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Adelphia Sues to Get $3.2 Billion From Rigas Family

Aug 24, 2004  •  Post A Comment

Adelphia Communications, the bankrupt cable operator at the center of a high-profile fraud case earlier this year involving founder John Rigas, is suing Mr. Rigas and the rest of his family, claiming the Rigases owe the company $3.23 billion.

In a suit filed with the U.S. bankruptcy court last Friday, Greenwood Village, Colo.-based Adelphia based its claim on testimony of a witness who, with a team of Adelphia accountants, pored over the company’s books, which the company claims reveal benefits in the amount of $3.23 billion that came at the expense of Adelphia.

Adelphia is also seeking an unspecified amount in damages.

The payback request comes two months after Mr. Rigas and his son, former Adelphia Chief Financial Officer Timothy Rigas, were convicted on fraud and conspiracy charges for misdeeds that led to Adelphia’s downfall. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in 2002 after it discovered it was on the hook for $2.3 billion that the Rigas family had used to buy stock in the company.

The cable company is in the process of emerging from bankruptcy as a standalone company as well as exploring a possible sale of its assets. That sale could fetch as much as $20 billion.