stefan arrested
04-18-2006, 04:55 PM
#16
Banned
A Pileup of Charges in the Case of the Totaled Ferrari
The man arrested after the crash of a rare Enzo faces weapons, theft and drunk driving counts.
By Richard Winton and David Pierson, Times Staff Writers
April 18, 2006
Los Angeles prosecutors filed embezzlement, grand theft, drunk driving and weapons charges Monday against a former European video game executive, whose involvement in the crash of a rare Ferrari Enzo in Malibu two months ago has mushroomed into a case filled with international intrigue.
The charges, more extensive than prosecutors had suggested last week, come as officials with Scotland Yard and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement continue to investigate the case, which involves the Swedish underworld, fake Homeland Security officials and an exotic car collection.
If convicted on all counts, Bo Stefan M. Eriksson, 44, would face up to 14 years in prison. He pleaded not guilty through his attorney, who described the charges as "overblown."
The case stems from the 162-mph crash of the Enzo, one of only 400 made, on Pacific Coast Highway on Feb. 21.
Eriksson told sheriff's deputies that he was a passenger and that the driver, a man he knew only as "Dietrich," had fled into the hills.
But prosecutors charged Monday that Dietrich never existed and that Eriksson had been behind the wheel — with a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit — when the crash occurred. The charges were filed after officials received results of a DNA test of blood found on the vehicle's driver-side air bag.
Laying out their case against Eriksson for the first time, prosecutors accused him of embezzlement and grand theft for allegedly bringing the Enzo and the rest of his $3.8-million car collection to the United States, even though he had only leased them from British financial institutions. The lease contract, authorities said, prohibited him from taking the vehicles out of England.
He was also charged with possessing a handgun, which is illegal because he had been convicted of drug and counterfeiting felonies in Sweden.
Eriksson, dressed in an orange jail uniform, appeared in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom packed with journalists from around the world.
His attorneys protested that the $5.5-million bail set by Judge Mary Strobel was excessive. Prosecutors sought the high amount because they said detectives searching his Bel-Air estate April 8 found an airline ticket in Eriksson's name that would have him depart to London two days later.
"Right now, I have six or seven murder cases, including a death penalty case, where the bail is $1 million," said attorney Andrew Flier outside court.
Eriksson's other attorney, David Elden, said the .357-caliber handgun was not his client's but belonged "to a deputy sheriff for Orange County." The attorney did not elaborate, and Orange County Sheriff's Department officials declined to comment.
In an interview outside court, Elden described Eriksson as "totally innocent of all these charges."
"The press has blown this out of proportion," he said, adding that Eriksson is in a dispute with the British financial institutions over ownership of the destroyed Ferrari as well as two other expensive vehicles.
Elden also said Eriksson is not a flight risk because he has business ties in Los Angeles, though he did not say what they were.
Eriksson arrived in Los Angeles sometime last year, moving into the posh Bel-Air Crest section of Los Angeles with his wife and young son. Eriksson had been an executive with Gizmondo, a London-based video game company that filed for bankruptcy earlier this year with more than $200 million in debt. The finances of that company are now under investigation.
According to Swedish police records contained in the prosecutors' court filing, Eriksson in the late 1980s and early '90s was involved in counterfeiting, assault and drug crimes tied to a Swedish underworld group in Uppsala, a city 50 miles north of Stockholm. He was sentenced to prison three separate times, according to the records.
Some observers Monday marveled at how the single-car, non-injury crash in Malibu could unravel such a string of revelations.
"It's amazing. If the guy didn't get into the wreck, none of this would have happened," said Malibu Mayor Andy Stern, who said he hopes the charges send a message to other sports car drivers who exceed the speed limit on PCH.
"I've seen guys like him before get away with things so long and never get caught," he added. "So they do it more and more. But eventually, you get caught."
The crash occurred about 6 a.m. at Pacific Coast Highway and Decker Canyon Road.
Eriksson told deputies at the scene that he was not the driver and that a man named Dietrich had been behind the wheel. Eriksson said Dietrich ran away before authorities arrived.
Eriksson also told deputies that he was deputy commissioner of the police department of the San Gabriel Valley Transit Authority, a tiny private agency that provides rides to the disabled and elderly.
