A man from San Fernando Valley has agreed to plead guilty to a federal felony charge related to a Ponzi scheme that defrauded clients, including elderly church parishioners, of over $5.9 million. The Justice Department announced the development on December 3, 2024.
Sylvein William Maximilian D’Habsburg XVII, also known as "Sylvein Scalleone," aged 48 and residing in West Hills, will plead guilty to one count of wire fraud. He is expected to formally enter his plea in the United States District Court in Los Angeles in the coming weeks.
According to the plea agreement filed today, D’Habsburg operated this scheme from at least January 2018 until June 2023. He recruited individuals to find potential investors for his companies, Wild Rabbit Technologies LLC and BAI Intelligence LLC. His targets included members of the local Filipino community and elderly church parishioners.
During investment presentations, D’Habsburg claimed that his artificial intelligence technology could predict future events and detect COVID-19 infections from video recordings. He falsely stated that he had secured approximately $500 million in investments from retired professional athletes and other notable figures such as Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, and Steve Wozniak. He promised that these funds would be used for hiring personnel and obtaining patents.
Contrary to these claims, D’Habsburg used the investors' money for personal purchases like luxury cars—including 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 losses amounting to approximately $5.9 million for his victims. Upon entering his guilty plea, D’Habsburg could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
The FBI is conducting an investigation into this case. Assistant United States Attorneys Jason C. Pang from the General Crimes Section and Alexander Su from the Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section are handling the prosecution.