Frank Stronach, 91, founded the company that became Magna International in the 1950s. On June 7, Peel Regional police laid five charges against him as part of a sex assault investigation.ALEXANDER KLEIN/Getty Images
Magna International MG-T founder Frank Stronach is facing new allegations dating back to 1977, impending criminal charges that the business tycoon says he will fight in court, his lawyer said Wednesday.
In an e-mailed statement to The Globe and Mail, Mr. Stronach’s lawyer Brian Greenspan said his client “denies and will vigorously defend these further untested allegations.” The statement does not specify how many new charges Mr. Stronach could face or what is being alleged.
Police declined to comment on the new allegations.
Canadian businessman Frank Stronach arrested, charged with sexual assault
On June 7, Peel Regional police laid five charges against Mr. Stronach as part of a sex-assault investigation. Investigators say those alleged attacks took place in 1980, 1986 and 2023. The charges included allegations of rape, indecent assault, forcible confinement and two counts of sexual assault.
Mr. Stronach, 91, founded the company that became Magna International in the 1950s. It became one of the world’s largest auto-parts makers, and today employs 179,000 people in 28 countries.
He departed Magna 14 years ago and has “had no affiliation” with it since, a company spokeswoman has said.
On Tuesday, The Globe published a first-person account by Jane Boon, an author who says that Mr. Stronach had sex with her when she was 19 and he was 54. Mr. Stronach interviewed Ms. Boon when she was a high-school student and selected her for a sponsorship to GMI (now Kettering University) in Flint, Mich., to study engineering. The sponsorship came with a work placement at Magna.
Ms. Boon, who has not complained to police, says the incident happened in 1986. Mr. Stronach, she alleges, drove her to Magna’s corporate guest house in Markham, Ont., following a social event at his Toronto restaurant, Rooney’s.