A few minutes after the crash, two men arrived at the crash site, identified themselves as Homeland Security officials and spoke to Eriksson at length before leaving.
Detectives continue to investigate any connection Eriksson may have had to the agency. At the same time, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is looking into how Eriksson got into the United States.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Tamara Hall told the court Monday that Eriksson "did not inform immigration officials" about his previous criminal conviction, as the law requires.
On exotic-car websites and in the world of rare-car enthusiasts, the charges marked the culmination of what has become a soap opera.
The saga has particularly disheartened Ferrari aficionados.
"People like that don't care about the heritage that comes with Ferraris," said Dave Born, a member of the Ferrari Club of America. "He's not the first guy to leverage himself, and he won't be the last."
One person who wants the case to continue is Gregg Carlson, whose website, http://www.wreckedexotics.com , saw a surge in traffic when he posted photographs of Eriksson's totaled Enzo.
"He's the master of wrecked cars," he said of Eriksson.
By Richard Winton and David Pierson, Times Staff Writers
April 18, 2006
Los Angeles prosecutors filed embezzlement, grand theft, drunk driving and weapons charges Monday against a former European video game executive, whose involvement in the crash of a rare Ferrari Enzo in Malibu two months ago has mushroomed into a case filled with international intrigue.
The charges, more extensive than prosecutors had suggested last week, come as officials with Scotland Yard and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement continue to investigate the case, which involves the Swedish underworld, fake Homeland Security officials and an exotic car collection.
If convicted on all counts, Bo Stefan M. Eriksson, 44, would face up to 14 years in prison. He pleaded not guilty through his attorney, who described the charges as "overblown."
The case stems from the 162-mph crash of the Enzo, one of only 400 made, on Pacific Coast Highway on Feb. 21.
Eriksson told sheriff's deputies that he was a passenger and that the driver, a man he knew only as "Dietrich," had fled into the hills.
But prosecutors charged Monday that Dietrich never existed and that Eriksson had been behind the wheel — with a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit — when the crash occurred. The charges were filed after officials received results of a DNA test of blood found on the vehicle's driver-side air bag.
Laying out their case against Eriksson for the first time, prosecutors accused him of embezzlement and grand theft for allegedly bringing the Enzo and the rest of his $3.8-million car collection to the United States, even though he had only leased them from British financial institutions. The lease contract, authorities said, prohibited him from taking the vehicles out of England.
He was also charged with possessing a handgun, which is illegal because he had been convicted of drug and counterfeiting felonies in Sweden.
Eriksson, dressed in an orange jail uniform, appeared in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom packed with journalists from around the world.
His attorneys protested that the $5.5-million bail set by Judge Mary Strobel was excessive. Prosecutors sought the high amount because they said detectives searching his Bel-Air estate April 8 found an airline ticket in Eriksson's name that would have him depart to London two days later.
"Right now, I have six or seven murder cases, including a death penalty case, where the bail is $1 million," said attorney Andrew Flier outside court.
Eriksson's other attorney, David Elden, said the .357-caliber handgun was not his client's but belonged "to a deputy sheriff for Orange County." The attorney did not elaborate, and Orange County Sheriff's Department officials declined to comment.
In an interview outside court, Elden described Eriksson as "totally innocent of all these charges."
"The press has blown this out of proportion," he said, adding that Eriksson is in a dispute with the British financial institutions over ownership of the destroyed Ferrari as well as two other expensive vehicles.
Elden also said Eriksson is not a flight risk because he has business ties in Los Angeles, though he did not say what they were.
Eriksson arrived in Los Angeles sometime last year, moving into the posh Bel-Air Crest section of Los Angeles with his wife and young son. Eriksson had been an executive with Gizmondo, a London-based video game company that filed for bankruptcy earlier this year with more than $200 million in debt. The finances of that company are now under investigation.
According to Swedish police records contained in the prosecutors' court filing, Eriksson in the late 1980s and early '90s was involved in counterfeiting, assault and drug crimes tied to a Swedish underworld group in Uppsala, a city 50 miles north of Stockholm. He was sentenced to prison three separate times, according to the records.
Some observers Monday marveled at how the single-car, non-injury crash in Malibu could unravel such a string of revelations.
