Haverhill Crypto Hustle: $625K Gone

⏱ 2 min read

Luciano Schipelliti, 28, of Haverhill, Massachusetts, allegedly ran a two-year con that left investors nearly $625,000 in the hole. The feds say Schipelliti launched a pair of cryptocurrency investment funds – Superstars Fund in late 2018 and TTM Fund in February 2021 – then promptly lost their money on bad bets. Instead of admitting failure, he allegedly spent years feeding investors fabricated reports to keep the cash flowing.

The scheme started with the Superstars Fund, pulling in around $275,000 from hopeful investors. By 2019, that money was gone – wiped out, authorities say, by a series of losing trades. But Schipelliti didn’t confess. He reportedly pumped out bogus monthly statements claiming the fund was still thriving. This deception paved the way for the TTM Fund in 2021, where he sucked in another $350,000.

The rinse and repeat cycle continued until September 2021, when the TTM Fund also evaporated, swallowed up by more failed crypto gambles and, according to prosecutors, Schipelliti’s personal spending. It wasn’t a fund, it was a slush fund.

Schipelliti is now facing a wire fraud charge, a federal felony carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years and a hefty fine. He’s agreed to plead guilty, though a court date hasn’t been scheduled. The FBI’s Boston Division handled the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin A. Saltzman is prosecuting the case.