CRANSTON, R.I. (WPRI) – When Donna deWardener invested nearly $2 million of her retirement savings through Joseph Giuttari for multiple real-estate deals, she felt confident it was a good financial decision.
Giuttari is her cousin and he’s been known for years within Rhode Island’s investment community as an active businessman, having done real-estate deals throughout New England along with his family. He seemed credible, she said.
But deWardener said her confidence began to fade and eventually disappear after Giuttari failed to make payments, started making excuses, asked for more time and ultimately stopped communicating.
DeWardener estimates she lost two-thirds of her retirement savings and now works part-time as a school nurse. She said the ordeal has changed the entire trajectory of her life.
“What you plan to do as you get older, and who you might want to help, or who you might want to spend time with, your plans are permanently altered,” she told Target 12 in an exclusive interview. “I’m so disappointed that he would do this.”