Keplero Luxury Wallet: The Biggest 'Wallet' Scam on Kickstarter

The Crowdfunding Campaigns: Ambition and Hype

The Keplero Wallet launched with impressive momentum in mid-2015. The Kickstarter campaign tapped into a trend for minimalist wallets with unique designs and capatlised on what was then the hype of wallets being funded through the platform at this time (check out my article on the Kickstarter Craze).

The wallet itself was pretty cool. It boasted a full Carbon Fiber Construction providing strength, low weight, and a premium “luxury” feel. It also had what’s known as a Magnetic Modular Design. This unique design stacked several card-holding layers together, held by a magnetic hinge. Users could fan out the layers to access cards, or even detach/ rearrange layers. The lack of any metal hinges or screws was touted as a feature in it added durbality to the wallet.

Finally the Keplero wallet promised customisation. Backers could personalize their wallet with a custom metal plate engraving (e.g. their name or a design) inset into the wallet. This was a premium touch for higher pledge tiers, meant to justify the “luxury” label. All in all it was an attractive propersition and within days of being lauched on crowdfunding platforms took off in a way i assume even the creator’s of the wallet could never have expected.

The Creators Behind Keplero Wallet and Their Background

The Keplero Wallet was created by Erasnep LLC, a two-man startup founded by longtime friends Emmanuele Antonucci and Mirko Ricciuti. The pair presented themselves as experienced professionals blending industry and tech know-how.

The first was Emmanuele Antonucci CEO of the company. Aged 40 years old at launch, with about 20 years of experience in industrial engineering and automation. According to the campaign bio, he had “worked with the best international companies” in manufacturing and had a passion for new technologies. Antonucci presumably led the product’s physical design and the manufacturing liaison, given his background. He is originally from Italy (as is evident from the Italian wordplay in the company name and his first name spelling, though the company was registered in Florida).

His partener Mirko Ricciuti, 34 years old at launch, described as having “always had a passion for computers”. While fewer details were given about Mirko, one can infer he handled the software and e-commerce side (e.g. managing the website, possibly the magnet design or any companion app if planned). He, too, has an Italian background. Mirko’s role in designing a physical wallet is less obvious; he may have primarily been a co-manager and technical support.

The two had entrepreneurial aspirations beyond the Keplero wallet itself. The Pluggy Lock campaign earlier in 2015 was their initial foray – a small accessory that plugs into a smartphone’s headphone jack to serve as an anchor point (for lanyards, keychains, etc.). That project did not reach its goal, but it gave the team a taste of crowdfunding and perhaps lessons they tried to apply to Keplero.

For instance, after Pluggy Lock’s failure, they “relaunched” it on a new Kickstarter page and even on Indiegogo, but it never took off significantly. They repurposed the Pluggy Lock Facebook page later to promote the Keplero wallet, suggesting the team was quick to pivot to their next idea.

During the campaign, Antonucci and Ricciuti maintained a friendly, transparent tone. They signed off updates as “the Keplero Team” and interacted with commenters in the early days. They certainly did not appear to be scammers at the outset – on the contrary, they seemed like over-enthusiastic inventors who suddenly found themselves with 3,700 customers and a complex hardware project to deliver. Unfortunately, as events unfolded, it became apparent that their planning was inadequate for the scale of the task.

A Timeline of Events

The Keplero Wallet Kickstarter launches with a $10,000 goal. The carbon-fiber wallet promised RFID blocking, a magnetic hinge system, and personalized engravings. Early backers could pledge ~$69 for a wallet, with higher tiers for extras. Slick marketing videos and media buzz (e.g. Plain Magazine calling it “one of the hottest Kickstarter projects”) fuel interest. Other big companies that wrote articles further hyping up the wallet (many which have been since taken down) include Gear Hungry, Everyday Carry and Carryology to name a few.

By August, The Kickstarter campaign ends funding successfully, having raised $582,634 from 3,792 backers – almost 60× the goal. Several stretch goals were hit: updates during the campaign celebrated milestones like “closing in on $350k” and teased bonus features (e.g. an extra card-holding layer). Backers were told fulfillment would begin by November 2015 (a timeframe given in the campaign’s reward estimates).

