Michael De Campo would prefer a quiet retirement, but that choice vanished — along with half his superannuation funds — in a suspected Ponzi scheme now at the centre of several Supreme Court test cases.

Dozens of people invested tens of millions of dollars in the scheme, which was presented as a legitimate mortgage lending operation run out of suburban law firm AMS Ivanhoe Lawyers (AMS). The firm had been overseen by Melbourne solicitor John Adams for more than 40 years.

"I'd been referred by racing industry colleagues who had good experiences," Mr De Campo said.

"AMS traded itself off the back of being a longstanding, reliable reputable law firm."

The Melbourne grandfather invested $600,000 from his self-managed superannuation fund and initially received monthly 8 per cent returns — until Mr Adams's sudden death in October last year.

Then the money stopped and the questions started.

Many answers remain a mystery but the few facts that were uncovered painted a bleak picture for investors.

A preliminary assessment by the Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner (VLSB+C) found the mortgages weren't real and money from new clients was being used to pay "interest" to existing investors.

Some estimates put the scale of losses at $100 million — more than four times the amount stolen by Sydney conwoman Melissa Caddick before she disappeared in 2020.

The loss felt "surreal" to Mr De Campo, but reality soon hit hard.

"I go from choosing to live modestly to having circumstances like that imposed upon me," Mr De Campo said.

Taking law firm from the suburbs to the Supreme Court

Mr Campo filed one of five writs on Monday that allege breaches of duty on the part of Mr Adams's partners at the firm.

"Each will be claiming that Shane Maguire and Vin Sier — as partners of AMS — owed duties to the clients to makes sure their investments were protected and that the mortgage financing business at AMS was properly operated," said Gordon Legal associate Aimee Dartnall, who helped file the cases.

Mr De Campo's writ is lodged against Mr Maguire, as Mr Sier had left the business by the time he invested.

According to Mr De Campo's statement of claim, Mr Maguire was "part of the legal practice which operated the scheme" and "signed the scheme document as partner of AMS".

Furthermore, the claim alleges Mr Maguire was "aware or ought to have been aware of safeguards under the Scheme and of the need to exercise reasonable skill and care" for investors.

Both partners have denied any knowledge of misappropriated funds and the claim does not allege any involvement but accuses them of failing to supervise John Adams's conduct.

It was Mr Maguire who alerted authorities to Mr Adams's potential fraud shortly after his death.

Police gave advice to the VLSB+C, which took carriage of the investigation and cleared other AMS staff, finding no evidence anyone else at the firm was involved in the alleged scam.

Almost one year on, a VLSB+C spokesperson said the "primary focus" was on trust money.

That closed the door to compensation for victims like Mr De Campo, because according to the VLSB+C's assessment, Mr Adams funnelled investors' money into his own account, which was "separate from the AMS trust".

That left Supreme Court action as clients' last option for redress.

Should the test cases succeed, Gordon Legal indicated there were another 45 clients who would also file claims.

Lawyers for Mr Maguire and Mr Sier declined to comment.

A tangled web

On top of the five plaintiffs represented by Gordon Legal, Carlton Football Club legend Ian Collins has launched Supreme Court action against the law firm and Mr Maguire.

Mr Collins is joined in the legal action by eight other former clients.

That takes the total number of investors planning legal action to 59.

"Through this process, we should get some information about what exactly happened, where their money went and how this was allowed to play out for so many years," said Ms Dartnall.

Authorities have continued their separate quests for answers. Alongside the VLSB+C assessment, there is a separate coroner's investigation into how Mr Adams died.

Mr De Campo said he was determined to dig up answers.

"I'm not going to die not knowing how this occurred," said Mr De Campo.