Police say a Hollywood man is back in cuffs over a familiar script: big promises, slick screenshots, and a vanishing pile of cash.
Claudio María Cassina, 53, was arrested Wednesday in Broward County after investigators say he talked a Fort Lauderdale-area customer into handing over $13,000 for what turned out to be a bogus stock investment. Detectives say Cassina dangled an 18% return paid out weekly, then made only two small payments before the money dried up. The new arrest comes on the heels of a 2024 case in which he was accused of posing as an investor and allegedly fleecing multiple people out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
According to NBC6 South Florida, the latest scheme traces back to November 2025, when the victim met Cassina at an auto repair shop in the Fort Lauderdale area and agreed to invest. The victim reportedly received only two partial payments that added up to a little more than $800 before the payouts stopped and the excuses started. To keep the victim on the hook, investigators say Cassina sent images that appeared to show trades in progress and an active account.
How The Alleged Scheme Played Out
Police and earlier reporting describe a pattern they say Cassina repeated: present himself as a savvy investor, show screenshots that look like real trading activity, and pay out modest early returns to build trust and attract more money…