O.C. IN BANKRUPTCY : 2 More Class-Action Lawsuits Bring Total to 5 : Courts: Filings stemming from crisis will be transferred to same judge. Attorneys anticipate she will combine them.

Two more class-action lawsuits stemming from Orange County’s bankruptcy were filed Tuesday, bringing the total to five so far.

Los Angeles County residents David and Rosalyn Bare claimed in federal court that former county Treasurer-Tax Collector Robert L. Citron, Assistant Treasurer Matthew Raabe and two investment houses fraudulently led them to believe the county’s troubled bond pool was relatively risk-free.

The Bares’ lawsuit is the fourth class action filed in federal court, said U.S. District Court Deputy Clerk Carolyn Voss. The lawsuits, including one in Los Angeles federal court, are being transferred to U.S. District Judge Linda McLaughlin in Santa Ana, she added.

Voss said the class actions in the bankruptcy are being referred to McLaughlin because she drew the first such lawsuit last Thursday, when a San Diego attorney won the race to the courthouse with an 8:45 a.m. filing.

Several attorneys in the class actions said they expect McLaughlin to eventually consolidate the federal lawsuits into one.

Also Tuesday, a fifth class action was filed in Orange County Superior Court on behalf of hundreds of minors and others who invested settlements received from car accidents in the county investment pool on the advice of judges.

Attorneys for Robin DeLeon, 14, sued on behalf of “all persons whose funds were deposited with the Orange County treasurer” upon recommendations by Superior Court judges who heard their cases.

The defendants are Citron, Raabe, Orange County Auditor-Controller Steve E. Lewis, Merrill Lynch, and Merrill Lynch executive Michael Stamenson, who advised Citron on investing the county portfolio.

The suit does not mention how much DeLeon, a Huntington Beach resident, received from her April, 1993, settlement, but alleges that her guardian, Susan McGivney, agreed to deposit the funds in the county pool “on the recommendation of a Superior Court judge” who presided over the case. The judge is not identified in the suit.

DeLeon, McGivney and the attorneys could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

In the Bares’ suit, Citron, Raabe and two investment houses--First Boston and Merrill Lynch--were named as defendants. The couple, who could not be reached for comment, do not mention how much they invested in the portfolio.

Circulars for recent county bond offerings were described as having a “low level of risk,” according to the suit. Even when the county discussed risky reverse-repurchase agreements the circulars “continued to minimize this risk,” according to the filing.

Late last week, a Florida retiree, Lee Theise, filed a class action concerning the $10,000 in bonds she purchased on Sept. 1, 1994, when the county offered almost $210 million in taxable pension obligation bonds.

According to Theise’s suit, Citron and Raabe mismanaged the fund and “made false and misleading statements” about the portfolio’s soundness. First Boston and Merrill Lynch, who are also named as defendants, failed to “disclose the risks . . . arising from the reckless and unsuitable investment strategy” pursued by Citron and Raabe, the suit alleged.

Merrill Lynch and First Boston profited from the county’s failed investment strategy through “commissions and other fees obtained by creating and selling unsuitable derivatives and other securities” to the Orange County investment pool, Theise’s lawsuit said.

In addition, both firms knowingly loaned the pool more than $12 billion to purchase risky securities without much jeopardy to themselves because “the extension of credit was effectively secured” by the investment fund’s collateral, the suit said.

Although Theise’s $10,000 investment in the pool is small compared to the sums other investors had in the fund, she is being represented by four different law firms with offices in Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia.

Other class actions filed last week include a suit by Leetate Smith, a wealthy Rancho Santa Fe resident who purchased $15,000 worth of Orange County bonds, and a suit filed by Janice Morgenstern.

In the coming weeks, dozens of additional class actions probably will be filed by investors who purchased different Orange County bonds, said an Orange County attorney who is familiar with the county’s problems.

“Even if the Chapter 9 were dismissed tomorrow, these suits are going to go on because of the economic damage already done to the value of the bonds,” said the attorney, who asked not to be identified.

Orange County’s bankruptcy filing protects the county from being named as a defendant in the suits filed in U.S. District Court, said the attorney, adding, “it’s only a matter of time before bondholders begin filing claims in Bankruptcy Court.”

Citron, Raabe, First Boston and Merrill Lynch could not be reached for comment.