NEW YORK (JTA) — The son-in-law of former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver pleaded guilty to running a $7 million Ponzi scheme.
Marcello Trebitsch, 37, offered his plea in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Monday on charges of wire fraud and securities fraud. He was arrested in April.
“I’m sorry for what I’ve done and I apologize to the court and my family,” Trebitsch reportedly said in court.
Trebitsch is facing up to 20 years in prison. The plea deal calls for him to serve between 51 to 63 months, according to the New York Daily News. He must also pay nearly $5.9 million in forfeiture and restitution.
He is married to Silver’s daughter Michelle, a certified public accountant, who was a co-owner and managing partner of the fraudulent investment fund, Allese Capital. She has not been charged in the fraud, which ran from 2007 to 2014.
Silver resigned in January after being arrested in an anti-corruption investigation.
Sentencing for Trebitsch is scheduled for Nov. 2 — the same day that Silver, who has pleaded not guilty, goes on trial, according to Reuters.
