Milan – New legal troubles for the lawyer Ciro Rizzotto, 51 years old from Ischia, already known in the news for crimes of fraud, embezzlement, slander and fraudulent bankruptcy. On May 28th he will have to appear before the Court of Milan on charges of aggravated fraud and financial abuse.
According to the public prosecutor Francesco Cajani, Rizzotto allegedly deceived at least 133 investors, convincing them to participate in real estate transactions for the purchase, renovation and subdivision of properties in Milan and Brianza through the company Hub Srl, without however returning the capital raised. The estimated shortfall is around 1,5 million euro, but the company's financial crisis could cause the figure to rise.
The charges: bogus operations and missing capital
The investigation brought to light a sophisticated system of fraud: Rizzotto allegedly concealed the sales of the properties that had already taken place and falsified the purchase deeds, inducing the victims to believe in non-existent deals. The accusatory framework worsens with the contestation of the repeated and specific relapse.
Meanwhile, the District Council of Forensic Discipline of Naples has taken measures against the lawyer, suspending him from practicing the profession for five years. A measure that comes after numerous reports and complaints against him.
The prescription in the last case
In recent months, the Court of Appeal of Milan declared the crimes charged to Rizzotto and his collaborator to be time-barred Lucia Losacco, a business agent who presented herself to clients as a lawyer. Both had been sentenced in the first instance in 2016 to one year of imprisonment for a real estate scam against a couple from Puglia, looking for an apartment for their daughter, a student at the Catholic University of Milan.
In the operative part of the sentence, the judges firmly underlined the negative value of the conduct: “The high dignity of the legal profession is not compatible with the busybody's scheming”.
Comments (1)
It's a bit sad that a person like Rizzotto has done such serious things. Justice must take its course, but I wonder how all this could have happened. I hope that the victims can recover something.