Posted on: June 28, 2024, 06:31h.
Last updated on: June 28, 2024, 06:31h.
Canadian billionaire and Stronach Group founder Frank Stronach has been charged with eight additional counts of sexual assault after police said more victims had come forward.
The 91-year-old was arrested again Wednesday, three weeks after his initial detention on charges of rape, indecent assault on a female, sexual assault, and forcible confinement.
The new charges include six counts of sexual assault, one count of attempted rape, and one count of indecent assault on a female, according to court documents. The alleged incidents occurred from 1977 to February this year, per the filings.
Stronach Denies Allegations
The Stronach Group is the biggest thoroughbred racetrack owner in the US. It also has training centers and simulcast operations across the country. These include California’s Santa Anita racetrack and Golden Gate Fields, the latter of which closed earlier this month.
Gulfstream Park in Florida, as well as the Pimlico Racecourse, the Laurel Racecourse, and Rosecroft Raceway, all in Maryland, are also Stronach assets.
Stronach is no longer involved with the group, which now trades as 1/ST. His daughter, Belinda Stronach, is the current chairman, CEO, and president of the company.
Stronach’s lawyer, Brian Greenspan, said his client “denies and will vigorously defend these further untested allegations dating back to 1977.”
“He has spent his lifetime committed to the betterment of the Canadian community and industry,” Greenspan added.
Rags to Riches
Austrian-born Stronach came to Canada in the late 1930s with little to his name. In 1957, he opened a machine shop, which he transformed into a global auto parts business that became Magna International.
Magna is now one of the largest companies in Canada and the biggest auto parts manufacturer in North America.
A keen racing enthusiast and thoroughbred owner, Stronach bought Santa Anita in 1998 for $127 million and launched the Stronach Group in 2011 with Belinda Stronach. He resigned two years later to pursue a political career in his native Austria as an advocate of free-market neoliberalism.
Family Schism
In 2018, Stronach filed a lawsuit against his daughter and other family members alleging corporate mismanagement. It was settled in 2020, with Stronach being awarded a stallion and breeding business.
In 2017, he had an estimated net worth of C$3.06 billion (US$2.2 billion), according to Canadian Business.
The Stronach Group is aware of the serious charges that have been brought against Frank Stronach,” the company said in an official statement Thursday.
“Frank Stronach has not held a formal role or been involved with company operations in any capacity for several years. This matter is now before the courts and will be dealt with in the appropriate forum. The company has nothing further to add.”
