Fake European noble pleads guilty to scam targeting elderly Fil-Ams
LOS ANGELES – A San Fernando Valley man who uses the surname of a dynasty that once ruled Austria pleaded guilty Friday to a federal charge alleging he swindled elderly Filipino Americans and others in a Ponzi scheme that took in more than $5.9 million.
Sylvein William Maximilian D’Habsburg XVII, 48, of West Hills, who entered his plea in downtown Los Angeles to one count of wire fraud, has falsely claimed Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan were among his investors, according to court documents.
Sentencing was scheduled for May 30, at which time he will face up to 20 years in federal prison, prosecutors noted.
From January 2018 to June 2023, D’Habsburg hired recruiters to identify potential investors for his two companies, Wild Rabbit Technologies LLC and BAI Intelligence LLC, targeting the local Filipino community, including elderly church parishioners, according to his plea agreement filed in LA federal court.
D’Habsburg had his name legally changed to resemble that of the famous European family and is not a descendant of nobility, a spokesperson for the US Attorney’s Office said.
At investment presentations, D’Habsburg claimed that he had an artificial intelligence technology that could predict the future and detect a COVID-19 infection based solely on a video recording, among other things, court papers show.
Prosecutors say he also falsely claimed to potential investors that he had received about $500 million in investments for his companies from retired pro athletes and other well-known people, including Bryant, Jordan, and Apple Computer co-founder Steve Wozniak, and that he would use the funds to hire personnel and obtain patents.
However, D’Habsburg used the victims’ money to purchase luxury cars, such as a 1933 Rolls Royce Phantom II Continental Sedanca de Ville by Barker, and rare antiques, including a pair of Italian carved giltwood throne armchairs from the 1800s, prosecutors said.
As a result of his scheme, the US Attorney’s Office said, D’Habsburg caused his victims a total of about $5.9 million in losses.
Once D’Habsburg faces a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison, prosecutors noted.
The House of Habsburg-Lorraine is the former royal house of the defunct Austro-Hungarian thrones. (With CNS report)
