The 40-year-old ex-JPMorgan (JPM.N) banker with a penchant for works by pop artist Andy Warhol had created a $600 million hedge fund and was preparing to move to Asia to woo the region's deep-pocketed investors.

After making a big impression on the Singapore art scene with his recent Warhol exhibition, Moccia was confident the brewing U.S. subprime mortgage meltdown could not dent his plan to stoke returns from his "Cannonball" fund with art and real estate investments.

"I had received a working permit from the Singapore authorities," recalls Italian-born Moccia, speaking from his London office. "The future was bright."

Moccia never got there.

His sprawling portfolio -- including holdings in everything from leveraged hedge funds, pop-art prints of Superman and boutique hotels in Bali -- was suspended in October 2008 when the financial crisis peaked. Moccia's diversification only left him more exposed.