Federal prosecutors are conducting a criminal investigation of money manager Stanley Chais. In a motion filed on Friday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York disclosed the existence of the investigation, asking the court to grant a six month postponement of a civil lawsuit filed by the SEC against Chais.
The LA Times reports that prosecutors from the SDNY argued in the motion that if proceedings in the SEC lawsuit are not suspended, they could interfere with an “ongoing, parallel criminal investigation” of Chais. Chais’ attorney has argued that Chais was himself a Madoff victim and had no knowledge of the scam.
Prosecutors said charges that Chais and others could face include conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering.
