The gold-plated Escobar phone scam has finally caught up with its creator
Now, the guy who ran the show – Swedish CEO Olof Kyros Gustafsson – has officially pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering. The announcement comes straight from the US Department of Justice, marking the end of one of the most bizarre tech scams in recent memory.
Back in 2019, Gustafsson was fronting Escobar Inc., a company named after the Colombian drug kingpin. The company promised wild things: gold-plated foldables for just $399, physical cryptocurrency called 'Escobar Cash,' even flamethrowers.
But instead of building real products, Gustafsson was just slapping gold foil on Samsung's $2,000 Galaxy Fold and reselling it under the Escobar name. Something that popular reviewer Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) exposed back then in a video, helping spread the word about the whole scam.
Video credit – MKBHD However, people placed orders, and well…they never got the phone. Instead, Gustafsson would send them some random 'Certificate of Ownership,' a promo book, or other junk just to have a tracking number. If someone asked for a refund, the company would point to that mailing receipt to deny the request.
In total, Gustafsson now faces up to 30 years in prison – 20 for the fraud, 10 more for the laundering – and could be ordered to pay $1.3 million in restitution. Sentencing is scheduled for December 5.
This whole saga is a wild cautionary tale about too-good-to-be-true tech. I mean, a foldable phone for $400, especially one dipped in gold? That's not a bargain, it's bait. So, better stick to official stores or trusted retailers – and if something sounds too good to be true, it almost always is.
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