Financier Proto arrested for defrauding disabled woman

(ANSA) - Como, June 12 - Italian financier Alessandro Proto was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of defrauding a disabled woman suffering from cancer, sources said.
    The Milanese financier, 44, is accused of defrauding her of 130,000 euros.
    Proto, who is resident in Switzerland, allegedly invested the profits of this and other alleged scams in online gambling sites.
    In February 2013 Proto was first arrested, for alleged fraud and market manipulation in Milan.
    The Italian realtor to Hollywood stars is an ex-primary candidate in former premier Silvio Berlusconi's now-defunct People of Freedom (PdL) party.
    Proto, who has handled luxury Italian property purchases for Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Leonardo DiCaprio, has been under investigation for deals at his Proto Consulting firm.
    Proto first made headlines in Italy in 2012 for expressing interest along with four investors in buying up the Benetton family's shares in the loss-making RCS publishing house.