The court-appointed receiver in charge of the operations and assets of Texas billionaire Allen Stanford's Stanford Group Co asked a federal judge to release some client brokerage accounts that contain $250,000 or less.

The receiver, Ralph Janvey, filed the motion in U.S. District Court in Dallas late on Wednesday. He asked that the order take effect March 9, according to a statement on his website.

"The accounts proposed to be released are custodied at Pershing LLC, the clearing firm for the vast majority of Stanford accounts," Janvey said in the statement.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has accused Allen Stanford, two top aides and three of his companies of a long-running $8 billion securities fraud using high-yield certificates of deposit issued by a Stanford bank in Antigua.

Accounts excluded from the release sought by Janvey include those owned by defendants in the case and those that contain investment assets managed by Stanford, the receiver said.

Vantis Plc, the UK firm appointed as receiver of Stanford International Bank Ltd by regulators in Antigua, said on Thursday that all CD accounts remained frozen as their investigation continues.

The receivers charged with locating assets in the Stanford case face a complex task. Janvey has identified at least 175 Stanford entities, and the company has operations throughout the United States and in Canada, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Janvey said he was considering the release of other categories of accounts, including the small number custodied at JP Morgan Clearing Corp.

The Stanford accounts were frozen by court order in February in a bid to preserve assets for investors and creditors.

Based on Janvey's review of the financial condition of the Stanford entities, he believes the firm probably will not be able to continue operating as a broker dealer, so customers will not be able to gain access to their accounts through Stanford Group.

Therefore, Janvey is working with clearing agents, brokers and others, including Pershing, to determine the fastest way for customers to transfer their accounts to other firms so they have access to their funds when they are released, the lawyer said in a statement.

On Wednesday, some Stanford Group customers filed a lawsuit in federal court in Houston, accusing the SEC and the receiver of wrongly seizing their accounts.

The account freeze has caused extreme financial hardship for some Stanford clients, leaving them unable to pay mortgages, medical bills and other expenses, lawyers for the clients have said.

"The receiver regrets the hardship and delay that may result from the temporary account freeze and the transfer process," Janvey said in a statement.