"It's amazing. If the guy didn't get into the wreck, none of this would have happened," said Malibu Mayor Andy Stern, who said he hopes the charges send a message to other sports car drivers who exceed the speed limit on PCH.
"I've seen guys like him before get away with things so long and never get caught," he added. "So they do it more and more. But eventually, you get caught."
The crash occurred about 6 a.m. at Pacific Coast Highway and Decker Canyon Road.
Eriksson told deputies at the scene that he was not the driver and that a man named Dietrich had been behind the wheel. Eriksson said Dietrich ran away before authorities arrived.
Eriksson also told deputies that he was deputy commissioner of the police department of the San Gabriel Valley Transit Authority, a tiny private agency that provides rides to the disabled and elderly.
A few minutes after the crash, two men arrived at the crash site, identified themselves as Homeland Security officials and spoke to Eriksson at length before leaving.
Detectives continue to investigate any connection Eriksson may have had to the agency. At the same time, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is looking into how Eriksson got into the United States.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Tamara Hall told the court Monday that Eriksson "did not inform immigration officials" about his previous criminal conviction, as the law requires.
On exotic-car websites and in the world of rare-car enthusiasts, the charges marked the culmination of what has become a soap opera.
The saga has particularly disheartened Ferrari aficionados.
"People like that don't care about the heritage that comes with Ferraris," said Dave Born, a member of the Ferrari Club of America. "He's not the first guy to leverage himself, and he won't be the last."
One person who wants the case to continue is Gregg Carlson, whose website, http://www.wreckedexotics.com , saw a surge in traffic when he posted photographs of Eriksson's totaled Enzo.
"He's the master of wrecked cars," he said of Eriksson.
04-18-2006, 05:23 PM
#17
Rennlist Member
Ben,
Thanks for that post. I haven't seen this news out here on the East Coast. Interesting read. The best was the last sentence stating that Mr. Eriksson is " the master or wrecked cars " I would agree with that one
Thanks for that post. I haven't seen this news out here on the East Coast. Interesting read. The best was the last sentence stating that Mr. Eriksson is " the master or wrecked cars " I would agree with that one
04-27-2006, 11:31 AM
#19
Banned
2nd Arrest Made in Ferrari Case
A Swedish executive is suspected of using a phony police ID to buy a gun. Another executive at the firm is accused of crashing the rare car.
By Richard Winton And David Pierson, Times Staff Writers
April 27, 2006
A prominent European high-tech executive was arrested Wednesday at his Bel-Air estate on suspicion of posing as a police officer to buy at least one gun, widening an international investigation that began with the crash of a rare Ferrari in Malibu.
Carl Freer, 35, allegedly flashed a badge from an obscure San Gabriel Valley transit authority and said he was a sworn police officer so that he could purchase a gun from a dealer without the required background checks, authorities said.
Los Angeles County sheriff's detectives said they found 12 rifles and four handguns during searches at the Swedish national's home in the Bel-Air community and on his 100-foot yacht docked at Marina del Rey.
A statement released through the Sitrick and Co. public relations firm quoted Freer's attorney as denying that the executive did anything wrong.
"This is the result of a misunderstanding over the purchase of a gun, which we hope to resolve in the coming days," attorney Michael B. Miller said in the statement. "At no time did Mr. Freer misrepresent himself to a gun shop."
Freer is the former managing director of Gizmondo, a once high-flying European video game player company that went bankrupt last year and is now the subject of several investigations. A fellow executive, Bo Stefan Eriksson, has been accused of crashing an Enzo Ferrari on Pacific Coast Highway while drunk in February.
Freer and Eriksson were also members of the "anti-terrorism unit" of the San Gabriel Valley Transit Authority, a small private company that provides rides to disabled people and the elderly in Monrovia and Sierra Madre.
The men served as advisors and were not sworn officers. But the agency issued both men cards, and Freer received a gold shield with "deputy commissioner" embossed on it.
Until now, detectives were puzzled about why two Bel-Air businessmen would be involved in an obscure transit agency.
But sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said Wednesday that officials now believe Freer used the badge to buy one weapon and in at least one case, signed a sworn document saying he was a police officer.
