The international story of intrigue regarding Swedish national Bo Stefan Eriksson and his speeding rare Ferrari ended Tuesday with Eriksson accepting a plea deal with prosecutors.
Eriksson pleaded no contest to two counts of embezzlement and one count of illegal gun possession. He is expected to serve approximately a year in prison.
“Essentially, it was what Stefan wanted to do,” defense attorney Jim Parkman said in a press release issued late Tuesday. “Stefan came to an agreement, and everyone-all parties involved, Stefan, the defense, the D.A., took a look at the case and that’s where we’re at.”
Last Friday, a Los Angeles judge declared a mistrial after a jury was unable to break a deadlock regarding the embezzlement and grand theft charges Eriksson faced. Prosecutors claimed Eriksson had leased the rare Enzo Ferrari involved in February’s crash on Pacific Coast Highway and a McLaren Mercedes-Benz in Great Britain, then shipped the two vehicles to California in violation of the lease. They further accused him of stopping payments on the cars and attempting to avoid detection by the banks.
Eriksson was expected to face a separate trial on illegal gun possession.
The Swedish national made international headlines in February when he crashed a rare Enzo Ferrari, worth an estimated $1.2 million, in the early morning hours on Pacific Coast Highway near Decker Canyon Road. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies estimated Eriksson was traveling at more than 160 mph.
Eriksson, who recently pleaded no contest to a drunken driving charge related to the incident, claimed, on the day of the accident, that he was not the driver of the car. He and a passenger said the actual driver had run away before deputies arrived. Two men also later arrived on the scene claiming to be Department of Homeland Security agents and flashed badges at onlookers and at the deputies. It is believed the two men came back later to pick up Eriksson and his companion.
Worldwide interest in the case increased when it was learned that Eriksson has multiple convictions in his native Sweden on various charges and had alleged ties to the Swedish underworld.