Class action application filed against Montreal billionaire following allegations involving teen girls

Montreal billionaire facing class-action suit Montreal billionaire Robert Miller is facing a new class-action lawsuit filed by women who accused him of sexual assault.

A class-action lawsuit request was filed Wednesday against a tech company and its founder, Robert Miller, a Montreal billionaire accused by multiple women of paying them for sex when they were underage.

The lawsuit's applicant, who is unnamed in the request, alleges she was paid thousands to have sex with Miller when she was between the ages of 17 and 19.

Miller, 79, stepped down as CEO of Future Electronics earlier this month after a Radio-Canada/CBC report surfaced the allegations of 10 women, some as young as 14 at the time of the alleged events.

The report alleged that between 1994 and 2006, Miller arranged for his associates to bring underage girls to his Montreal hotel room and his home in Westmount to perform sexual acts.

The Canadian law firm Consumer Law Group is seeking additional plaintiffs, aiming to grant them each $1.5 million in punitive damages and various amounts for psychological injury.

In a statement issued earlier this month, Future Electronics said Miller "adamantly and vehemently denies" these allegations, claiming they result from a "bitter divorce" and are being resurfaced for "financial gain."

Montreal police (SPVM) investigated Miller between 2008 and 2009, but no charges were laid.

RECRUITED THROUGH MODELLING GIG, WOMAN ALLEGES

The lawsuit's applicant, now 45 years old, claims her ongoing sexual relationship with Miller began around 1996 after she responded to a newspaper ad for accessory models.

"She met with a man who told her that she had been 'chosen.' This man took a picture of the Applicant, had her sign a modelling contract, and stated that he would be in touch," the lawsuit application alleges.

Afterwards, Miller reportedly began calling her on the phone and told her he was a businessman from New York named Bob Adams.

Soon after, the pair allegedly began meeting in person to engage in sexual acts. After each meeting, the applicant alleges Miller gave her an envelope containing between $1,000 and $2,000 and, in one instance, $3,000.

"This experience had a serious negative psychological effect on the Applicant. She felt bad about herself and her self-worth, shameful, guilty, she was depressed, and she self-medicated with drugs and alcohol – though she had never been able to make the connection between these paid sexual encounters and her negative feelings toward herself," the application states.

It wasn't until she saw Radio-Canada/CBC's report that she was motivated to come forward, the document continues.

"When she watched this episode, all of the negative feeling came back, and she was re-traumatized [...] Now, she realizes that she was not alone in her experience and wishes to come forward to help others get justice."

FINGER ALSO POINTED AT FUTURE ELECTRONICS

In addition to filing against Robert Miller himself, the proposed suit targets Future Electronics Inc., claiming its employees were involved in "the commission of his illicit activities," according to the application.

"What we find is that several of their employees were involved, who then also were promoted throughout the ranks of Future Electronics," Consumer Law Group founder Jeff Orenstein told CTV News in an interview. "We believe that there is vicarious liability for the corporation."

Orenstein said the complex nature of Miller's assets also contributed to the decision to file against the tech company.

"Just during the research, we found that his personal house is not owned by himself. It's owned by a corporation of which the shareholders are not disclosed," Orenstein claimed. "So there is a lot of corporate red tape around here. And that was also one of the reasons why our action was filed not just against Mr. Miller, but against Future Electronics."

Future Electronics, which is an electronic component distributor based out of Pointe-Claire, did not  respond to a request for comment on its inclusion in the lawsuit application.

With files from CTV's Rob Lurie and Joe Lofaro.