Alleged Fraudster Loffredo Borrowed Nearly All of an Employee's Life Savings Claiming It Was for a Sick Child

Alleged Fraudster Loffredo Borrowed Nearly All of an Employee's Life Savings Claiming It Was for a Sick Child

For decades, a man named Billy worked at Campanella’s restaurant in Cranston. He did everything from maintaining the restaurant's exterior to cleaning the floors, and he served as a prep cook in the kitchen.

Now, according to Billy and supported by bank documents provided to GoLocal, Campanella's failed owner, Andrew Loffredo, borrowed $475,000 from Billy — nearly all of his retirement funds. 

Campanella's and Caffe Itri are two restaurants that Loffredo bought. Both are now closed and are under the control of a court-appointed receiver, and there are a growing number of accusations against Loffredo. According to court documents and multiple sources, Loffredo owes one investor, Stephen Soscia, as much as $30 million.

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Loffredo Claimed Money Was Needed for a Sick Child

How did Loffredo get the money from Billy?

Initially, Loffredo asked to borrow $125,000 claiming that he needed it for his sick child, according to Billy

“One day, I was at work. [Loffredo] said, ‘Could I speak to you for a minute?’ And we went out into the dining room. There was nobody else in the dining room. Just me and him,” said Billy.

“He sat me down and went over a description of a condition that his son had. And he needed a procedure. In order to hopefully save his life,” said Billy.

“And he needed the money because he did not want to take any more of the money out of the businesses anymore. He said, I've already spent a lot of money. I don't want to close the business,” said Billy.

“I really need this. If you do this for me, I'll give you $25,000 as compensation. So that was the first time [Loffredo] borrowed money,” added Billy.

A few days later, Loffredo was back to Billy, claiming that his son needed another procedure.

“And he gave it the same basic story. He's better, but he needs, he does need another procedure. He told me his insurance wouldn't cover it. That's, that's what he told me,” said Billy.

The stories continued from Loffredo.

Billy recounted that Loffredo said, “I want my son to live. I know this is asking a lot of you. But that's what, that's what he's, that is why he needed the money. And so, so I did the $250,000.”

Why would Billy provide so much of his lifetime savings to Loffredo, who had only owned Campanella's for just over a year at the time?

“I can probably also tell you this. Goes back a little bit. Richard Campanella. And his wife, they had a son that passed away of leukemia. About eight years ago. Or so,” said Billy, who has never had children.

“But in my opinion, I think he kind of preyed on my going through a person losing a child, even though I don't have any children,” added Billy.

According to Billy and the documents, Loffredo produced a repayment schedule, but little was repaid.

“So around Thanksgiving, the only money he ever gave me was when he walked into the restaurant one day and handed me a big pile, a wad of cash,” said Billy.

Before the end of the year, Billy had lent Loffredo $375,000, and had been repaid only $9,360.

And then Loffredo came back to Billy one more time in January of 2026. Billy said Loffredo showed him a loan document and said that if he could borrow just $100,000 more, Loffredo could close the loan and repay him all the money he owed Billy and the money Billy would need to pay the penalties and taxes from removing the money from his retirement account.

Again, bank documents reviewed by GoLocal corroborate Billy’s statements.

The total amount of Billy's loans totaled $475,000, the retirement funds that he had spent 30 years saving.

 

Loffredo Tells GoLocal Multiple Stories, and None of Them Appear to Be Credible

In a phone interview with GoLocal on Friday, Loffredo repeatedly said he never borrowed any money from Billy.

Loffredo repeatedly said, “No.”

Then, the story changed.

On Saturday night, in another interview with GoLocal, Loffredo admitted he borrowed money from Billy.

“I mean, it was $20,000. He lent it to me. Got paid back before the end of the year,” said Loffredo, and claimed it was needed to stabilize the business. There was no mention of medical treatment for his child.

For Billy, at age 62, he is trying to rebuild his financial situation.

After nearly 30 years of working for the Campanella family, the Loffredo era has proved devastating. Loffredo purchased the restaurant in August of 2024, and in about 18 months, Billy lost his job, and it looks like the retirement funds that he had saved over 30 years are gone.

Billy said when Campanella’s closed, he told Loffredo, “What you did to me is a terrible thing. I mean, I cried a few times. You know, but I tried to keep my composure and said you know, someday you'll realize what you did to me.”

Billy’s kindness appeared to have been preyed upon by the 28-year-old Loffredo.

 

This story is still developing…