February 4, 2026 10:54 AM, EST
First Brands founder Patrick James will remain free on a $50 million bond partly secured by a Hamptons home as he awaits trial on fraud charges stemming from the multibillion-dollar collapse of his auto parts supply business.
James, 61, also must deposit $5 million in cash as part of a package securing his release, according to a transcript of a Jan. 29 hearing in Cleveland federal court obtained by Bloomberg News.
Meanwhile, his brother Edward, also a former First Brands executive, asked a New York judge on Feb. 3 to modify his $25 million bond package by removing requirements that he remain confined in his home and face 24-hour location monitoring.
Both men are scheduled to appear Feb. 4 for an arraignment in New York federal court, where they were indicted. They’re expected to plead not guilty to charges that they used fake and inflated invoices to persuade lenders to provide billions of dollars in financing to First Brands. Both brothers have denied wrongdoing.
Financial Crimes
The brothers were each charged with wire fraud, bank fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Patrick James was also charged with managing a continuing financial crimes enterprise.
In a court filing, lawyers for Edward James, 60, said home detention and location monitoring are not needed to secure his appearance in court, and he has no intention of fleeing his house in North Canton, Ohio. Their emotional appeal cited a family tragedy and Edward James’ health problems.
His son died suddenly a year ago, and he “takes responsibility for holding the family together as they continue to grieve,” lawyers for Edward James wrote in New York federal court.
“Mr. James visits his son’s grave near their home regularly,” they wrote. “Mr. James is not going anywhere.”
As a heart attack survivor, James also swims daily and practices hydrotherapy to boost his cardiac fitness, his lawyers wrote. With his location monitoring device, he can’t perform those water exercises, they said.
Edward James was required to post $1 million in cash, and his pregnant daughter and her husband helped secure his bond package, his lawyers said.
Another former First Brands executive, Peter Andrew Brumbergs, pleaded guilty last week to his role in the scheme and is cooperating with prosecutors.
Flight Risk
Restructuring advisers now in charge of First Brands alleged last year that Patrick James was a flight risk, which his lawyers denied. As part of their bail packages in the criminal case, both men are barred from private airplane travel.
First Brands bankruptcy advisers claimed in a civil lawsuit that Patrick James directed company funds to personal accounts shortly before acquiring real estate, including a home in the Hamptons and another residence in Malibu, Calif.
Transport Topics reporters Eugene Mulero and Keiron Greenhalgh examine the critical trends that will define freight transportation in the year ahead. Tune in above or by going to RoadSigns.ttnews.com.
The Hamptons home securing Patrick James’ bond is in East Quogue in Long Island, according to the transcript. The Ohio property was described at the hearing as a residential farm located in Novelty.
Patrick James’ spokesman declined to comment on Feb. 3.
In court papers, lawyers for the First Brands founder have pointed to macroeconomic factors like tariffs as contributing to the firm’s financial troubles. Patrick James has also accused some lenders of engaging in “predatory” practices and charging his company onerous fees that tipped First Brands into Chapter 11.
The indictment followed separate civil lawsuits brought against Patrick and Edward James by First Brands bankruptcy advisers. One lawsuit accuses Patrick James of misappropriating more than $700 million between 2018 and last September, when the company filed Chapter 11. The money helped fund James and his family’s “lavish lifestyle,” according to the lawsuit.
Lawyers for Patrick James moved to dismiss the lawsuit, saying that the founder put at least $600 million back into First Brands before it filed Chapter 11.
The case is US v. James, 26-cr-29, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
