In 1935 or 1934 he became enmeshed in a criminal case in which his girlfriend Paulette Couyba tried with a help of false bank check swindle a French investor (dealers of alcohol) of hundreds of thousands of Francs. Wilhelm was invited to the meeting between Couyba and the investor, possibly to built a trust. Himself as Wilhelm later claim did not understand what was taking place. The arrested woman at first pleaded guilty, but later began to shift the blame on Wilhelm stating that the ill-gotten money were supposed to go to return Habsburgs to power. The sensationalistic news was picked up by the French left-wing news media which was irritated by the mere surname of the Austrian. The press sentenced Wilhelm already before trial and fearing unjust verdict Wilhelm fled Paris for Vienna. An informant for the French police claimed that Wilhelm carried on a sexual relationship with two of his male assistants. The judges sentenced him to five years in prison, while Couyba was released.