Neither Freer nor Eriksson would be allowed to purchase guns in the U.S. because they are foreign nationals, Whitmore said.
"We have a wider investigation into who was given police identification by this supposed police agency," he added.
Miller, however, said in the statement that Freer "never misused the SGVTA badge."
Freer was arrested on suspicion of perjury for allegedly signing a declaration for the gun dealer that he was a police officer to obtain a .44 magnum handgun. Investigators are checking the background of the other weapons seized to determine how he obtained them, Whitmore said.
Detectives are still trying to determine what role the transit authority plays in the case. After deputies arrived at the scene of the Feb. 21 Ferrari crash, Eriksson showed them a card saying he was a deputy police commissioner for the agency.
A few minutes later, two men who identified themselves as "homeland security" officials arrived and spoke to Eriksson.
The transit agency has five buses and operates out of a garage in Monrovia. The two cities that had agreements with the agency have since canceled them.
"I think it's safe to say the house of cards is falling down," said Sierra Madre City Manager John Gillison of the latest revelations. "We were uncomfortable with a lot of the events and circumstances surrounding the San Gabriel Valley Transit Authority."
Eriksson faces a preliminary hearing today on embezzlement, grand theft, drunk driving and firearms charges. Prosecutors charge that Eriksson possessed the destroyed Enzo Ferrari and the rest of a $3.8-million exotic car collection although it was owned by British financial institutions.
According to court records, Eriksson spent five years in Swedish prison for assault, counterfeiting and narcotics offenses before becoming an executive with Gizmondo.
Freer was well-known in Europe's gaming world as managing partner of an upstart company that sought to challenge Nintendo and SonyPlaystation with a gaming system.
Gizmondo received much publicity, and Freer was hailed in British newspapers as a young gun. At the gala opening of the company's London office, he arrived in a Rolls-Royce.
But users found Gizmondo didn't have enough hot games to compete with the bigger names. The company filed for bankruptcy with more than $300 million in debt.
Although no one was seriously injured in the Ferrari crash, the investigation has generated significant attention because of the strange circumstances surrounding it and the fact that it destroyed one of only 400 Enzos ever built. Authorities believe the car was traveling at 162 mph when it hit a power pole.
Ashley Posner, an attorney who was chairman of the transit board when the Ferrari case broke, said in an interview Wednesday that he resigned after the accident.
Posner, who at one time was Eriksson's civil attorney, said he was surprised by the continuing revelations. When asked if the agency made clear to Freer that the badge did not give him police powers, Posner said: "Absolutely."
By Richard Winton And David Pierson, Times Staff Writers
April 27, 2006
A prominent European high-tech executive was arrested Wednesday at his Bel-Air estate on suspicion of posing as a police officer to buy at least one gun, widening an international investigation that began with the crash of a rare Ferrari in Malibu.
Carl Freer, 35, allegedly flashed a badge from an obscure San Gabriel Valley transit authority and said he was a sworn police officer so that he could purchase a gun from a dealer without the required background checks, authorities said.
Los Angeles County sheriff's detectives said they found 12 rifles and four handguns during searches at the Swedish national's home in the Bel-Air community and on his 100-foot yacht docked at Marina del Rey.
A statement released through the Sitrick and Co. public relations firm quoted Freer's attorney as denying that the executive did anything wrong.
"This is the result of a misunderstanding over the purchase of a gun, which we hope to resolve in the coming days," attorney Michael B. Miller said in the statement. "At no time did Mr. Freer misrepresent himself to a gun shop."
Freer is the former managing director of Gizmondo, a once high-flying European video game player company that went bankrupt last year and is now the subject of several investigations. A fellow executive, Bo Stefan Eriksson, has been accused of crashing an Enzo Ferrari on Pacific Coast Highway while drunk in February.
Freer and Eriksson were also members of the "anti-terrorism unit" of the San Gabriel Valley Transit Authority, a small private company that provides rides to disabled people and the elderly in Monrovia and Sierra Madre.
The men served as advisors and were not sworn officers. But the agency issued both men cards, and Freer received a gold shield with "deputy commissioner" embossed on it.
Until now, detectives were puzzled about why two Bel-Air businessmen would be involved in an obscure transit agency.
But sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said Wednesday that officials now believe Freer used the badge to buy one weapon and in at least one case, signed a sworn document saying he was a police officer.
Neither Freer nor Eriksson would be allowed to purchase guns in the U.S. because they are foreign nationals, Whitmore said.
"We have a wider investigation into who was given police identification by this supposed police agency," he added.
Miller, however, said in the statement that Freer "never misused the SGVTA badge."
Freer was arrested on suspicion of perjury for allegedly signing a declaration for the gun dealer that he was a police officer to obtain a .44 magnum handgun. Investigators are checking the background of the other weapons seized to determine how he obtained them, Whitmore said.
Detectives are still trying to determine what role the transit authority plays in the case. After deputies arrived at the scene of the Feb. 21 Ferrari crash, Eriksson showed them a card saying he was a deputy police commissioner for the agency.
A few minutes later, two men who identified themselves as "homeland security" officials arrived and spoke to Eriksson.
The transit agency has five buses and operates out of a garage in Monrovia. The two cities that had agreements with the agency have since canceled them.
"I think it's safe to say the house of cards is falling down," said Sierra Madre City Manager John Gillison of the latest revelations. "We were uncomfortable with a lot of the events and circumstances surrounding the San Gabriel Valley Transit Authority."
Eriksson faces a preliminary hearing today on embezzlement, grand theft, drunk driving and firearms charges. Prosecutors charge that Eriksson possessed the destroyed Enzo Ferrari and the rest of a $3.8-million exotic car collection although it was owned by British financial institutions.
According to court records, Eriksson spent five years in Swedish prison for assault, counterfeiting and narcotics offenses before becoming an executive with Gizmondo.
Freer was well-known in Europe's gaming world as managing partner of an upstart company that sought to challenge Nintendo and SonyPlaystation with a gaming system.
Gizmondo received much publicity, and Freer was hailed in British newspapers as a young gun. At the gala opening of the company's London office, he arrived in a Rolls-Royce.
But users found Gizmondo didn't have enough hot games to compete with the bigger names. The company filed for bankruptcy with more than $300 million in debt.
Although no one was seriously injured in the Ferrari crash, the investigation has generated significant attention because of the strange circumstances surrounding it and the fact that it destroyed one of only 400 Enzos ever built. Authorities believe the car was traveling at 162 mph when it hit a power pole.
Ashley Posner, an attorney who was chairman of the transit board when the Ferrari case broke, said in an interview Wednesday that he resigned after the accident.
Posner, who at one time was Eriksson's civil attorney, said he was surprised by the continuing revelations. When asked if the agency made clear to Freer that the badge did not give him police powers, Posner said: "Absolutely."
04-27-2006, 05:55 PM
#21
Rennlist Member
Unreal, this story/self made movie gets better and better. I wounder how it's going to end? Guess we'll have to wait and see.
Ben thanks for these posts. Us east coasters don't see this stuff on the local news. Keep it coming.
Ben thanks for these posts. Us east coasters don't see this stuff on the local news. Keep it coming.
05-02-2006, 05:04 PM
#23
Banned
Dietrich Exposed...Stefan Faces Up to 14 Years
Trial Awaits Swedish National in Malibu Ferrari Crash Case
By Hemmy So, Times Staff Writer
May 2, 2006
A judge Monday ordered a former video game executive to stand trial on nine criminal counts stemming from an investigation that began with the crash of a rare Ferrari Enzo on Pacific Coast Highway in February.
If convicted on the seven felony counts of embezzlement, grand theft auto and possession of a firearm and two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence, Swedish national Bo Stefan Eriksson, 44, could face up to 14 years in prison.
Testimony before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charles F. Palmer during the two-and-half day preliminary hearing indicated that Eriksson was behind the wheel when the Ferrari smashed into a power pole about 6 a.m. on Feb. 21 in Malibu. Authorities believe the car was going 162 mph. Eriksson originally told sheriff's deputies that he was passenger in the car and that the driver, a man he knew only as Deitrich, had run away into the hills.
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Det. Zack Conner testified Monday that during an April 7 nighttime raid on Eriksson's home in Bel-Air, he told the detective that he was driving the Ferrari at the time of the crash, was knocked unconscious, got sick and then threw up.
