Former Assembly Speaker’s Son-In-Law, A Midwood Resident, Accused Of Running Ponzi Scheme

The son-in-law of indicted former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Marcello Trebitsch, of Midwood, was arrested yesterday morning and charged with running a Ponzi scheme.

Trebitsch, 37, allegedly swindled approximately $7 million from multiple clients over five years, promising investors annual returns up to 16 percent. Instead, he pocketed some money, used some to repay early investors, and what he did invest on the market faced losses that he lied about in phony statements to his backers, prosecutors say.

The scheme went from 2009 to December 2014, when Trebitsch promised the too-good-to-be-true investment opportunities through his company Allese Capital, LLC, whose address is registered to his East 14th Street home, near Avenue L.

Trebitsch is charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of securities fraud. He faces 20 years in prison and fines of more than $5 million.

Allese Capital is  co-owned by Trebitsch’s wife, Michelle Trebitsch, a certified public accountant and former Assembly Speaker Silver’s daughter. She was not charged.

Silver was ousted as Assembly Speaker in February after a five-count criminal indictment accused him of peddling his influence for millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks. Both cases are being prosecuted by US Attorney Preet Bharara.