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Revision as of 06:41, 21 April 2006 by 71.135.61.252 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Bo Stefan M. Eriksson (b 1962) is a Swedish executive from Uppsala who ran the Gizmondo gaming company that became insolvent in 2005.
Eriksson is a known criminal in his native country where he is known by the Swedish police as Tjock-Steffe (or as Fat-Steve upon translation) or as The Banker by the local mob where his source of income were from criminal activities. Eriksson owned a 40 ft speedboat called "Snow White" in the early 90's where it was docked at Uppsala. He was then caught out, found guilty of fraud and counterfeiting in 1993 and 1994 and sentenced to ten years in prison, only to serve half his sentence.
Out of prison, Eriksson moved to Great Britain starting a company Gizmondo which intended to rival Nintendo and Sony for the videogames market. In October 2005, a Swedish paper revealed irregularities and an ex-con management at Gizmondo. Eriksson resigned, and the company filed for bankruptcy after using up $300M, over half in its last six months. The company was also involved in various litigation, for example Eddie Jordan of the Jordan Grand Prix sued over an unpaid $3M sponsorship.
In a few quick moves, Eriksson now left the UK to retire in California on a tourist visa, and started the virtual mobile operator Xero Mobile in 2006 together with his earlier partners. It is unclear how the felon Eriksson was granted entry to the US, though with a setup similar to now defunct Gizmondo, he was looking at many good years ahead.
On February 21, 2006, Eriksson lost control of a million-dollar red Ferrari Enzo sports car while racing intoxicated on a public road in California. The car careened off an embankment on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu and hit a pole at about 162MPH, which split the car in half. Eriksson claimed a German named Dietrich was behind the wheel, but a search for the driver came up empty. The incident received extensive coverage in the Los Angeles Times due to the expense and rarity of the car, and the provenance of the vehicle.
Eriksson's car troubles made the news again on March 29, 2006, when his wife, Nicole Persson, was at the wheel of a 2005 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. She was pulled over by Beverly Hills (California) police, who found that the car was unregistered, carrying British license plates, and had been illegaly exported from Britain along with the crashed red and yet another black Enzo. Eriksson apparently had reported the Mercedes stolen and received insurance money for it.
With the case still unfolding, on April 8, 2006, Eriksson, now rushing out of retirement and preparing to leave the US, was arrested at his Bel-Air home on suspicion of embezzlement, grand theft auto, drunk driving, cocaine possession, and weapons charges. He is facing up to 14 years with immigrations, customs, and the Scotland Yard still investigating.
Reference
- Richard Winton and David Pierson. "Ferrari Mystery". LA Times.
- Tor Thorsen. "Ex-Gizmondo executive's other car seized". Gamespot.