A Swedish national who turned Pablo Escobar’s name into a storefront for flamethrowers, phones and “physical cryptocurrency” has been sentenced to 48 months in federal prison after admitting he took money for products that never arrived. Olof Kyros Gustafsson, 33, was sentenced Friday in Los Angeles federal court.
The FBI’s Los Angeles field office said U.S. District Judge Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha also ordered Gustafsson to pay $1,300,193 in restitution, a $25,000 fine and forfeit fraud proceeds, including money held in a Swedish bank account, FBI Los Angeles reported.
The sentence followed Gustafsson’s guilty plea to six federal charges involving wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering. He had been extradited from Spain to the United States in March 2025 after being arrested there in December 2023, according to the Justice Department.
The Products Were Marketed, Paid For And Never Delivered
Gustafsson was the CEO of Escobar Inc., a Puerto Rico-registered company that claimed successor-in-interest rights to Pablo Escobar’s persona and legacy. The company marketed products including an Escobar Flamethrower, foldable phones, a gold-plated iPhone and Escobar Cash, described as a “physical cryptocurrency,” according to the filed plea agreement.
Prosecutors said the products were advertised at prices below comparable items, helping draw customers in the United States and abroad. The scheme allegedly used gold foil-wrapped Samsung Galaxy Fold phones as samples for reviewers, while paying customers often received a certificate, book or other promotional material instead of the product they had bought, the Justice Department said.
The plea agreement put the intended loss at more than $1.3 million and described money being moved through accounts in the United States, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates and Spain. It also said the operation victimized hundreds of customers and used proof of mailing for promotional materials to challenge refund requests.
Federal Case Began With A 115-Count Indictment
The original indictment filed in Los Angeles contained 115 counts, including allegations of wire fraud, mail fraud and multiple money-laundering offenses. Gustafsson ultimately pleaded guilty to six counts, including conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, concealment money laundering and international concealment money laundering, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
His prison sentence now puts a federal endpoint on a bizarre online-sales operation that promised customers a piece of the Escobar brand, then substituted paperwork for products. The restitution and forfeiture orders leave the financial recovery process as the remaining major piece of the case.
