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 Dana Giacchetto, a former investment advisor to A-listers such as
Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz, was sentenced to two years
probation, including four months home confinement for using a stolen
credit card to spend more than $9,000.
U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon in Manhattan said she nearly
decided to not give the non-prison sentence as prosecutors pushed
for up to seven months for his latest, although smaller, financial
crime.
"I'm deeply troubled by this kind of crime with this kind of
history," she said.
Giacchetto, 52, pleaded guilty to fraud in 2000 for taking money
from accounts of non-celebrity clients to finance a high-flying
lifestyle and give extraordinary returns or mask losses to star
clients.
He was sentenced in February 2001 to 4-3/4 years in prison, although
he was released early in July 2003, records show.
In the latest case, brought in February, prosecutors said Giacchetto
used a stolen American Express card number over two months in 2013
on airline services, liquor and food delivery and dentistry, among
other things.
Ronald Fischetti, his lawyer, said the credit card had belonged to
an investor in a Las Vegas play called "Stripped." During a hearing
Thursday, he pushed for a light sentence given the small size of the
amounts at issue.
Megan Gaffney, a prosecutor, called that argument "bizarre."
"These two offenses, while not similar in scale, are similar in
character," she said.
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Giacchetto, dressed in jeans and a blue t-shirt, said he was "very
troubled being in front of you your honor," and said he regretted
what he did.
"I don't want to go to jail again," he said.
McMahon said she did not understand why he committed a crime again,
but agreed to a non-prison sentence plus an order that he pay $9,983
in restitution to American Express.
She warned him against violating his two-years probation, noting her
courtroom had two doors, one with an exit sign that visitors can use
to leave freely, and the other intended for incarcerated defendants.
"Trust me, I'll send you out the no-exit door," she added.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York. Editing by Andre Grenon)
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