Property developer Paul Chiodo has initiated a $200 million lawsuit against construction company City Built, its director Robert Filippini, and members of his family, raising concerns among investors about the potential impact on their chances of recovering lost superannuation funds.
The suit, filed in the Victorian Supreme Court, alleges that City Built manipulated invoices and inflated labor timesheets, defrauding Chiodo’s company by approximately $184 million. Chiodo claims the funds were used to purchase luxury properties in Melbourne and an array of high-end vehicles, including a Maserati, four Lamborghinis, and two Ferraris.
This legal move comes amid ongoing proceedings involving the liquidators of the Shield Master Fund, a failed investment scheme managed by Chiodo that resulted in 6,000 investors losing a total of $480 million in superannuation savings. The liquidators are separately suing Filippini, alleging he received $158 million from Shield despite lacking a valid building license and formal contracts for the work. Freezing orders have been placed on assets belonging to Filippini and his family—who are reportedly residing in the United Arab Emirates—amounting to tens of millions of dollars.
Chiodo’s lawsuit seeks to recover not only the $158 million linked to the Shield scheme but also additional sums he says were paid to Filippini outside of that context. Investor advocates warn that if Chiodo’s allegations are upheld, it could seriously hinder the recovery prospects for those affected. Melinda Kee, head of the investor advocacy group SOS Save Our Super, said the development risks deepening the financial hardship faced by many investors who have already seen their retirement savings vanish.
Chiodo has expressed willingness to collaborate with the liquidators to return funds to investors, stating that the alleged fraud was perpetrated against him rather than the Shield fund itself. He emphasized his intention to negotiate a resolution to benefit the investors, while declining to specify how much money remains owed to Keystone, the fund’s responsible entity.
Of the approximately 5,800 retail investors who entrusted their superannuation to the Shield Master Fund—many guided by financial advisers—around 3,000 have been reimbursed a combined $321 million by investment firm Macquarie, which assumed their holdings. However, the remaining 2,800 investors have yet to receive any distribution, nearly two years after the fund entered liquidation.
Liquidators plan to seek court approval later this month for an interim payout of $3 million to some of these unpaid investors. Macquarie, which previously repaid 3,000 investors, is entitled to a majority of the $102 million earmarked for distribution. Additionally, liquidators have recovered approximately $90 million from equity share sales, which has been reserved for legal and administrative expenses, including estimated fees totaling over $33 million related to ongoing litigation against Filippini.
Chiodo’s latest legal action follows regulatory scrutiny in recent months. The corporate regulator attempted to halt fundraising linked to Royce Capital, a new fund associated with Chiodo, amid investor concerns over the status of their investments. Five investors reportedly contributed around $1.5 million to Royce Capital in 2025, with one Queensland investor subsequently requesting redemption and recently receiving his capital plus interest.
Chiodo claims all investors in the Royce Capital fund have been repaid as promised and criticized the regulator's earlier intervention in the Shield Master Fund, which was subject to freeze orders in early 2024. He argued that regulatory actions have hampered returns for investors, asserting the fund could have delivered approximately 13 percent annual returns had operations continued uninterrupted.
The ongoing disputes highlight the complex challenges facing investors attempting to recoup losses from the collapse of Shield Master Fund and the related allegations against individuals connected to its management and contractors.