4/17/06 - Still Bizarro After All These Weeks...

When Gizmondo executive Stefan Eriksson wrecked a million-dollar Ferrari in Malibu, California in February, he opened the door to a story that just got stranger and stranger the longer it went on. It’s been just over a month since we first ran our Gizmondo Bizarro article, and a lot has happened since then. Prison awaits some, further ill-gotten gains await others.

So unless you’re dying to lose your shirt, you need to read….

Gizmondo Bizarro! - Where are they now?

“Fat” Stefan Eriksson

Let’s start with the big one, the fat man himself, Stefan Eriksson. Grand Theft Auto has actually made its way to the Gizmondo thanks to Stefan, who now finds himself in the Los Angeles County Men’s Central Jail, where he has been arrested for exactly that crime. It turns out the wrecked Ferrari, another Ferrari in his collection and the Mercedes SLR never belonged to Eriksson in the first place, having most likely been illegally imported into the U.S. despite Eriksson reporting the Mercedes stolen to the British police last year. Oops! Did I say stolen? I meant it’s in my garage.

During the search of Eriksson’s Bel-Air mansion, police seized the remaining Ferrari, computers, a gun, and “a substance believed to be cocaine.” Really? The drunk guy racing down PCH at 160mph after partying all night might have also been on cocaine? There’s a shocker.

At least Stefan shouldn’t feel too out of place in jail, as he’s done plenty of time in Sweden for fraud and mafia scams before he came out west to loot companies and steal cars. We’ve also scored some awesome new pics of Stefan at the crash site - just check out his phat gold chains.

Stefan is being charged with nine criminal counts so far, including grand theft, embezzlement, drunk driving, reckless driving, and illegal posession of a firearm. He has pled not guilty (yeah right), and his bail was set at $5.5 million. However that may not do him any good, as Immigration authorities have put an indefinate hold on his release. Stefan, is rightfully screwed.

Trevor Karney

Trevor, though, isn't, which makes sense as he was just a minor player in this story. A passenger at the crash scene, and a mechanic who worked on Pimp My Ride, he is suspected of lying to the police and planting a gun clip in a passing motorist’s car. Whether the clip will match the gun found at Eriksson’s house remains to be seen. Karney has since returned to his native Ireland where he will be more careful who he gets a ride from. Oh by the way Trevor, the LAPD would like a word with you.

The San Gabriel Valley Transit Authority

If you recall, at the crash scene Stefan whipped out ID showing he was the Deputy Commissioner of the anti-terrorism unit of the San Gabriel Valley Transit Authority Police Department. It turns out that an old California law allows transportation to create their own police departments. The Transit Authority itself was just a couple of busses run out of an auto repair garage in Monrovia.

Since this mess unfolded, that law has come under scrutiny and the Transit Authority has vanished from the map. Their fancy website (svgta.gov) is down, their police website is down, and their business is, well, they’re probably just fixing cars as usual.

Tiger Telematics

Tiger was the parent company of Gizmondo Ltd. After the corporate looting the company received at the hands of Eriksson and his partner Carl Freer (among other executives), Tiger is in deep, deep trouble. Both Tiger Telematics’ and Gizmondo’s websites have been taken down.

Tiger Telematics first got itself listed on the OTC stock market by doing a “reverse merger” with a flooring company called Floor Décor LLC that was already listed, after which it changed the company’s name to Tiger Telematics. It’s a quick and dirty way to get your stock publicly traded, avoid scrutiny, and start bringing in investor money fast. For a while, the stock went up.

Now, however, Gizmondo is in bankruptcy, Tiger’s key technologies are pledged against its massive debts, and Tiger’s stock is in the toilet. In just over a year, Tiger’s stock has gone from $30 a share down to a nickel. And we think we just heard a flushing noise. Tiger Telematics investors are nearly as screwed as Eriksson.

Carl Freer

Which brings us to the most interesting new development, and GR’s first ever INVESTOR ALERT. Why not? We get those in our spam box all the time, and it doesn’t take a Wall Street genius to get a creepy feeling about this one.

The one man who appears to not have been screwed at all by any of this and who stands to walk away with millions is Gizmondo director Carl Freer.

Where is he now? He could be at his Beverly Hills mansion, or possibly his Hampshire mansion, or on his yacht. Either way, the Financial Times and The Register reports that Freer has recently been raising funds for a company called Xero Mobile; according to industry pundit Andy Abramson, he may have raised $300 million, although that seems unlikely. The company plan is to give away cell phones and airtime in exchange for showing ads on your phone.

The icing on the cake? Xero Mobile is being run by a crew from the now defunct Gizmondo! Peter Lilley, David Levett, and Rich Clayton are apparently all principals at Xero Mobile. Our spidey-sense is starting to tingle….

...and it ain't stopping. A few days ago (Tuesday, April 11th),  Xero Mobile did a reverse merger with Desi TV, Inc., got themselves publicly traded on the OTC, and changed the company name to Xero Mobile. Currently the company has no products, no customers and no revenue. Does this sound familiar? Anyone want to buy some stock?

You could probably do worse things with your money, like dipping it in acid and jamming it into your eyes. But as an investment opportunity, we're going to have to rate Xero Mobile an “F." Fool me once, shame on you…

And that, as they say, is that... for now. We'll keep you posted should anything further develop, or at least until we finish our first draft of the TV pilot. As promised, we've updated our handy-dandy Gizmondo flow chart below. Consider it a road map to freedom.

Click to enlarge!