Remember the Escobar Phone? The CEO who branded a smartphone with the infamous drug lord’s name has admitted he defrauded consumers.
According to the Courthouse News Service, the former head of Escobar Inc., Olof Gustafsson, pleaded guilty on Friday to six counts of wire and mail fraud and money laundering.
Although Pablo Escobar was famously killed in 1993, the 32-year-old Gustafsson saw an opportunity to license Escobar’s name to sell various products, including an Escobar-branded smartphone. However, he never delivered the device to paying customers.
(Credit: Escobar Inc.)
Starting in December 2019, Gustafsson began marketing a foldable phone called the Escobar Fold 2. The device stood out for offering cutting-edge features for just $399. In reality, though, Gustafsson merely repackaged the $2,000 Samsung Galaxy Fold by adding some gold foil.
Those who ordered the Escobar Fold 2 never received their device. Instead, some got a book that documented Escobar’s brother, Roberto De Jesus Escobar Gaviria, and his fake plan to take over the smartphone industry.
(Credit: Wayback Machine/Internet Archive )
Meanwhile, Gustafsson pocketed the money. A court document shows that Gustafsson wired more than $307,000 between December 2019 and June 2020.
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“In furtherance of the scheme, Gustafsson sent crudely made samples of the purported Escobar Inc. products to online technology reviewers and social media influencers to attempt to increase the public’s demand for them,” the Justice Department says.
Gustafsson also repeated the scheme, offering an “Escobar Flamethrower,” “Escobar Gold 11 Pro Phone,” and the physical cryptocurrency “Escobar Cash,” which were phony products designed to defraud gullible consumers. Federal investigators eventually caught on, which led to his arrest in December 2023 in Spain. He was then extradited to the US to face fraud charges and faces up to 20 years in prison.
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About Michael Kan
Senior Reporter
