(Reuters) -Bankrupt U.S. auto parts maker First Brands on Monday accused its former chief executive Patrick James of orchestrating a multibillion-dollar fraud that left the company insolvent and nearly drained of cash.

James enriched himself and his family by "misappropriating hundreds of millions (if not billions) of dollars from First Brands," the company said in a lawsuit filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.

A representative for James did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment

(Devika Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Kim Coghill)