American financial manager of movie stars, one of the hip movers and shakers and a Bill-Gates type nerd with plastic-rimmed glasses. During the late ’90s his art-lined loft in the Soho district, New York was a pop hang-out for the young dazzling set that included Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Winona Ryder, Alanis Morisette, Matt Damon, Courteney Cox and Ben Affleck ….. many of them his clients. He was The Man of the hour with every party better than the last, until in late 1999, the party was over.
Giacchetto admits that he stole up to $10 million from the personal investment accounts of his prestigious clients and he faces fraud charges that could net him five years in jail. For three years, starting in 1997, he drew checks in client’s names and juggled them into various accounts to use for his own extravagant lifestyle. The Securities Exchange Commission is still trying to untangle his web of deposits and transfers, robbing from one client to pay another to keep one step ahead of account balances. When various financial managers found discrepancies, they thought it was sloppy bookkeeping. In truth, it was simple theft.
Arrested in April 1999 and released on $1 million bail, Giacchetto tried to leave the county a week later but was stopped at the airport with a doctored passport, 80 plane tickets and $4,000 in small bills. “I lost control,” he tearfully told the courts in August.
Articulate and cultured in art, fashion and music, he gained not only the trust but the friendship of his clients, leaving them feel twice-betrayed. His combination of sophisticate and nerd made him seem sweet and charming. He did know brokering inside and out, turning over $500 million in venture capitol in 1998.
Giacchetto was raised in the Boston suburb of Medford, the son of real-estate agents. By the time he was 11 he was making pocket money by selling magazines door-to-door. He tried to be a rock-star briefly but that was not his thing. After dropping out of University, he went to work as a financial analyst. In 1987, he struck out on his own as an investment specialist for artists and performers. After success in Boston, he moved his HQ to Manhattan in 1991 and promptly networked his way into the Hollywood cream of investors. For his early parties he would spend maybe $10,000 at a club – – several times a week.
Cracks began to appear in his facade, and spooked by rumors and an absence of financial statements, 17 high profile clients pulled out of Giacchetto’s fun in December 1999, drawing the attention of the SEC.
On 2/07/2001, former money manager to the stars Dana Giacchetto, 38, was sentenced to a 57-month prison term after pleading guilty to charges of looting stars’ accounts.