HOUSTON (Reuters) – The court-appointed lawyer overseeing the operations and assets of billionaire Texan Allen Stanford‘s companies has asked a judge to release another $137 million held in customer accounts, according to court documents.

Allen Stanford, two of his top aides and three of his companies are accused by the US Securities and Exchange Commission of an $8 billion fraud involving high-yield certificates of deposit.

Attorney Ralph Janvey filed court documents on Friday asking a federal court in Dallas to release another 174 Stanford Trust Co accounts held at SEI Private Trust Co that he believes are unrelated to the alleged fraud.

Janvey was granted broad powers by a federal court in Dallas to freeze accounts and seize in a bid to preserve assets for investors while the probe continues.

Janvey has already released some 28,000, or 80 percent of the Stanford accounts, prior court documents show.