WATERTOWN, Conn. -- After watching an I-Team report about a Watertown man accused of taking thousands of dollars in loans from senior citizens and failing to pay the money back, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has launched an investigation.

The I-Team uncovered loans made to Thomas Cipriano by multiple senior citizens in the Waterbury area.

The seniors allege that Cipriano was acting as their financial adviser when he convinced them to invest the money with him as an investment loan.

Now, several hundred thousand dollars is missing and police said that they can't do anything because they said the alleged actions weren't criminal. Police said Cipriano simply defaulted on a loan.

Waterbury's Elizabeth and Michael Santopietro said they lost $30,000. They said they had no reason not to trust Cipriano, who was licensed with the state at the time.

"Just be very, very careful who you listen to, and never give up your money without a fight," Elizabeth Santopietro said.

When Blumenthal saw the I-Team report, he said the Santopietros shouldn't feel badly.

"One of the most outrageous and egregious scams that I've seen in 18 years as attorney general," he said.

Blumenthal immediately launched an investigation, and said he may take legal action against Cipriano quickly, in hopes of repaying some of the lost loans.

I-Team reporter Eric Parker reported that repaying the loans may be difficult because Cipriano's home is in foreclosure.

The lawsuits allege that Cipriano spent some of the loaned money at casinos.

Blumenthal insisted that his investigators will pick up where the I-Team left off, and said that if Cipriano has any of the borrowed money stashed away, they will find it.

"No matter what the legal niceties are or the technicalities, we are investigating, and we'll take every possible step to recover for these people who really have seen their lives unraveled," he said.