Sylvain William Maximilian Dabsburg XVII, 48, of West Hills, ran a $5.9 million Ponzi scheme in which he convinced elderly people to invest in his businesses and then funneled the money into luxury cars and rare antiques. He has agreed to plead guilty to operating the scheme, authorities announced. .
With such a grand name, one might assume that this man is a descendant of the Habsburg dynasty that ruled Austria from 1282 to 1918, but that would be incorrect.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Justice said Mr. Dabsburg, who had legally changed his name from Sylvain Scalleone, was “not related by blood or marriage to the Habsburg dynasty, which ruled parts of Europe for centuries.” ”.
The San Fernando Valley man entered into a plea deal Tuesday and is expected to enter a formal guilty plea to one felony count of wire fraud in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles in the coming weeks, the Department of Justice said. Prosecutors say he could be sentenced to up to 20 years in federal prison.
According to the plea agreement, Dabsburg operated a Ponzi scheme from January 2018 to June 2023, hiring recruiters to identify potential investors for two companies, Wild Rabbit Technologies LLC and BAI Intelligence LLC. hired.
Prosecutors say the scheme targeted the local Filipino community, including many elderly church parishioners.
Prosecutors say Dahabsburg sold potential investors artificial intelligence software that could perform amazing feats such as predicting the future and detecting COVID-19 based solely on video recordings. He said he had created it.
The Justice Department also said he falsely claimed that multiple big-name celebrities, including Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Steve Wozniak, had invested about $500 million in his company.
He promised to use the funds from investors to hire staff for the company and patent the invention.
But in reality, the victims’ money was used to buy luxury cars, two throne chairs made from 1800s Italian gilt wood carvings, and Barker’s 1933 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental sedan. Prosecutors said he splurged on rare antiques such as villes. According to RM Sotheby’s, this car recently sold for more than $200,000.
Prosecutors say Dahabsburg collectively defrauded victims of $5.9 million. The case is being investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice.
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