China – claiming they were Honda airbags – for vehicles he sold at his auto dealership JB Ohio Auto Sale, LLC.
According to court documents, in August 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection at Chicago O’Hare International Airport seized 20 counterfeit Honda airbags that were sent from China. The boxes were falsely described as containing “desktop night lights” and were addressed to Bojorquez at JB Ohio Auto Sale in Galloway.
The same shipper in China sent four similar additional shipments of counterfeit Honda airbags in August 2024, each labeled as “desktop night lights” or “blue desktop nightlights.”
When law enforcement executed a search warrant at JB Ohio Auto Sale in May 2025, they seized multiple counterfeit airbags, some of which were piled in a clothes hamper and covered by a towel.
Bojorquez admitted to intentionally trafficking in at least 44 counterfeit airbags from August 2024 until May 2025.
Trafficking in counterfeit goods is a federal crime punishable by up to ten years in prison. Sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the Court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors at a future hearing.
Dominick S. Gerace II, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Jared Murphey, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit; and officials with the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General (DOT-OIG) announced the guilty plea entered today before U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr. Assistant United States Attorney Peter K. Glenn-Applegate is representing the United States in this case.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued consumer safety advisories to alert vehicle owners and repair professionals to the dangers of counterfeit airbags, including consistent malfunctioning ranging from non-deployment of the airbag to the expulsion of metal shrapnel during deployment.
If you own a vehicle purchased from JB Auto Sale with a suspected counterfeit airbag, please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office by calling 888-529-2820.
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