When nearly six thousand Australians opened their retirement accounts in 2024, they found them emptied — casualties of a half-billion-dollar collapse that is now unravelling through cascading lawsuits. Paul Chiodo, the former operator of Shield Master Fund, has turned to the courts to place blame on builder Roberto Filippini, alleging that funds entrusted for apartment developments were instead channelled into Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and multimillion-dollar properties. The legal action is one thread in a larger knot: ASIC pursues Chiodo, liquidators pursue Filippini, and somewhere beneath the
Collapsed super fund manager sues builder over $200m in alleged misappropriated investor funds
Nearly 6,000 superannuation members lost their retirement savings when Shield Master Fund collapsed in 2024.
The invoice amounts we received were much greater than the subcontractors' invoices
Mark
So Chiodo is claiming Filippini stole from him, but Chiodo is also being sued by ASIC for mismanaging the fund itself. How does that work?
Mimi
Chiodo's position is that he directed the money to City Built in good faith for legitimate development projects, but Filippini's company inflated the invoices and pocketed the difference. He's saying he was defrauded.
Luke
But we should be careful here. Chiodo is defending ASIC's allegations that he improperly directed $150 million to these developments in the first place. So even if Filippini did inflate invoices, the question of whether those developments should have received that money at all is still contested.
Mark
Right. So the $200 million lawsuit doesn't necessarily clear Chiodo of the original problem.
Mimi
No. And the liquidators are already suing Filippini separately. So there are three different legal actions happening at once, all touching the same money.
Luke
The freezing orders against Filippini's family are interesting. They're overseas, and liquidators have frozen up to $50 million in assets. But Chiodo is claiming at least $184 million went to City Built. Even if they recover the $50 million, there's a huge gap.
Mark
So the money might just be gone.
Mimi
Or it's tied up in property and vehicles that take time to liquidate. The Toorak house, the South Yarra apartment, the cars—those have to be sold, and that process can take months or years.
Luke
And we don't know yet whether a court will agree with Chiodo's version of events. Filippini hasn't responded publicly. His lawyers declined to comment.
Mark
What about the 6,000 people who lost their superannuation?
Mimi
They're waiting to see what gets recovered. The liquidators are pursuing Filippini, but the amount they might recover is still uncertain.
Luke
And even if they do recover money, it won't be the full $500 million. These people are unlikely to get their savings back in full.
The Pulse
- Nearly 6,000 Australians lost their superannuation savings when Shield Master Fund collapsed in 2024, erasing close to $500 million in retirement security overnight.
- Chiodo is now suing builder Roberto Filippini for $200 million, alleging that invoice fraud and inflated timesheets funnelled at least $184 million away from legitimate construction work.
- The alleged spoils read like a luxury catalogue — a $15 million South Yarra apartment, a five-storey Toorak mansion with a rooftop pool, and a fleet of supercars including two Lamborghinis and a Ferrari.
- Filippini's family assets, with members currently overseas, are already frozen by liquidators up to $50 million — a separate legal pursuit running parallel to Chiodo's own claim.
- Chiodo himself is under fire from ASIC, which alleges he improperly directed more than $150 million of investor funds into developments and later raised money from investors to fund his own legal defence.
- The overlapping lawsuits — Chiodo versus Filippini, liquidators versus Filippini, ASIC versus Chiodo — expose a tangled architecture of alleged misconduct with no clear resolution yet in sight.
When nearly six thousand Australians opened their retirement accounts in 2024, they found them emptied — casualties of a half-billion-dollar collapse that is now unravelling through cascading lawsuits. Paul Chiodo, the former operator of Shield Master Fund, has turned to the courts to place blame on builder Roberto Filippini, alleging that funds entrusted for apartment developments were instead channelled into Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and multimillion-dollar properties. The legal action is one thread in a larger knot: ASIC pursues Chiodo, liquidators pursue Filippini, and somewhere beneath the competing claims lie the lost savings of ordinary people who trusted the system to protect them.
Paul Chiodo, the former operator of the collapsed Shield Master Fund, has launched a $200 million lawsuit against Melbourne builder Roberto Filippini, alleging that money raised from investors for apartment developments was systematically siphoned off through inflated invoices and fraudulent timesheets. Chiodo's company claims that Filippini's firm, City Built, submitted invoices far exceeding what subcontractors and suppliers had actually charged — a discrepancy Chiodo says his team uncovered by going directly to those tradespeople and comparing the original figures against what City Built had billed.
The lawsuit alleges that between May 2023 and October 2024, at least $80.5 million flowed into Filippini's accounts, with the total advanced to City Built reaching at least $184 million — some $30 million more than liquidators had previously identified. The claim names not only Filippini and his company but also his wife and two adult children, alleging that diverted funds passed through bank accounts held in their names. The alleged purchases include a $15 million South Yarra apartment, a newly built Toorak residence valued at over $10 million, retail properties across Melbourne, and a collection of luxury vehicles including a Ferrari, two Lamborghinis, and a Maserati.
