XPost: chi.general, alt.fraud, alt.business   
   XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, sac.politics   
   From: stupid-illinois-democrats@useless.fools   
      
   A manufacturing mainstay in McHenry is shuttered today after Brake   
   Parts, Inc., announced to the state they would be shutting down plant   
   operations and laying off over 350 people.   
      
   The news comes after the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York announced   
   the unsealing of a federal indictment that charges the CEO of Brake   
   Parts’ parent company, First Brands Group, and his brother on multiple   
   counts of mail and wire fraud.   
      
   Brake Parts is laying off a total of 389 employees from its three   
   McHenry locations at 4400 Prime Parkway, 1100 Corporate Drive, and 1380   
   Corporate Drive, according to documentation filed earlier this week with   
   the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.   
      
   According to Businesswire.com, First Brands Group announced in January   
   that it had commenced a “wind down of certain of its North American   
   business operations, including its Brake Parts Inc.”   
      
   First Brands filed for bankruptcy in September of 2025.   
      
   Attempts to reach the company for comment on Wednesday were   
   unsuccessful.   
      
   First Brands Group has owned Brake Parts, Inc. since it purchased the   
   company in 2020, records show.   
      
   The news comes after the U.S. Attorney’s Office indicted Patrick James,   
   the founder and former CEO of First Brands Group, and his brother Edward   
   James, a former senior executive at First Brands.   
      
   The two are charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, along   
   with multiple counts of wire fraud and bank fraud, in connection with   
   various schemes to defraud lenders regarding the financial condition of   
   First Brands, authorities said.   
      
   Patrick James was also charged by way of indictment with an additional   
   count of managing a continuing financial crimes enterprise, authorities   
   said.   
      
   U.S. Attorney’s Officials claim the crimes committed by the James   
   brothers were part of a years-long fraud of the company that eventually   
   led to the bankruptcy of the global automotive company.   
      
   At the time of its bankruptcy, First Brands — a company that reported   
   approximately $5 billion in net annual sales worldwide — declared just   
   $12 million in cash in its corporate bank accounts and over $9 billion   
   in liabilities, US Attorney Officials said.   
      
   “As alleged in the indictment, Patrick James, together with his brother,   
   Edward James, perpetrated a staggering fraud at First Brands Group,”   
   said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton.   
   “The James brothers obtained billions for First Brands — and millions   
   for themselves — by presenting their lenders with the impression of a   
   successful, growing international business.”   
      
   As alleged in the indictment, U.S. Attorney’s officials said, the   
   defendants perpetrated multiple fraud schemes to fake and falsely   
   inflate invoices for accounts receivable and payable; double- and   
   triple-pledge loan collateral; falsify corporate financial statements;   
   and conceal substantial liabilities from lenders.   
      
   As a consequence of the defendants’ fraudulent schemes, the lenders and   
   creditors of First Brands now face billions in losses, officials said.   
      
   The James Brothers were taken into custody in Ohio earlier this week.   
   News reports claim the pair pleaded not guilty in court.   
      
   First Brands operated as an automotive aftermarket parts supplier that   
   developed, marketed, and sold replacement parts such as brakes, filters,   
   wipers, and lights under various brand names.   
      
   https://www.lakemchenryscanner.com/2026/02/05/brake-parts-inc-closes-door   
   s-lays-off-389-employees-in-mchenry-ceo-brother-of-parent-company-charged   
   -with-fraud/   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)