The CEO of the company that owns the rights to the Colombian drugs, the name and caricature of Lord Pablo Escobar was arrested and handed over to LA, facing fraud and money laundering fees.
Olaf Kiros Gustafsson, 31, also known as “El Sirencio,” is a Swedish citizen who owns Escobar, a registered Puerto Rico company, a legacy of Persona and Pablo Escobar, and a narcoterrorist in Colombia, and head of the Medellin Cartel, who passed away in 1993.
According to the US Lawyer’s firm, the company uses Escobar persona to sell and sell a variety of products, including victims in Southern California, to the public.
From July 2019 to November 2023, Gustafsson finds existing products in the market and uses Escobar persona to promote similar products at prices far lower than the competition, court documents said.
Items he allegedly sold included the Escobar Flamethrower, Escobar Fold Phone, Escobar Gold 11 Pro Phone, and Escobar Cash (sold as “physical cryptocurrency”).
Gustafsson receives payments for these items through PayPal, Stripe, Coinbase and other online payment platforms. However, despite receiving the money, Gustafsson reportedly did not send the item to the customer because the product did not exist.
Pablo Esco Bargabilia is the leader of the medallion cartel in Bogota, Colombia. (Photo by Eric Vandeville/Gammalafo by Getty Images (Photo by Getty Images) Medellin, Colombia – January 21, 2023: Pablo Escobar mural appears in a neighbourhood named after him in Medellin, Colombia on January 21, 2023. Barrio Pablo Escobar is located on the eastern slope of the Valley of Medellin. Pablo Escobar, known as Patron, was the most notorious Colombian drug lord who died in Medellin, Colombia on December 2, 1993. (Photo by Kaveh Kazemi/Getty Images) Pablo Escobar, his prime on the left. (AP Photo) A poster promoting a magazine-style publication about the life of late Colombian drug trafficker Pablo Escobar hangs on the wall of a small grocery store in nearby Comnanolian 1 in Medellin, Colombia on Wednesday, August 8, 2012. The card showing an image of Escobar is a mix of actual photos and actors who are playing his life from a local television series called “Escobar, El Patróndel Mal.” (AP Photo/Luis Benavides) File – In this undated file photo, former boss of the Medellin drug cartel, wife Maria Henao and son Juan Pablo attend a football match in Bogota, Colombia. The widow of Pablo Escobar fell in crazy love as a preteen along with a ruthless drug lord, but in a new book she felt raped when he forced an abortion at the age of 14, he saw him as a cruel psychopath. (El Tiempo photo via AP file) ** Story Los Dos Escobar ** File – This 1983 file photo shows the boss of the Medellin Drug Cartel, Pablo Escobar, left, Medellin, Colombia. The documentary film exploring the invasion of drug cartels in Colombia’s football uses Pablo Escobar and Andres Escobar, a Colombian football player, as references. (AP photo, file)
To further his scheme, Gustafsson attempted to create demand for the product by sending “crudely made samples” of Escobar-branded items to online technical reviewers and social media influencers.
One of the items he allegedly sent to reviewers was a Samsung Galaxy Fold Phone wrapped in gold leaf and disguised as an Escobar Inc. mobile phone, court documents say.
Instead of sending the item to customers, Gustafsson allegedly mailed a “certificate of ownership,” books or other company promotional materials solely to have an official mailing record.
If a customer has not received the item and attempts to receive a refund, it is said that they will refer to the mail receipt as proof that the item has been shipped before denying all refund requests.
He also said he opened a bank account and used it as a funnel account, where he deposited the money he earned from his scheme and retracted it. The accounts were located in the United States, Sweden and the United Arab Emirates.
Gustafson was arrested in Spain in December 2023. He was handed over to the US and arrived in Los Angeles on March 28, 2025.
He was accused:
41 count money laundering 35 count international money laundering 25 counts 25 counts 25 counts of 9 counts wire fraud counts engage in financial transactions of property derived from designated illegal activities, 3 counts mail fraud 1 counts conspiracy counts wire fraud and mail fraud counts 1 counts 1 counts money lindering
On Friday he was arrested on a 115-count federal charge in US District Court in downtown L.A., where he pleaded not guilty to the charges. The trial date will be set on May 20th. He maintains federal custody.
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