Billionaire Frank Stronach is facing additional sexual assault charges in Canada
TORONTO (AP) — Austrian-Canadian auto parts billionaire Frank Stronach was arrested again on Wednesday and is facing additional sexual assault charges, police said.
Peel Regional Police Constable Tyler Bell-Morena said investigators have identified additional victims and Stronach, 91, faces eight new charges, including six charges of sexual assault.
Earlier this month, Stronach was arrested and accused of sexually assaulting three different complainants in alleged incidents that took place in Toronto and Aurora, Ontario. Those alleged incidents took place in 1980, 1986 and last year.
Police released few details on the additional charges.
“Mr. Stronach denies and will vigorously defend these further untested allegations dating back to 1977,” Brian Greenspan, Stronach’s lawyer, said in emailed statement Wednesday. “He has spent his lifetime committed to the betterment of the Canadian community and industry.”
Stronach, born in Austria, became one of Canada’s wealthiest people by creating Magna in his garage in 1957 and building it into one of the world’s largest suppliers of auto parts.
He also founded The Stronach Group, a company specializing in horse racing. He made a brief foray into Austrian politics more than a decade ago and has been named to the Order of Canada, one of the country’s highest honors.
According to Magna, Stronach has had no affiliation with the company since relinquishing control in 2010.
In 2018, Stronach sued his daughter, two grandchildren and former business associate Alon Ossip for over $500 million in Ontario Superior Court, alleging they mismanaged the family’s assets, which he wanted to take back control of.
Belinda Stronach, a former Canadian Member of Parliament, countersued her father, saying in a statement of defense that he lost vast sums of money on pet projects.
The case was later settled.
