U.S. Attorney E. Martin Estrada | U.S. Department of Justice
A man from San Fernando Valley has agreed to plead guilty to a federal felony charge for orchestrating a Ponzi scheme that defrauded clients, including elderly church parishioners, out of more than $5.9 million. The Justice Department announced the development today.
Sylvein William Maximilian D’Habsburg XVII, also known as "Sylvein Scalleone," aged 48 and residing in West Hills, is set to plead guilty to one count of wire fraud. He is expected to enter his plea in the United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles in the coming weeks.
According to the plea agreement filed today, D’Habsburg operated from January 2018 until June 2023. During this period, he employed recruiters to find potential investors for his companies Wild Rabbit Technologies LLC and BAI Intelligence LLC. He primarily targeted the local Filipino community and elderly church members.
At investment presentations, D’Habsburg falsely claimed his companies had developed artificial intelligence technology capable of predicting future events and detecting COVID-19 infections from video recordings. Additionally, he misled investors by stating he had secured around $500 million from retired professional athletes and other prominent figures such as Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, and Steve Wozniak. He assured investors that their funds would be used for hiring personnel and obtaining patents.
Contrary to these claims, D’Habsburg spent the investors' money on personal luxuries including high-end vehicles like a 1933 Rolls Royce Phantom II Continental Sedanca de Ville by Barker and rare antiques such as Italian carved Giltwood Thrones from the 1800s.
The fraudulent activities resulted in approximately $5.9 million in losses for his victims. Upon entering his guilty plea, D’Habsburg could face up to 20 years in federal prison.
The FBI is conducting an investigation into this case. Assistant United States Attorneys Jason C. Pang of the General Crimes Section and Alexander Su of the Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section are leading the prosecution.