Escobar Phone Scam: Case Closed
pablo Escobar’s Son Convicted of Defrauding Customers with Branded Tech
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Olof Kyros Gustafsson, the son of notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar, has pleaded guilty to defrauding customers through his company, Escobar Inc. The company, which capitalized on the infamous Escobar name, sold various tech products, including phones and flamethrowers, that were either misrepresented or never delivered.
Deceptive Product Offerings and Misleading Marketing
According to a plea agreement filed by United states attorneys, Gustafsson and Escobar, Inc. engaged in a systematic scheme to defraud consumers. The company took orders for products branded with Pablo Escobar’s likeness, including phones and other tech gadgets.To artificially inflate demand, they seeded these products with tech reviewers and social media influencers.
A prime example of their deceptive practices was the “Escobar Fold 2” phone. Tech reviewer Brownlee received one of these devices and discovered it was merely a rebranded Samsung Galaxy Fold, a phone that originally cost nearly $2,000, but was being sold by Escobar Inc. for a mere $400. The phone was essentially a standard samsung device with a gold sticker applied to it.
Beyond the phones, Escobar Inc.also marketed a $500 “Escobar Flamethrower,” which was described as being “modeled after” The Boring Company’s not-A-Flamethrower. Additionally, the company sold a $500 “Escobar Gold 11 Pro Phone,” which was marketed as a refurbished Apple iPhone 11 Pro. They also introduced “Escobar Cash,” promoted as the world’s first “physical cryptocurrency.”
A Pattern of Non-Delivery and Fraudulent Refunds
The plea agreement details how, instead of shipping the purchased products to paying customers, Gustafsson would mail them a “‘Certificate of Ownership,’ a book, or other Escobar Inc. promotional materials.” This was done to create a false mailing record.
When customers attempted to obtain refunds for undelivered items, Gustafsson would allegedly “fraudulently refer the payment processor to the proof of mailing for the Certificate of Ownership or other material as proof that the product itself was shipped and that the customer had received it.” This tactic was employed to ensure refund requests were denied.
Sentencing and Financial Penalties
Gustafsson faces significant consequences for his fraudulent activities. A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for December 5th. He is looking at a potential sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison for the fraud-related counts and up to 10 years for the money laundering-related counts. furthermore, Gustafsson has been ordered to pay as much as $1.3 million in restitution to his victims. The scheme involved transferring and laundering customer money for personal use, further exacerbating the financial harm caused.