Ex-Gizmondo exec goes down

Eriksson pleads guilty to embezzlement and driving under the influence of alcohol in plea bargain deal.

First it was a virtual crash when Gizmondo Europe declared bankruptcy, then a literal crash when a Ferrari Enzo split in two after hitting a pole in Malibu at speeds exceeding 150 miles per hour--and now the whole saga has ended in a California court.

Former Gizmondo executive Bo Stefan Eriksson was sentenced to three years in prison yesterday, reports NBC, in a surprise plea bargain that brings the bizarre sequence of events to an apparent end.

Judge Patricia Schnegg sentenced Eriksson to three years each on four counts, although she allowed the sentences to be served concurrently. Due to time already served and good behaviour, Eriksson is expected to be out in around a year. As part of Eriksson's plea bargain, the court dismissed two counts of grand theft auto.

Last week a mistrial was declared in the charges for car theft and embezzlement, after a hung jury could not reach a unanimous verdict and were split 10-2 in favour of his guilt. Eriksson has already agreed to a plea deal for a separate drink-driving charge related to the incident in Malibu.

Eriksson's multimillion dollar Bel-Air mansion and two other luxury cars--a black Ferrari Enzo and a McLaren Mercedes-Benz--will also be seized under the terms of the arrangement, and he will be deported back to Sweden after completing his prison sentence, reports NBC.

The businessman first told the police that he had not been driving the car and said a mysterious German man called "Dietrich" had been behind the wheel, but had fled the scene of the accident. Later, however, he admitted Dietrich did not exist, and that he was the driver.

"Essentially, it was what Stefan wanted to do," defense attorney Jim Parkman told Reuters. "Stefan believes he can be successful in the future. He wanted to move on and ultimately be out of jail in a year."

This isn't the first time Eriksson has been jailed--he previously spent five years in a Swedish prison for assault, extortion, and various other crimes.

56 Comments

  • _Sam_

    Posted Nov 12, 2006 2:37 pm PT

    He needed a better lawyer

  • rbenns2

    Posted Nov 9, 2006 2:06 pm PT

    Two systems of justice - one for the rich, and one for the poor. It's pretty obvious which one this guy got.

  • fordies

    Posted Nov 9, 2006 11:36 am PT

    He should of got sent down for more than that purely because he crashed a ferrari enzo.

  • cjcr_alexandru

    Posted Nov 9, 2006 10:34 am PT

    I think he should have got a longer sentence. Especially considering the fact this isn't the first time.

  • great_grandad

    Posted Nov 9, 2006 9:58 am PT

    He's either clever or lucky to get away with as much as he has. If you read the full story http://wired.com/wired/archive/14.10/gizmondo.html that reuters did a month ago you'll see everything he's done is one big con. I say throw away the key he'll only be conning more people when he's out again

  • UnknownPerson55

    Posted Nov 9, 2006 8:58 am PT

    i would be more worried about the car than him; theres only like 1000 of those things!

  • aashkii

    Posted Nov 9, 2006 8:53 am PT

    Serves him right. But three years? He should've got a longer sentence!

  • Autolycus

    Posted Nov 9, 2006 7:42 am PT

    Im white and know my fair share of black cops and guess what, they are prejudice toward black people too.... so its not a matter of racism its a matter of lack of respect. its human nature to judge those who dont care about anyone but themselves...(aka criminals)

  • glhx1rush

    Posted Nov 9, 2006 7:39 am PT

    What are you trying to say Riverwolf007? If you rob a liquor store, usually a weapon is involved (gun), and usualy a person who robs a liguor store is a habitual dirt bag. Those guys need locked up for many, many years. Better yet, put them down like the animals they are. Only weapon Stefan used, as far as I can figure out, is a sports car, hehe, and I admit, that was bad, but much more imaginative than robbing a liquor store for drug money. But hey, lets blame the white man for everything, it's easier to do ........ hehehehh

  • DesRed

    Posted Nov 9, 2006 7:12 am PT

    This guy had a previous criminal record. Wow. Not to mention that he ripped of his company to enrich himself just shows what a very selfish guy he is. Oh well, nothing interesting to expect out of him anyway.

  • Lazy_Marine

    Posted Nov 9, 2006 7:10 am PT

    Try not to drop the soap in prison!... ahahahha!

  • Autolycus

    Posted Nov 9, 2006 6:13 am PT

    3 years?! lock him up for life. a criminal is a criminal...heck just giving him the chair. just because he's an executive doent make him better then anyone else. the whole system is bogus!

  • KingofTrolls

    Posted Nov 9, 2006 4:26 am PT

    GUESS WHAT. . . . I DON'T REALLY CARE AT ALL. YOU KNOW WHY. . . CAUSE I GOT BETTER S**T TO DO. THIS ISN'T GAMING NEWS. . .

  • anamnawshad

    Posted Nov 9, 2006 2:02 am PT

    This guy is Gangsta!!!

  • JEEBUS_BOGONDO

    Posted Nov 8, 2006 11:10 pm PT

    what a jerkoff

  • CyphenX

    Posted Nov 8, 2006 10:28 pm PT

    Foul! He deserves way more than a year (on good behavior).