The testimony affirmed prosecutors' charge last week that Deitrich never existed and that Eriksson, who had a blood-level alcohol level exceeding the legal limit, had crashed the car.
Conner also testified about how Eriksson had come into possession of an Orange County reserve sheriff deputy's handgun, a .357 magnum Smith & Wesson that was confiscated during the April 7 search.
Conner said the gun's registered owner, Roger A. Davis, a Newport Beach businessman and deputy with the Orange County sheriff's professional services division, had called him about the weapon on April 9. Davis told the detective that after he and Eriksson, who shared the same office building, had gone shooting, the two picked up the wrong bags, Conner testified. Eriksson had told Conner, however, that he sometimes carried the gun for protection.
Because Eriksson is a convicted felon — court records show he served five years in a Swedish prison for assault, counterfeiting and narcotics offenses — he is not allowed to possess a firearm.
Prosecutors also alleged that Eriksson intentionally tried to defraud three British banks by importing three luxury vehicles — the red Enzo, a black Enzo and a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren — into the U.S. without the banks' knowledge.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Tamara Hall claimed Eriksson tried to conceal the importation of the cars by using different Swedish passport numbers on customs forms and the bank lease purchase agreements.
Eriksson's attorney, Paul Takakjian, said that his client's misrepresentations to customs officials didn't support the felony embezzlement charges because Eriksson never tried to deprive the banks of ownership by taking title to the cars.
Instead, Takakjian said, Eriksson simply tried to circumvent the one-car-per-person import rule.
Customs officials testified that they grew suspicious when they reviewed Eriksson's applications to import the vehicles for sale to three young employees of his former company, Gizmondo Europe Ltd. The addresses listed for the purported buyers, customs officials said, matched that of Eriksson's home in Bel-Air.
Representatives from three British banks — each owning one car — told Conner that Eriksson had failed to continue payments on the vehicles. Prosecutors said Eriksson owes more than $2 million to the banks.
At the request of Eriksson's attorneys, Palmer reduced bail from $5.5 million to $3 million on the conditions that Eriksson surrender all his passports and wear an electronic monitoring device.
Eriksson is due back in court May 15.
By Hemmy So, Times Staff Writer
May 2, 2006
A judge Monday ordered a former video game executive to stand trial on nine criminal counts stemming from an investigation that began with the crash of a rare Ferrari Enzo on Pacific Coast Highway in February.
If convicted on the seven felony counts of embezzlement, grand theft auto and possession of a firearm and two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence, Swedish national Bo Stefan Eriksson, 44, could face up to 14 years in prison.
Testimony before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charles F. Palmer during the two-and-half day preliminary hearing indicated that Eriksson was behind the wheel when the Ferrari smashed into a power pole about 6 a.m. on Feb. 21 in Malibu. Authorities believe the car was going 162 mph. Eriksson originally told sheriff's deputies that he was passenger in the car and that the driver, a man he knew only as Deitrich, had run away into the hills.
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Det. Zack Conner testified Monday that during an April 7 nighttime raid on Eriksson's home in Bel-Air, he told the detective that he was driving the Ferrari at the time of the crash, was knocked unconscious, got sick and then threw up.
The testimony affirmed prosecutors' charge last week that Deitrich never existed and that Eriksson, who had a blood-level alcohol level exceeding the legal limit, had crashed the car.
Conner also testified about how Eriksson had come into possession of an Orange County reserve sheriff deputy's handgun, a .357 magnum Smith & Wesson that was confiscated during the April 7 search.
Conner said the gun's registered owner, Roger A. Davis, a Newport Beach businessman and deputy with the Orange County sheriff's professional services division, had called him about the weapon on April 9. Davis told the detective that after he and Eriksson, who shared the same office building, had gone shooting, the two picked up the wrong bags, Conner testified. Eriksson had told Conner, however, that he sometimes carried the gun for protection.
Because Eriksson is a convicted felon — court records show he served five years in a Swedish prison for assault, counterfeiting and narcotics offenses — he is not allowed to possess a firearm.
