DENVER — Former Broncos quarterback John Elway and his business partner gave $15 million to a hedge-fund manager now accused of running a Ponzi scheme.

The Denver Post reported yesterday that Elway and Mitchell Pierce filed a motion saying they wired the money to Sean Michael Mueller in March. They said Mueller agreed to hold the money in trust until they agreed on where it would be invested.

A state investigator says 65 people invested $71 million with Mueller’s company over 10 years and it only had $9.5 million in assets in April and $45 million in liabilities.