  • Riverwolf007

    Posted Nov 8, 2006 9:38 pm PT

    So if you rob a liquor store you get 200 bux and a 15 year sentence, but if you defraud people out of millions of dollars you get 3 years in a minimum security country club prison. You gotta love white crime, oops i mean white collar crime.

  • VegetaMaelstrom

    Posted Nov 8, 2006 9:35 pm PT

    "Ex-Gizmondo exec goes down"

    This article's title is hilarious because Eriksson may just have to do that on a consistent basis to survive in jail. At least he will have plenty of time to come up with a new scam due to a year with nothing to do.

  • holenjd

    Posted Nov 8, 2006 7:04 pm PT

    He should have gotten a longer sentence.

  • 123metallica

    Posted Nov 8, 2006 5:36 pm PT

    At least he have more time picking up the powder soap.

  • mpeg3s

    Posted Nov 8, 2006 5:30 pm PT

    Gizmondo, Phantom = Republican Scam/Fraud

  • Pick_me_please

    Posted Nov 8, 2006 5:25 pm PT

    Dietrich and the Gizmondo turn out to be vapourware.

  • Dan777UK

    Posted Nov 8, 2006 5:19 pm PT

    Well from the sounds of things he's such a crappy driver, he'll just crash again when he gets out, so at least we can be happy about that.

  • joeamis

    Posted Nov 8, 2006 5:19 pm PT

    Dietrich does exist, he was driving the 2nd Enzo that was racing the Mercedes. Nevermind, it was a Honda that's why he fled the scene.

  • Stolen_Kuniva

    Posted Nov 8, 2006 4:51 pm PT

    Hell yeah! Who's up for a trip down to Malibu for a police auction? I'm gonna get my hands on that Enzo, for cheap!

  • Donkeljohn Site moderator

    Posted Nov 8, 2006 4:35 pm PT

    He got off easy. I am imagining his one year will also be in a Federal prison full of golfing white-collar criminals. That should be a relief from the possibility of going to a state prison full of murderers, rapists, and thieves.

  • dchan01

    Posted Nov 8, 2006 4:28 pm PT

    And Dietrich lives to see another day in America.

  • DarkSan00

    Posted Nov 8, 2006 4:18 pm PT

    mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmoron

  • cencal

    Posted Nov 8, 2006 4:15 pm PT

    moron

  • OfficialBed

    Posted Nov 8, 2006 4:03 pm PT

    idiot

  • Banana_Kid

    Posted Nov 8, 2006 3:34 pm PT

    It's finally over!

  • JimRune

    Posted Nov 8, 2006 3:32 pm PT

    No, I am Dietrich.

  • Dace67

    Posted Nov 8, 2006 3:31 pm PT

    He deserves longer than that. He's a psycho...

  • weldingpackage

    Posted Nov 8, 2006 3:18 pm PT

    I am Dietrich

  • comthitnuong

    Posted Nov 8, 2006 3:13 pm PT

    smart for the bargain...kinda

  • jasonmacrillo

    Posted Nov 8, 2006 3:06 pm PT

    i like the fact that just a red enzo wasnt enough.. he needed a black one too... maybe that one was his winter beater....

  • final_cut_hugo

    Posted Nov 8, 2006 3:05 pm PT

    What a misleading article title. I was expecting something dirtier.

  • toment

    Posted Nov 8, 2006 3:03 pm PT

    If they ever make a movie out of this, the court scene should end with Eriksson being dragged out the side-door by to police officers while screaming:
    "Diiiiieeeetriiiiiiiiich!"
    And he should get sprung out of jail by his friend with the yacht. Too bad they closed down Alcatraz, that scene would really 'flow' had he been incarcarated there.

  • neorub

    Posted Nov 8, 2006 2:42 pm PT

    Wow...the saga may finally reach the end...maybe

  • Kravyn81

    Posted Nov 8, 2006 2:21 pm PT

    Wow. You know, when this happens it really makes you pause and think about how people who seem to "have it all" are morons, and they literally throw their lives away with this crap.

  • Nismo

    Posted Nov 8, 2006 2:17 pm PT

    LOL

  • shizwill03

    Posted Nov 8, 2006 2:12 pm PT

    All I got to say is: DON'T DROP THE SOAP. LOL!!!

  • sccUniverse

    Posted Nov 8, 2006 2:12 pm PT

    Ugghhh...he should go to jail for TRYING to come up with a system named "GIZMODO"


    ...the name just sounds illegal in nearly every state (cept Europe ) and painful as well (except in Europe).

  • LordAndrew

    Posted Nov 8, 2006 2:07 pm PT

    What!? Dietrich doesn't exist? I'm disappointed.

  • vaejas

    Posted Nov 8, 2006 2:02 pm PT

    It just SCREAMS Grand Theft Auto: Stockholm.
    Oh, and "no contest" is quite different from pleading "guilty" in the U.S. Might wanna fix the article slug.

  • ultimate_zero

    Posted Nov 8, 2006 2:02 pm PT

    This guy should star in a grand theft auto game.

  • doomtastica

    Posted Nov 8, 2006 1:59 pm PT

    poor ferrari....

  • faytal-ehtee

    Posted Nov 8, 2006 1:52 pm PT

    your fackin nicked me ole beauty.

    ^ props and a cookie to whoever recognises that.

  • animemog

    Posted Nov 8, 2006 1:46 pm PT

    Finally.

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