Although Ira Rennert claimed environmental concerns about his company MagCorp were “above his head” and his attorney said the fact Ira Rennert owned one of the most expensive homes in the country while his company went bankrupt was irrelevant, Ira Rennert has been found liable for defrauding creditors and shareholders, according to Reuters.
A Manhattan federal jury decided Rennert should pay $16 million while his Renco group will have to shell out $101 million. If creditors demand interest, the amount may balloon to $400 million. A trustee filed the suit alleging that Rennert transferred $118 million from the bankrupt Magnesium Corp while he was building a lavish mansion in the Hamptons. This was just prior to Magnesium Corp’s bankruptcy in 2001. One of the reasons the company was in financial trouble was because it was fined by the EPA for environmental problems the company’s management refused to fix.
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According to Bloomberg, Rennert’s attorney, Peter Haveles, said he will seek a retrial; “In its answer to each item (four fact questions), the jury said that Magcorp was solvent and Renco and Ira Rennert did nothing wrong.” MagCorp was one of the largest magnesium producers and one of Utah’s worst producers. It leaked out PCB contaminated fluids from its plant into a 400 acre pond and contaminated the groundwater.