Shield Master Fund collapsed in 2024, wiping out the superannuation savings of approximately 6,000 members and leaving nearly $500 million unaccounted for. Filippini has not been personally accused of wrongdoing by ASIC, and his lawyers have declined to comment. However, liquidators overseeing the collapsed fund are already pursuing him separately, and have obtained freezing orders over his family's assets — valued at up to $50 million — while the family remains overseas.
Chiodo himself is far from a bystander in the legal storm. ASIC launched proceedings against him in June 2024, alleging he improperly directed more than $150 million of Shield's funds into apartment projects, many of which were left incomplete before being sold off by liquidators. ASIC has further alleged that Chiodo solicited investor money to cover his own legal costs after the regulator moved against him — a claim he denies. The overlapping actions — Chiodo suing Filippini, liquidators suing Filippini, and ASIC suing Chiodo — paint a picture of a fund whose collapse was not a single failure but a cascade of alleged misconduct, with thousands of ordinary Australians left holding the consequences.
Paul Chiodo, the former operator of Shield Master Fund, has filed a $200 million lawsuit against builder Roberto Filippini, claiming that money meant for apartment developments was instead diverted to luxury cars, high-end real estate, and property renovations. The claim centers on Chiodo Corporation's allegation that Filippini's company, City Built, systematically inflated invoices and timesheets to extract excess payments from development projects across Melbourne and Far North Queensland.
The Shield Master Fund collapsed in 2024, erasing nearly $500 million in superannuation savings for approximately 6,000 members. Chiodo's relationship with Filippini has been central to investigations into how the fund failed. Chiodo Corporation now alleges that between May 2023 and October 2024 alone, at least $80.5 million flowed to Filippini's accounts. The company claims it advanced at least $184.1 million to City Built for building work—as much as $30 million more than liquidators had previously identified.
According to court documents, Chiodo's team discovered the alleged scheme by approaching subcontractors and suppliers directly, comparing their original invoices and timesheets against the inflated amounts City Built had submitted to Chiodo Corporation. "The invoice amounts we received were much greater than the subcontractors' invoices and timesheets," Chiodo stated. The lawsuit names not only Filippini and his company but also his wife and two adult children as defendants, alleging that bank accounts under their names received the diverted funds.
The alleged misappropriated money, according to Chiodo's claim, funded a portfolio of luxury acquisitions. These include a $15 million apartment in South Yarra, a newly constructed five-storey Toorak residence featuring a rooftop pool and basement gymnasium valued at over $10 million, and multiple retail properties across the city. Filippini's vehicle collection, the claim alleges, encompasses a Ferrari 296 GTB, two Lamborghinis (an Aventador SV and Huracán Performante), a Maserati Granturismo, a Jaguar F-Pace, and several other high-end vehicles. Chiodo Corporation also alleges City Built overcharged for renovation of Chiodo's own $10 million apartment overlooking Albert Park lake.
Fillippini, known for driving a Ferrari, has not been personally accused of wrongdoing by ASIC, the corporate watchdog, nor have any members of his family. His lawyers declined to comment on the lawsuit. However, liquidators to the Shield scheme operator are already pursuing separate legal action against Filippini, seeking repayment of funds he received. Those liquidators have obtained freezing orders against Filippini and his immediate family—currently overseas—covering assets valued up to $50 million.
Chiodo himself faces significant legal pressure. ASIC launched court action against him and Keystone Asset Management, the corporate entity overseeing the fund, in June 2024. One of ASIC's core allegations is that Chiodo improperly directed more than $150 million of Shield's money toward apartment developments. Many of these projects were left partially completed before liquidators sold them to new developers. ASIC has also alleged that Chiodo raised money from investors to pay his legal fees after the regulator took action against him. Chiodo is defending both claims and has consistently denied wrongdoing.
Chiodo's appointment of Filippini as builder came after problems with his previous contractor, Frank Nadinic, who had been declared bankrupt at least twice and was associated with union figure John Setka. The cascade of legal actions—Chiodo suing Filippini, liquidators suing Filippini, ASIC suing Chiodo—reflects the tangled web of alleged misconduct that brought down a half-billion-dollar fund and left thousands of Australians without their retirement savings.
Notable Quotes
We examined the original invoices and timesheets lodged by the subcontractors to City Built on the development projects, and the corresponding invoices lodged by City Built to Chiodo Corporation. The invoice amounts we received were much greater than the subcontractors' invoices and timesheets.— Paul Chiodo, in a statement regarding the discovery of alleged excess payments
Want the full story?
Read the original at The Age ↗
Politics & Governance