As November passes, no wallets ship.’ ‘The team at Keplero wallet issued an update delaying delivery to January 2016, citing production issues. Backers grow concerned but many remain patient. Into early 2016 and by then further delays are announced. The team admits to serious manufacturing problems: carbon fiber fabrication is costly and wasteful, and the strong magnets were demagnetizing credit card stripes during quality tests. Keplero’s design must be reworked. Backers who paid $100+ are frustrated as timelines slip repeatedly. Some request refunds, but the creators stall and won’t budge.

By May 2016, a pivitol update and the last for a very long time by the duo. They announce the Keplero wallet 2.0 – a version made from “Crystal ABS” plastic instead of carbon fiber. The team touts ABS as “easy to work with” and having a “brilliant gloss finish”. This cheaper material will solve their production woes, they claim, and they share photos of the new plastic model. Backers are essentially asked to accept a plastic wallet in place of the premium carbon fiber product they were promised. The update is vague on exact shipping dates, simply assuring that work is ongoing - backers aren’t amused.

One of a very few Keplero Wallet reviews on YouTube. Video courtesy of stuarttygraham.

By June, communication from the Keplero team went silent. With mounting anger from backers they form a group of 500+ supporters signing a Change.org petition urging Kickstarter to take action against Erasnep LLC. The petition notes “the last update from Keplero was May 10, 2016 and there has been no updates since. Previous updates were vague, with no dates, no follow-through.” Kickstarter does not intervene, maintaining that backers fund projects at their own risk.

As we get into late 2016, the gravity of the problems continue mounting. The creators quietly keep raising money opening an Indiegogo campaign (and later “InDemand” pre-order status) to continue taking orders. The Indiegogo campaign also far exceeded its goal, contributing to a total of roughly $2 million raised between both platforms - now the most funded wallet in history.

Keplero’s official website is set up as an online store, accepting direct pre-orders. New customers can purchase either the original carbon fiber model or the “Keplero 2.0” ABS version – with the plastic wallet offered at a much lower price. In fact, the ABS Keplero eventually retailed for as little as $25, a far cry from the $100+ many Kickstarter backers paid.

Graphic showcasing what Keplero’s customisation editor would look like.

As we roll into 2017 backers continue to flood the Kickstarter comment section with complaints and demands. There are rumors that a few “tester” units have been produced, but the vast majority of backers have received nothing. Some backers discover that new customers (who ordered via the website) have started receiving the plastic wallets, while original backers are left waitinghis causes outrage.

“The plastic version is not ‘luxury’, not carbon fibre, does not shield NFC, still demagnetises cards… To add insult, they’re shipping to new customers first,” one Reddit user vents. Reports surface on forums of people who bought Keplero online and got a subpar product: “I finally received my Keplero wallet and it’s a thick, crappy piece of junk… bigger than a regular leather wallet,” wrote one buyer in a review.

March. Finally an update from the team on Kickstarter. It claims that after many delays, “we are shipping all the orders” and that backers will soon get their wallets. The update is brief and upbeat, giving hope to remaining supporters. However, this promise turns out to be empty – a last attempt to pacify the community. No widespread shipping ever occurs after this update. It becomes the project’s swan song.

From here, Erasnep LLC quietly dissolves. Florida business records show the company was administratively dissolved in September 2017 for failing to file its annual report. The fallout continues publicly. By now it’s been over 3 years since the Kickstarter, and no carbon fiber Keplero wallets have been delivered.

Many backers never even received the ABS version. On consumer complaint sites, backers label Keplero a “scam.” One backer recounts: “I backed Keplero in August 2015 with $141. They promised delivery by Nov 2015. Then they pushed to Jan 2016, then made up lame excuses and revamped the wallets. Now it’s 2018 and still no wallet. No updates or communication since March 2017”. Keplero’s website and social media vanish as there official website domain expire. It is the true end.

