I lost some money in a private placement deal through my brokerage
firm in 2002. The SEC charged the guys with some crimes and they are
being sentenced now. An SEC lawyer told me about half of the money
they took from investors was recovered. Do we have a chance of getting
any of this money? And can I possibly sue these guys who put together
the scam? I lost about 40,000.

Get some details if you can from the SEC lawyer who told you that some
monies were recovered--who recovered it and when was it recovered and
in what city/county and also possibly the file number of the court
case if it went to court?

Whether you get any money back may depend upon whether there are other
creditors or investors who are also owed money, but I would guess that
you are in a good position to at least be partially reimbursed if not
fully.

If these were licensed brokers, you may also want to visit the website
of the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD--they have a
website but I don't know what it is right now) to get information
about how to file a complaint against these individuals.

Best of luck to you!
4KEITH (I'm NOT a GOOGLE Researcher)