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Leominster-based Fidelity Bank and its former president have agreed to a $22.5 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit related to the TelexFree Ponzi scheme, according to a statement from the plaintiff’s attorneys.

The settlement has not been approved by the Worcester federal court handling the case, and the defendants dispute the plaintiff’s claims, according to a statement from Bonsignore Trial Lawyers. A court hearing related to the settlement is scheduled for Feb. 26.

The case involves the Ponzi scheme carried out by TelexFree, which sold an internet telephone service similar to Skype. The company’s president, James Merrill, was the brother of Fidelity Bank’s then-president, John Merrill.

The website maintained by TelexFree was used for a pyramid scheme, where all of the money the company paid out came from new participants who paid to promote the company. Participants were told they would receive payment for their efforts and were also given financial incentives to recruit others to join the scheme.

James Merrill pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud conspiracy and eight counts of wire fraud in 2016. According to a 2016 statement from the U.S. attorney’s office, TelexFree filed for bankruptcy in 2014, owing approximately $5 billion to its participants, while having only about $120 million on hand. About 965,000 participants worldwide lost money in the scheme, with total losses of about $1.7 billion. James Merrill was sentenced in 2017 to six years in prison and three years of probation.

According to the settlement’s website, members of the class action lawsuit will agree to give up all claims against Fidelity Bank and John Merrill and related parties, and the bank and Merrill will continue to cooperate in the case. Three smaller settlements with other defendants related to the scheme were approved by the court in July.

TelexFree kept some of its deposits at Fidelity Bank. The bank in 2014 settled for $3.5 million with the Massachusetts Secretary of State William Gavin’s office, without admitting or denying the facts in the case, according to the consent order.