It started with a traffic report of a one-car crash on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu around 6 on a cool February morning, reports the LA Times. No injuries, only moderate traffic backup. But then, deputies at the scene learned the car was a rare Enzo Ferrari, one of only 400 in the world. The only person on the side the road was a former European video game mogul who said he was a passenger in the car and that the driver, a man who only knew as "Dietrich" had fled into the hills.

So began a deep mystery that detectives in California and at Scotland Yard have been trying unravel for three months, a twisted case that involves Swedish mafia, fake "homeland security" officers and an US$3.5 million exotic car collection.

On Monday, prosecutors charged that "Dietrich" never existed. It was former gaming executive Stefan Eriksson behind the wheel of a rare Enzo Ferrari last February when it crashed into a power pole going 162 mph on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, according to charges filed by the Los Angeles District Attorney's office. Authorities said was legally drunk at the time. 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 car collection to the United States even though he only leased them from British financial institutions, which prohibited him from taking the vehicles out of England.
 

He was also charged with a firearms violation because of gun detectives found during the search of his Bel-Air estate. Eriksson, according to court papers, is convicted felon for counterfeit and drug crimes in Sweden and as result is barred from possessing guns. Eriksson now faces 14 year in prison if convicted.

The crash occurred Feb. 21. A few minutes after the crash, two men arrived at the scene, identified themselves as Homeland Security officers and spoke to Eriksson at length before leaving. Detectives are investigating any connection Eriksson may have had to the agency. Eriksson, 44, was booked into the Men's Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles earlier this month after a search of his house by detectives. His attorney could not be reached for comment. Eriksson was an executive with Gizmondo, a European video game company that filed for bankruptcy earlier this year with more than US$200 million in debt. According to Swedish authorities, he served prison time in the early 1990s after being convicted of counterfeiting.

Report courtesy of the LA Times