⏱ 2 min read
RELATED: Manitowoc Man Indicted in Child Porn Case
SEE ALSO: New Rochelle Grifter Gets 37 Months
HAVERHILL, MA – Luciano Schipelliti, 28, is facing a wire fraud charge after allegedly fleecing investors out of $700,000 through two failed cryptocurrency ventures, federal prosecutors say.
Schipelliti started the Superstars Fund in late 2018, raking in $275,000 from investors eager to get a piece of the booming crypto market. He promptly lost it all through a series of bad bets. But instead of coming clean, he allegedly started spinning a web of lies, sending out monthly newsletters claiming the fund was still growing.
The scheme continued. In early 2021, Schipelliti launched a second fund, the TTM Fund, leveraging the false performance reports from Superstars to attract another $350,000. By September 2021, that money was gone too – squandered on more crypto losses and, according to the feds, misused in ways that violated the fund’s own rules.
Schipelliti is now staring down a potential 20-year prison sentence, plus a $250,000 fine. He’s agreed to plead guilty, though a court date hasn’t been set. The case is being prosecuted by the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.