Malibu Ferrari Crash: Gaming mogul faces grand theft auto charge
James Sterngold
San Francisco Chronicle
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Los Angeles (US):
Stefan Eriksson, the Swedish businessmen who set off a chain of mysterious events after wrecking a million-dollar Ferrari in Malibu recently, has been arrested on grand theft charges at his Bel Air home, authorities announced Sunday.
Eriksson, 44, was charged for having failed to make payments on three exotic sport cars worth $3.5 million that he imported into the United States last fall from Britain, sheriff's deputies said. He is being held without bail, and immigration authorities are investigating questions about his visa status.Ever since the wreck of the Ferrari Enzo in Malibu on Feb. 21, there have been questions about the circumstances of the crash and about Eriksson, whose fortunes appear to have soared and crashed with equal velocity. Until last September, he was an executive of a highly valued computer gaming company, Gizmondo, with a stable of enormously expensive autos and a huge salary.
Eriksson had told police someone else was driving the Ferrari when it crashed at an estimated 160 mph. Authorities, however, suspected Eriksson was at the wheel. Questions then arose over the ownership of the Ferrari when a British bank said it held the title. Eriksson is under investigation for fraud, because it appears that he purchased the three exotic autos in Britain as part of a failed business venture.
James Sterngold
San Francisco Chronicle
________________
Los Angeles (US):
Stefan Eriksson, the Swedish businessmen who set off a chain of mysterious events after wrecking a million-dollar Ferrari in Malibu recently, has been arrested on grand theft charges at his Bel Air home, authorities announced Sunday.
Eriksson, 44, was charged for having failed to make payments on three exotic sport cars worth $3.5 million that he imported into the United States last fall from Britain, sheriff's deputies said. He is being held without bail, and immigration authorities are investigating questions about his visa status.Ever since the wreck of the Ferrari Enzo in Malibu on Feb. 21, there have been questions about the circumstances of the crash and about Eriksson, whose fortunes appear to have soared and crashed with equal velocity. Until last September, he was an executive of a highly valued computer gaming company, Gizmondo, with a stable of enormously expensive autos and a huge salary.
Eriksson had told police someone else was driving the Ferrari when it crashed at an estimated 160 mph. Authorities, however, suspected Eriksson was at the wheel. Questions then arose over the ownership of the Ferrari when a British bank said it held the title. Eriksson is under investigation for fraud, because it appears that he purchased the three exotic autos in Britain as part of a failed business venture.
