A Brooklyn man accused by federal prosecutors of running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors out of $7 million is the son-in-law of former New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a person familiar with the matter said.

Marcello Trebitsch, 37, faces as long as 20 years in prison if convicted for fraud, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said Monday in a statement. Trebitsch told investors he invested their money in large-cap stocks while using most of it for himself and to pay back others, according to the statement.

Trebitsch suffered “enormous trading losses” on the portion of the money he actually invested, prosecutors said.

“Investing in securities entails certain risks, but should not include the risk of being defrauded by one’s investment manager,” Bharara said in the statement.

In a separate case, Silver faces as long as 20 years in prison on corruption charges brought by Bharara in January. The U.S. alleges Silver, a Democrat, reaped almost $4 million in kickbacks and illegal fees tied to two separate frauds and by extortion. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Trebitsch’s lawyer, Nathaniel Marmur, declined to comment on the allegations against his client.

The case is U.S. v. Trebitsch, 15-mj-01196, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).