The Aftermath: Where Are They Now?

The vast majority of the 3,792 Kickstarter backers and additional Indiegogo backers never received the carbon fiber wallet they were promised. A small subset did eventually receive an ABS plastic wallet. If you were one of these ‘lucky’ people, and you still have the wallet, i’d love to buy it off you - just get in touch.

As mentioned this inferior 2.0 wallet was recieved very poorly. It lacked the RFID blocking that carbon fiber would have provided, and still had magnet issues (the team apparently did not solve the demagnetization problem, as users reported the magnets in the plastic version could erase cards too).

According to records, Erasnep LLC was dissolved in 2017 and did not face further legal action that we could find. Some backers reported the case to the Florida Attorney General and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. The FTC maintains a database of complaints; indeed, Keplero was mentioned in at least one FTC complaint filing in 2017.

However, the FTC typically only acts on crowdfunding fraud if there’s a pattern of nationwide deception and enough money involved. While $2M is significant, it’s possible the international nature of backers and the complexity of proving intent deterred regulators.

As to the men behind the Keplero, Emmanuele Antonucci and Mirko Ricciuti, they have kept a low profile since - a non exsistant one online. Their social media and LinkedIn profiles (if any) were not public. It’s speculated they returned to Europe – possibly Italy – after the company folded. A search of Italian business registers or subsequent projects did not reveal any obvious ventures by them under the same names (they may have changed brand or operated behind an alias if they continued inventing).

The Keplero saga likely tarnished their reputations in the crowdfunding sphere; any new campaign by them would be met with immediate skepticism once the connection was made. Thus, they have not appeared in any new Kickstarter/Indiegogo projects under their real names. It’s a de facto outcome that they are no longer welcome on those platforms.

For a while, kepleroluxurywallet.com (don’t visit this site as it redirects to a phising website now) remained live, selling the wallets to unsuspecting customers. According to the Better Business Bureau, that site (and a later Shopify page) continued taking orders, which led to more complaints from people who bought a wallet in 2018 and never recieved anything. One such customer wrote “I bought one product and [they] sent another”, indicating they ordered a carbon wallet but received the cheaper plastic one.

Sometime around 2019, the website finally went offline. Any remaining stock of plastic wallets likely ended up being sold on secondary markets. (There were listings on eBay and Carousell in Asia for “Keplero 2.0” wallets around 2018–2019, suggesting the last units were dumped cheaply.) By 2020, the Keplero brand had effectively disappeared from commerce.

A snapshot of the Keplero’s official website (taken from the Wayback Machine).

In the end: Lessons learned

The story of Keplero Luxury Wallet is a full arc from hype to fiasco. It began as an innovative idea by two friends, turned into one of 2015’s crowdfunding darlings, and then unraveled due to technical hurdles and mismanagement. The founders’ failure to deliver – and especially their decision to keep soliciting funds and selling inferior versions – eroded all trust and left backers feeling cheated. While not the only crowdfunded product to ever fail, Keplero is memorable for the sheer gap between its luxurious promise and its shabby outcome.

For anyone considering backing a crowdfunding campaign, the Keplero case underscores the importance of skepticism. Red flags such as extreme funding success (far beyond the goal), reliance on unproven manufacturing, and poor communication can foreshadow trouble.

As of 2025, Keplero’s creators have faded from the public eye, and no restitution was made to their supporters. All that remains is a cautionary tale documented across the internet. Even today, backers can still be seen commenting on Keplero’s Kickstarter campaign page - the most recent being 2024 - simply stating ''Quite how this was allowed is beyond me”. I think it sums things up quite nicely.

It’s hard to know whether both founders of the Keplero set out with bad intentions from the start, or simply capitalised on the chaos once things began to unravel. What we can likely all agree on is that it takes a certain kind of person to deceive, lie, and go to the extreme lengths Keplero did to continue profiting when everything else had failed. These men are fraudsters, and I hope, for the sake of everyone who lost money, that Emmanuele Antonucci and Mirko Ricciuti eventually face the justice they deserve.