Serial MLM crypto scammer Nicholas Coppola has been arrested in Italy.

Coppola had been hiding out in Dubai…

…but appears to have wanted to spend Christmas and the new year in his native Veneto.

Coppola was arrested by Italian financial police in Veneto on December 28th.

As reported by Corriere del Veneto on December 30th, Coppola’s arrest follows “numerous complaint for fraud” from “dozens of Veronese”.

The investigation was led by the Veronese Public Prosecutor’s Office and Economic and Financial Police Unit.

Coppola (right) is accused of using social media to promote illegal cryptocurrency investment schemes.

BehindMLM came across Coppola as an insider of the collapsed Meta Utopia Ponzi scheme in 2022.

Coppola’s attempts to hide his association with Meta Utopia earned him a spot on BehindMLM’s DMCA Wall of Shame.

Italian Public Prosecutors allege Coppola,

as a speaker, in conferences on the topic of virtual currency, during which he illegally proposed and placed financial investment products and services.

Through his illicit conduct, the ” promoter “, also with the help of other compliant subjects , equally under investigation, misled savers through investment proposals at extremely favorable conditions, promising them a ” safe ” and huge return “.

According to the investigators, however, “the negotiation of the investments actually took place in the absence of the authorizations required by the Consolidated Finance Act”.

How many of Coppola’s accomplices are also under investigation is unclear.

Together however, Coppola and his accomplices are believed to have stolen upwards of €500,000 euros.

Following his arrest, Coppola has been released to home detention. CONSOB, Italy’s top financial regulator, has also seized Coppola’s electronic devices.

 

Update 18th April 2025 – Brief update on Nicholas Coppola’s case from Corriere del Veneto;

On January 29, the 28-year-old, defended by the lawyer Tommaso Imperadore, appeared before judge Luciano Gorra asking to be tried with the abbreviated procedure, that is, only on the basis of the evidence collected by the public prosecutor Carlo Boranga.

A type of trial that, in the event of a conviction, would allow Coppola to obtain a reduction in his sentence.

The judge accepted his request on Wednesday, as well as the civil action of two investors who had reported the 28-year-old for fraud.

However, it will be necessary to wait until October for the trial to be held and for the judge’s sentence.

If I’m understanding correctly, Coppola opting for an abbreviated trial suggests the case against him is based on strong evidence.

Coppola remains under house arrest pending trial. I’ll check back later in the year for an update on the trial outcome.