Woman Stole Over $1 Million From Her Elderly Boss to Finance Her Failed Gelato Business: Manhattan DA's Office

CHELSEA, NY — The woman behind the short-lived Crave. It pastry and gelato shop in Chelsea was indicted by the Manhattan District Attorney's office Friday for stealing over $1 million from her elderly boss to finance her failed business, Manhattan DA Cyrus R. Vance, Jr.'s office announced Friday.

Forty-three-year-old Selvaggia Pizzetti faces charges of grand larceny and tax fraud for allegedly stealing $1.16 million from her 94-year-old employer, who had hired her to be an assistant at his various businesses.

Pizzetti managed the bills for some of her employer's establishments, which led to her eventually stealing $60,000 from his bank account in June 2013, the DA's office said.

Between April 2014 and February 2016, Pizzetti made 22 unauthorized wire transfers from her boss' personal and business bank accounts to spend the money on rent, construction, employee salaries, and other things associated with her recently opened gelato and pastry business, Crave. It, the DA's office said. Crave. It used to be located at 545 Sixth Ave. between 14th and 15th streets.

The victim reported the alleged crime to the DA's office earlier this year.

"This defendant is accused of stealing more than a million dollars from her 94-year-old employer to bankroll a pie-in-the-sky business venture," District Attorney Vance said in a statement. "As alleged in the indictment, over the course of several years, Selvaggia Pizzetti routinely transferred large amounts of money from the victim's account into her personal and business accounts – in order to finance a gelato and pastry shop which ultimately failed. Unfortunately, financial exploitation of this nature is all too common. I thank the victim in this case for reporting this theft to my Office, and encourage anyone who believes they have been the victim of this type of fraud to call our Financial Frauds Hotline at 212-335-8900."

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