Frank Preve, 70, of Coral Springs, Fla., has been charged with wire fraud for his involvement in the massive Scott W. Rothstein Ponzi scheme, Wifredo A. Ferrer, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced Monday.

According to the charge, Preve worked for a number of companies, referred to as the Banyon Group, that solicited lenders and investors in the confidential settlement business being offered by Rothstein. Preve is not registered with the SEC or Finra.

Rothstein was sentenced to 50 years in prison in 2010 for orchestrating the $1.4 billion Ponzi scheme, one of the largest in history, through his law firm Rothstein Rosenfeldt and Adler in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.  

In 2009, it was discovered that the law firm was being used by Rothstein, its chairman and CEO, to commit the massive Ponzi scheme, which involved the sale of fictitious confidential legal settlements, Ferrer said.

From July through October of 2009, Preve defrauded investors by not disclosing that Rothstein had failed to make payments that were due to the Banyon Group, that Rothstein had frozen bank accounts that were holding investor funds, that the proper paperwork was not being prepared and that verification of the investments was not taking place, according to prosecutors. Preve convinced investors to pay the Banyon Group more than $20 through these omissions, Ferrer said.