Prosecutors also alleged that Eriksson intentionally tried to defraud three British banks by importing three luxury vehicles — the red Enzo, a black Enzo and a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren — into the U.S. without the banks' knowledge.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Tamara Hall claimed Eriksson tried to conceal the importation of the cars by using different Swedish passport numbers on customs forms and the bank lease purchase agreements.
Eriksson's attorney, Paul Takakjian, said that his client's misrepresentations to customs officials didn't support the felony embezzlement charges because Eriksson never tried to deprive the banks of ownership by taking title to the cars.
Instead, Takakjian said, Eriksson simply tried to circumvent the one-car-per-person import rule.
Customs officials testified that they grew suspicious when they reviewed Eriksson's applications to import the vehicles for sale to three young employees of his former company, Gizmondo Europe Ltd. The addresses listed for the purported buyers, customs officials said, matched that of Eriksson's home in Bel-Air.
Representatives from three British banks — each owning one car — told Conner that Eriksson had failed to continue payments on the vehicles. Prosecutors said Eriksson owes more than $2 million to the banks.
At the request of Eriksson's attorneys, Palmer reduced bail from $5.5 million to $3 million on the conditions that Eriksson surrender all his passports and wear an electronic monitoring device.
Eriksson is due back in court May 15.
05-02-2006, 05:52 PM
#24
Racer
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Las Vegas
Posts: 479
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I love this story...everytime I see a 500k+ car on the street I think, "Man do I have to work smarter" or "gotta get bigger" ect...and this lets me believe that some of it is just smoke and mirrors.
The real victim here IMO is the enzo.
Thanks for the update.
The real victim here IMO is the enzo.
Thanks for the update.
05-02-2006, 06:35 PM
#25
Rennlist Member
Ben,
Once again thanks for that update. If it weren't for you I would have no clue of whats going in this case. I can't find any news about it out here on the east coast. It just gets better and better. I hope they make a movie. Lets call it " ENZO'S REVENGE"
Once again thanks for that update. If it weren't for you I would have no clue of whats going in this case. I can't find any news about it out here on the east coast. It just gets better and better. I hope they make a movie. Lets call it " ENZO'S REVENGE"
05-02-2006, 06:40 PM
#26
Poseur
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Gotta love this stuff. I had heard last night that the bond was reduced to $3M and thought that with a con artist like him they can't assume he can't come up with that somehow.
Stand by for a made for TV movie.
Dan
Stand by for a made for TV movie.
Dan
05-02-2006, 08:24 PM
#27
Racer
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Las Vegas
Posts: 479
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by Edgy01
Gotta love this stuff. I had heard last night that the bond was reduced to $3M and thought that with a con artist like him they can't assume he can't come up with that somehow.
Stand by for a made for TV movie.
Dan
Stand by for a made for TV movie.
Dan
05-02-2006, 08:34 PM
#28
Banned
Originally Posted by MHC2S
I hope they make a movie. Lets call it " ENZO'S REVENGE"
.. Hey, good one, Mitch. Even if they don't make a movie that's a pretty good title for this ongoing saga. I have a feeling it won't be an open and shut case, even with his confession. It has all the hallmarks of a Hollywood, OJ style, court case, with high priced Armani suited attorneys working to reduce it to a fine and time served if convicted, if they can't get an outright acquittal after hand picking a jury.
05-02-2006, 09:14 PM
#29
Rennlist Member
How did this guy get those cars 'into' the country? I mean I panic when I have a few Cuban cigars hidden in with my dirty undies (they blend in) hoping that no Customs agents will feel the need to poke through my 'dirty laundry.'
Hey Ben, when we go camping I'll bring the cigars too.
Hey Ben, when we go camping I'll bring the cigars too.
05-03-2006, 06:27 PM
#30
Rennlist Member
Originally Posted by OCBen
.. Hey, good one, Mitch. Even if they don't make a movie that's a pretty good title for this ongoing saga. I have a feeling it won't be an open and shut case, even with his confession. It has all the hallmarks of a Hollywood, OJ style, court case, with high priced Armani suited attorneys working to reduce it to a fine and time served if convicted, if they can't get an outright acquittal after hand picking a jury.
Ben, just keep up the great chain of information that your feeding us regarding this circus. It seems to get better and better as time goes by. Thanks again for all your posts.