Montgomery County Investment Manager Attorneys Scott Mason and for a dozen clients who filed civil fraud lawsuits to recover up to $42 million from Rubicon Asset Management, the investment firm Mason ran for 30 years, told a judge Thursday that Mason and he put the properties up for sale so he could repay. money they owe.

But the proceeds “will not come close” to meeting the investors’ full demands, Mason’s attorney, Michael J. Rinaldi, said at a hearing before Montgomery County Judge Gail Weilheimer.

“At least it will be fair,” Rinaldi said, adding that Mason has cooperated with the Federal Securities and Exchange Commission and lawyers for a dozen investors who sued his client to get their money back.

The lawsuits allege that Mason, without their authorization, took millions from their accounts, which should have been invested in publicly traded stocks and bonds with little risk to their principal, and spent them on his real estate projects and expenses family, including luxury parties.

Among the properties proposed for sale with the proceeds to be placed in escrow are Mason’s interest in a Shore miniature golf course, Jen’s Links and the surrounding Barnegat property; his Long Beach Island vacation home; and student rental properties in New York State near Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Mason is a Hobart graduate and former administrator.

Rinaldi, a former federal fraud prosecutor, said the SEC has an agreement with Mason to delay possible civil charges. Such agreements give the agency time to negotiate a settlement instead of filing charges.

Attorneys for the investors, including Benjamin Picker, principal at Kaplin Stewart, representing Mason’s aunt, Star Sitron and others, and Robert Hayes, partner at Cozen O’Connor, representing retired insurance executive Stanley Tulin, Rubicon’s largest investor, i- they asked the judge to order Mason to provide more detailed records and sell specific assets to ensure the money is returned to investors in a timely manner.

Hayes objected to defense suggestions that clients wait for federal investigators to finish their investigation.

“We’re not content to rely on what the SEC or the FBI are doing,” he said, noting that the bonds Rubicon assured Tulin had in his account with the firm “just disappeared. If you can’t give us the bonds, give us the money.”

Investors “have no confidence” in Mason’s promises, Judge Weilheimer said. She wondered if Mason might be willing to reveal more information beyond what’s in Rubicon’s records because he already faces a “target letter” of federal investigation and the possibility of “pending criminal charges.”

Rinaldi said Mason has already turned over many financial records and would provide additional documents if Weilheimer would guarantee the confidentiality of some of the people named in the records.

Weilheimer warned investors that “we are nowhere close” to repaying their money.

Rubiconwhich closed its former Blue Bell office last summer, invested a total of $231 million, mostly in stocks and senior bonds, for 115 clients as of March 31, according to the company’s SEC filings.

Attorneys for Picker and Hayes said in court that they are also looking into the role played by other financial institutions that did not prevent Mason from withdrawing funds without the client’s authorization.