‘Ponzi’ twist for feds’ Blas witness

A government witness in the now-defunct federal probe of Mayor de Blasio recruited several prominent and wealthy New Yorkers into a Ponzi scheme whose accused mastermind goes on trial this month, sources told The Post.

Jona Rechnitz, real-estate investor-turned-government witness, convinced Julius Klein Diamonds owner Martin Klein and hedge-fund manager Michael Weinberger to pump millions into an allegedly fake wholesale liquor business run by Hamlet Peralta, former owner of a Harlem restaurant popular with NYPD brass, the sources said.

Klein and Weinberger could be called to testify about their investments at Peralta’s May 15 trial, sources said.

Weinberger, who left York Capital last year to start his own hedge fund, was out as much $2 million in the alleged Ponzi scheme after investing around $5 million with Peralta, court documents show.

Weinberger, who ran billions in stock investments at York Capital, declined to comment.

It’s unclear how much Klein invested with Peralta, the former owner of the Hudson River Cafe.

The diamond dealer didn’t return a request for comment.

Rechnitz’s lawyer declined to comment, as did Peralta’s lawyer.

Despite acting as a recruiter for Peralta’s alleged scheme, Rechnitz has not been charged in the case because the government has said he did not know the business was fake.

Rechnitz pleaded guilty in 2016 to donating money to de Blasio’s now-defunct Campaign for One New York in hopes of winning municipal favors, which sources have said included city-issued building permits.

Manhattan federal prosecutors have since dropped the fund-raising probe into de Blasio.

But Rechnitz remains the key witness in two other upcoming corruption trials.