U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse is joining President Obama in getting rid of campaign cash contributed by a California man now accused of running a Ponzi scheme, WPRI.com has confirmed.

Whitehouse will donate to charity the $2,000 his campaign received last year from Shervin Neman, a Los Angeles hedge-fund manager, a spokesman told WPRI.com on Wednesday night.

The Securities and Exchange Commission accuses Neman of taking more than $7.5 million from investors as part of “an ongoing Ponzi scheme that targeted members of the Persian-Jewish community in Los Angeles.”

Neman contributed the $2,000 to Whitehouse on May 9, 2011, the same month he gave $35,800 to the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee. An Obama spokesman told Politico that money will be refunded and held in escrow to compensate victims of Neman’s alleged fraud.

(photo: Whitehouse campaign)