Ex-First Brands Manager Says He’d Plead Fifth if Questioned
Lawyers forNigel ٴDzSay He Will 'Almost Certainly' Be Included in Any Government Investigation of Auto Parts Company
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The former finance director of First Brands Group said he’d plead his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination if compelled to answer creditor questions at an upcoming deposition, citing a federal criminal investigation into the bankrupt auto parts supplier.
Lawyers forsaid in a Dec. 16 court filing that he will “almost certainly” be included in any government investigation of First Brands because of his former role at the company. Crighton is opposing a demand by a First Brands creditors committee to sit for a January deposition, citing a parallel criminal investigation by New York federal prosecutors and civil inquiry by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“If the committee moves forward with its deposition, Mr. Crighton will be required to assert his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination due to the ongoing SDNY criminal investigation, regardless of how remote the risk of prosecution,” his lawyers said. Crighton’s last day at First Brands was Dec. 12, according to court papers.
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Crighton’s filing comes days after First Brands founder Patrick James also opposed creditor committee subpoenas, citing an “overlapping instigation by the U.S. government.” Company advisers haveJames in a civil lawsuit of misappropriating hundreds of millions of dollars, an allegation he has denied. The judge overseeing the bankruptcy refused last month to freeze James’ assets.
MORE:First Brands Founder Regains Control of Personal Accounts
Chapter 11 gives creditor committees the power to issue subpoenas in order to collect documents and testimony about the circumstances giving rise to a company filing bankruptcy. First Brands creditors have sought to compel Crighton to testify at a Jan. 8 deposition in the New York City offices of the committee’s lawyers, according to court documents.
Crighton hasn’t been named as a defendant in First Brands’ civil lawsuit against James. But Crighton’s lawyers said Dec. 16 that his prior role at the company “makes it all but certain that it is only a matter of time before he is identified as a defendant.”
On Dec. 15, James sought to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing firms that provided First Brands with billions of dollars in off-balance-sheet financing helped tip the company into Chapter 11 at the end of September. Jamesin court papers that his business was unable to withstand both a series of external factors, including rising interest rates and tariffs, as well as escalating costs associated with its off balance-sheet debt, which he described as “usurious.”
“Mr. James has always acted ethically,” said his lawyer, Michael Carlinsky. “We are encouraged that the public is becoming more focused on the conduct and motivations of the various lender groups, who pocketed billions in fees and interest, and is questioning the lenders’ overall claim to having been a victim.”
Representatives for First Brands and Crighton’s lawyers didn’t immediately return messages seeking comment.
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