(WSAW/Gray News) - A Wisconsin couple says they are having to adjust their life after losing hundreds of thousands of dollars to someone they considered a close friend.

Brian and Jeanine Tesch said they have been left with barely any money in their accounts thanks to Stanley Pophal, who, federal prosecutors say, defrauded 190 investors of $14. 25 million over six years in a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme.

The couple said the investment began with a $165,000 check before Pophal came for their life savings."We wanted to have a beautiful future when we retired, help our kids out and our grandchildren. But that was taken away from us," Jeanine Tesch said.