CEO behind gold-plated foldable mobiles scam to be jailed: How the con artist worked

The Escobar Fold 1 and Fold 2? Yeah, those gold foldables never shipped. The scam money went straight into laundering, and now, CEO’s getting jailed.

Around half a decade ago, the tech world was taken by surprise when high-end, gold-plated foldable phones burst onto the scene, at an outrageously low price tag. The devices that made headlines were none other than Escobar Inc.’s Escobar Fold 1 and Fold 2.

The infamous Escobar Fold 2 (as seen in MKBHD's video). (Marques Brownlee (MKBHD))

By Shaurya Sharma

Shaurya Sharma is the Technology Editor at Hindustan Times Digital Streams, where he oversees technology coverage across digital and social platforms. With over eight years of experience across editorial, video production, and digital media, his work focuses on smartphones, AI, consumer gadgets, and shaping audience-first content strategies for modern tech consumers.

He began his career in 2018 as a fashion cinematographer before turning his lifelong passion for technology into a profession. From spending his childhood immersed in tech magazines, video games, and the latest gadgets to covering the global consumer tech industry today, technology has remained a constant throughout his journey.

Over the years, Shaurya has worked with some of India’s leading media organisations, including CNN-News18, Sportskeeda, and Guiding Tech, where he led video initiatives that combined strong editorial storytelling with engaging visual and social-first execution.

A graduate in Journalism and Mass Communication from Manipal University, Shaurya has reviewed hundreds of products across categories including smartphones, laptops, gaming consoles, cameras, and wearables. Beyond work, he is passionate about animal welfare, environmental causes, and automobiles, particularly turbo-petrol cars

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These devices made major headlines but ultimately turned out to be a scam. The devices were simply rebranded models from other manufacturers: the Escobar Fold 1 was a Royole FlexPai, while the Escobar Fold 2 was a Samsung Galaxy Fold. With prices of just $349 for the Fold 1 and $399 for the Fold 2, the offer was too good to be true, as it would have been impossible to sell the phones so cheaply.

The Escobar Fold 2 famously appeared in a video by the popular YouTuber MKBHD, who showed that the company had made no effort to hide that they were, in fact, Samsung devices. Now, the man behind this fraudulent company, Olaf Gustafsson, is facing prison time. The CEO of Escobar Inc. has pleaded guilty to fraud after being reportedly arrested in Spain a couple of years ago.

Modus Operandi Of The Scam

The scam was simple: selling a first-generation Galaxy Fold, which retailed for over $1,500, for just $399 was an impossible task, even for a rebranded phone. As many suspected, the company's modus operandi was to take money from buyers and then never ship the products. The scam was not limited to phones, Escobar Inc. also sold flamethrowers that were never delivered to customers.

What's funny is the fact that Escobar Inc. did ship a 'Certificate of Ownership,’ and other materials to buyers to maintain a shipping record, and to avoid raising any red flags, but the scam operation ultimately fizzled out.

CEO To Get Convicted Soon

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