Man swindles churchgoers and spends the money on luxury cars and thrones, feds say
A California man accused of swindling elderly churchgoers and others and then using the money on lavish purchases such as a 1933 Rolls-Royce and a pair of 19th century Italian-carved thrones is set to plead guilty, prosecutors said.
Sylvein William Maximilian D’Habsburg XVII is expected to enter a guilty plea to one count of wire fraud in federal court in Los Angeles “in the coming weeks,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said in a news release.
The 48-year-old D’Habsburg, who’s also known as Sylvein Scalleone, is accused of orchestrating a Ponzi scheme that cost investors more than $5.9 million.
Officials said the scheme was related to two businesses D’Habsburg owned that marketed “an alleged artificial intelligence technology.” He said the technology could predict the future and detect COVID-19 infections based on video footage alone, among other things, prosecutors said.
D’Habsburg is accused of hiring recruiters to look for investors, targeting the local Filipino community, including elderly church parishioners.
He falsely told potential investors that high-profile people – such as Michael Jordan and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak – already were on board, and that high-ranking government officials had consulted with him about the technology, according to documents.
He also said he’d be using the investments to hire staff and obtain patents, officials said.
Instead, he’s accused of bankrolling his own extravagant tastes, “including spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on luxury cars, rare antiques, carved wooden throne chairs, high-end clothing, and cash withdrawals,” according to his plea agreement.
The purchases included a 1933 Rolls-Royce and a 1964 Rolls-Royce, a pair of Italian-carved Giltwood Thrones from around 1860, a Venetian baroque-style figural walnut throne chair from around 1890, a pair of Portuguese baroque columns from the late 17th century, and paired Italian marble columns from the 12th to 13th century, prosecutors said.
D’Habsburg’s attorney told McClatchy News in an email Dec. 6 that his client accepts responsibility for making false statements about the financial status of his business, but the business itself "is not a Ponzi scheme and he has not plead guilty to any charges regarding the performance of his company."
D’Habsburg’s technology has gone through multiple trials and the company sought emergency authorization from the U.S. government during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, attorney Bryan J. Thomas wrote in the email. D’Habsburg looks forward to bringing the technology to the public in the near future, Thomas said.
D’Habsburg’s will face up to 20 years in prison once the guilty plea is entered, prosecutors said.
The plea agreement also requires him to forfeit assets, including the cars and antiques.
This story was originally published December 5, 2024 at 7:44 AM.
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