On October 10, 2025, Nicholas Coppola, a 29-year-old Italian crypto fraudster, received a two-year suspended prison sentence and was ordered to pay €140,000 in restitution to three victims, per Corriere del Veneto. The ruling stemmed from a summary trial in Verona, where Coppola was accused of defrauding 18 investors of €400,000 through MLM crypto schemes, including Meta Utopia, a “metaverse” Ponzi that promised high returns via virtual land investments, per. Arrested in December 2024 after victim complaints, Coppola opted for the abbreviated procedure, which relies on uncontested evidence and typically reduces sentences by one-third, per. This avoided a full jury trial, prioritizing judicial efficiency, per.
Coppola’s fraud surfaced in 2022 when he was linked to Meta Utopia, a scheme that raised funds for fake metaverse assets, defrauding victims across Europe, per. He attempted to conceal his involvement by deleting social media traces, earning a spot on fraud watchlists, per. Italian authorities arrested him in Verona on December 30, 2023, for aggravated fraud, placing him under house arrest, per. The trial, scheduled for October 2025, focused on eighteen victims, with fifteen not joining as civil plaintiffs but planning private settlements, represented by lawyer Matteo Moschini, per. Prosecutors alleged Coppola used smartphones and computers—confiscated during house arrest—to continue fraudulent activities, violating terms, per.
Coppola’s case highlights ongoing MLM crypto scams in Europe, where schemes like Meta Utopia exploit promises of quick returns, causing millions in losses. The suspended sentence, while lenient, includes restitution and bars him from similar activities, serving as a deterrent amid rising complaints, per. Fifteen other victims seek settlements, and parallel investigations into additional investments continue. In the U.S. and UK, similar frauds like Forsage ($340M losses) face SEC scrutiny, per. Bitcoin (BTC) ($108,000) and Ethereum (ETH) ($3,800) remain unaffected, per CoinMarketCap, but cases like Coppola’s erode trust in unregulated tokens.
The ruling underscores the need for due diligence in crypto investments, avoiding schemes with opaque teams or high-return promises. Verify projects via ESMA (esma.europa.eu) or SEC (sec.gov), and report fraud to local authorities, per. BTC support at $107,000 and ETH at $3,700 are key; diversify into USDC with stop-losses below BTC’s floor, per TradingView. Follow @TheBlock__ on X for updates. As Europe tightens rules under MiCA, expect harsher penalties for fraudsters like Coppola, potentially reducing scams by 2026, per.
