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The widow of the former mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford, has filed a multimillion dollar lawsuit against her brothers-in-law and their family businesses, claiming she and her children were defrauded.
In the suit, which was filed in Ontario Superior Court, Renata Ford claimed that Rob’s brothers – Doug and Randy – “conspired together” to deny her and her children of shares in the family business, Deco Toronto. The lawsuit alleges that, in 2017, Deco Companies was reorganized, which led to a loss of about $6 million.
Renata suggested that the two also deprived her of the proceeds of a life insurance policy. The suit claimed that after their father, Doug Ford Sr. passed away in 2006, the brothers arranged for “extravagant” salaries for themselves, “regardless of the financial performance” of their businesses. Both brothers are trustees for their late brother’s estate.
The suit, filed last week, claims $5 million in damages for each of the three plaintiffs – Renata and her two children. CBC News reported that the suit also claims another $250,000 against each of the five defendants: Doug and Randy, as well as three of Doug’s companies.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Doug, currently the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, issued a statement earlier this week, saying that the claims made in the lawsuit were “completely false.” He also said that he has stood by his brother and family “through so many of their challenging times.”
“Renata’s lawyers have been clear to us throughout this campaign, that either we hand over money, or they would go public with these false claims, and that is exactly what they have done, with three days to go until the election,” Doug said.
