Ponzi

Sylvein William Maximilian D’Habsburg XVII, of West Hills, agreed to plead guilty to running a $5.9-million Ponzi scheme that targeted churchgoing seniors.

Sylvein William Maximilian D’Habsburg XVII, 48, of West Hills has agreed to plead guilty to running a $5.9-million Ponzi scheme in which he convinced seniors to invest in his businesses and then spent their money on luxury cars and rare antiques, authorities said.

According to his plea agreement, D’Habsburg operated his Ponzi scheme from January 2018 to June 2023 and hired recruiters to identify potential investors for his two companies: Wild Rabbit Technologies LLC and BAI Intelligence LLC.

He would explain to people that assume Social Security is a “Ponzi scheme,” pointing out that “these are real dollars that get paid in every year and real dollars that get paid out. It is more akin to an insurance company where premiums are collected and benefits are paid out.”

Last year, the bank agreed to pay $1.2 billion to settle a lawsuit accusing it of involvement in a $7-billion Ponzi scheme orchestrated by conman Allen Stanford, who is now in prison.