MANHATTAN (CN) - The son-in-law of embattled New York State Assemblyman Sheldon Silver pleaded guilty Monday to a seven-year, $6 million Ponzi scheme.
Between 2007 and 2014, Brooklyn resident Marcello Trebitsch told investors that they could earn double-digit returns at low risk by investing in his fund, Allese Capital LLC, prosecutors say.
Trebitsch's April arrest led various news outlets to report that he was married to Silver's daughter, Michelle Trebitsch.
Silver resigned as speaker of the New York state Assembly about a week after he was arrested on corruption charges.
Prosecutors did not mention these family ties in a statement announcing Treblisch's plea to a "multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme."
"He returned their faith with deceit and self-dealing, lying about his trading losses and using investor money on himself," U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement.
The securities fraud count in Trebitsch's guilty plea carries a 20-year maximum sentence and a maximum fine of twice the gain or loss from the offense. He agreed to a $5,905,949 restitution to the victims.
Treblisch, 37, will be sentenced on Nov. 2 this year.
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