Civil suits that were pending against Stanley Chais

At the time of his death, former Beverly Hills money manager Stanley Chais was facing several civil lawsuits related to his financial investments with Bernard L. Madoff. He also was under criminal investigation by the U.S. attorney’s office in New York. No criminal charges were filed. The civil lawsuits pending include:

Picard lawsuit: Irving H. Picard, trustee overseeing the liquidation of Madoff’s assets, sued Chais, his wife, Pamela, and several family members in Manhattan Bankruptcy Court in May 2009, seeking to recover hundreds of millions of dollars Picard said were ill-gotten profits from Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.

SEC lawsuit: The Securities and Exchange Commission sued Chais in federal court in Manhattan in June 2009, alleging among other things that Chais generated about $270 million in fees by investing clients’ assets with Madoff.

California lawsuit: California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown sued Chais in Los Angeles County Superior Court in September 2009, seeking a $25-million fine and hundreds of millions of dollars in restitution for investors.

Derivative lawsuits: Investors in the three funds that Chais operated have sued in Los Angeles County Superior Court, seeking to recover hundreds of millions of dollars they allege were lost when Chais secretly invested their money in Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. An attorney for the investors said Tuesday he hoped the cases would go to trial in 2011.

— Stuart Pfeifer