In May 2018 a federal lawsuit was filed by one of Curtis' victims, claiming that Curtis transferred nearly all his money and assets to his ex-wife, Candace Curtis, in an effort to avoid the court-ordered payouts to his victims. Citing recorded telephone conversations between Chad and Candace Curtis, plaintiff's attorney Monica Beck said, "They and his ex-wife transferred lots of money, vehicles, houses, and disposed and liquidated a lot of their assets, which they then tried to hide from the state of Michigan and then tried to hide from our client." Beck also cited a statement by Candace Curtis during one of those telephone conversations: "I'm trying to keep things out of (victim's) hands." In January 2019 Candace Curtis lost a bankruptcy petition, with the ruling judge writing that "Curtis is simply attempting to forestall, if not escape, the post-judgment collection proceedings in District Court," and "Curtis' testimony [ ] is indicative of lack of good faith."