Swedish conman El Silencio learns fate for duping Pablo Escobar fans with fake flamethrowers

Girls, flamethrowers and Pablo Escobar.That’s the dream Swedish conman Olof Kyros Gustafsson sold to fans looking for a piece of the infamous Colombian drug lord as head of a company that owned his persona and legacy.But the fraudster known as “El Silencio” failed to deliver the wild Escobar-branded merchandise he marketed, earning earning him a four-year federal prison sentence announced Friday.A Los Angeles court also ordered the 32-year-old Friday to give back the proceeds of his fraud schemes, totaling at least $1.3 million.He also has been fined $25,000.Gustafsson previously pleaded guilty in July 2025 to a myriad of fraud and money-laundering charges.He served as the head of Escobar Inc., which purported to sell products branded with the cartel king’s name and initials.Its marketing materials showed scantily clad women holding flamethrowers and gold smartphones linked to the drug lord.The flamethrowers were copies of Elon Musk’s “Not a Flamethrower” product from his Boring Company, according to Gustafsson’s plea agreement.

And the phones were Samsung Galaxy Fold Phones wrapped in gold foil.But consumers — except for some YouTube tech reviewers who spotted red flags associated with the gold phones — never received any products.“Those people were getting scammed out of their money,” YouTuber Marques Brownlee said in a July 2024 video about Escobar Inc.“Honestly, in hindsight, I don’t know how they thought they were gonna get away with this.

Like it felt pretty obvious to me.”Brownlee said the FBI turned up and asked him for the gold phone and any communication he had with the company.Officials said the products, outside of the promotional spots, never existed.Instead of sending the products to consumers, Gustafsson sent a “Certificate of Ownership,” a book, or other Escobar Inc.promotional materials so there was a “record of mailing from the company to the customer,” the sentencing document says.He had done that so the Es...