TORONTO — The women accusing Frank Stronach of sexual assault lied and in some cases fabricated their accounts, lawyers for the Canadian auto parts tycoon argued Monday as they urged the court to find him not guilty of all charges.
The four remaining complainants in the case “lied, manipulated and certainly attempted to deceive the court,” changing aspects of their narratives or adding details never before disclosed to police or prosecutors, defence lawyer Leora Shemesh argued in her final submissions.
Underlying that was the “tunnel vision” of Peel Regional Police, whose investigation into the decades-old allegations ultimately “tainted the evidence,” she argued.
“The overall case that has been presented before the court has been really plagued by a negligent and reckless investigation and by a case that has been built on fabricated, disingenuous, and unreliable evidence,” the defence lawyer argued.
Stronach, who is 93, has pleaded not guilty to 12 charges related to alleged incidents dating back as far as the 1970s.
Over the course of the trial, prosecutors have dropped five charges related to three of the seven complainants, though the defence has argued Stronach should instead be found not guilty on those counts.
The founder and former CEO of Magna International still faces seven charges related to four complainants.
Shemesh zeroed in Monday on what she deemed inconsistencies and misrepresentations in the complainants’ testimony, arguing none of the women were credible or reliable in their accounts.
The defence lawyer also criticized what she called “kernels of unfairness, injustice, and bias” in the justice system, including the police investigation into the case and the “politics … of a women’s movement that perhaps tainted the process.”
The two officers who led the investigation testified they considered taking certain steps, such as obtaining records, but opted against it.
The officers also said they generally assume complainants are telling the truth unless there is a reason to believe they’re lying, which there wasn’t in this case. They did not ask the complainants to swear to tell the truth before giving their statements, nor were the women cautioned about the possible consequences of lying, the officers said.
Those officers were called by the defence and finished their testimony earlier this month, closing out the evidence in the case.
Stronach’s lawyers have also indicated they will seek a stay of proceedings, alleging some of the complainants were coached by the Crown in preparation for trial.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2026.
Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press
