By Editor,Sonya Gugliara

Copyright dailymail

A Porsche-racing Colorado socialite has been accused of ripping off two contractors in yet another scandal in the fallout of her messy divorce from her restaurant tycoon ex-husband.

Renee Brinkerhoff, 69, allegedly owes brothers Gene and Clark Atkinson $4.5 million, according to two separate lawsuits filed over the summer.

The Atkinsons are longtime associates of Renee and her ex-husband William Brinkerhoff, 71, and have been instrumental in the expansion of their La Loma restaurant chain.

The socialite, whose claim to fame was becoming the first person to race a car across all seven continents driving a 1965 Porsche, won a hefty $29.5million settlement and half her husband’s restaurants in the split 10 months ago.

But upon acquiring the restaurants, she promptly fired Gene’s construction firm PAFC from the projects, leaving him $3.5 million short according to his lawsuit.

Clark is also suing Renee over a wrangle about a $1 million loan his company gave to William and the couple’s firm Water Street Holdings (WSH), for work on several restaurants.

Renee must pay the sum back as she inherited WSH’s liability when she acquired it during the split, his lawsuit claims.

‘It’s just wrong for this super wealthy woman who got awarded, from what I understand, close to $30 million in assets with some liability, but she’s refusing to pay,’ he told Daily Mail. ‘She’s living a rich, high life.’

‘For nearly a decade, my family and I have poured our hearts, creativity and financial resources into building some of the most beautiful and remarkable restaurants in Denver, three of which Renee received,’ Gene added.

‘The idea that [Renee] is struggling financially does not reflect reality.’

Clark said the bust up with Renee kicked off when he notified her of the debt he claims in his lawsuit is owed to his firm, ISE LLC.

Renee then sued Clark in June, claiming that he was wrong to demand repayment of the loan from her due to changes to the original agreement.

This prompted Clark to counter-sue for $1 million.

‘It is Ms. Brinkerhoff’s individual obligation to pay the debts of the entities that she was awarded as part of her divorce from Mr. Brinkerhoff,’ the filing states.

The socialite also hit back against Gene with a countersuit, alleging that Gene’s work on the restaurants was purposely delayed and poor quality and that the invoices were fabricated.

In the filing, she claimed Gene was already paid $2.9 million, so the most she could owe was roughly $732,000.

‘(Gene Atkinson) believed and intended that this leverage would create a situation in which William would have the ability to either retake control of the La Loma entities,’ according to a September 19 lawsuit obtained by Daily Mail.

Both Gene and Clark said they are disheartened by Renee’s suggestion that their efforts were ill-intended.

‘What hurts most, is now facing Renee’s false allegations that we are conspiring to take something from her,’ Gene told the Daily Mail.

‘The truth is that I compromised my family’s financial security to ensure these projects were completed with excellence, integrity, and lasting success. My intent has always been to help her succeed; not to scheme or withhold.’

The 10-month court battle weighed on William, Clark said. As a courtesy to their friend and good business partner, Gene and William decided not to urge him to pay off this debt until the legal storm had passed.

But the situation took a turn when the divorce court judge ruled that half of the couple’s assets – and their liabilities – be awarded to Renee.

Renee assumed the Parker, DTC and McGregor La Loma locations, as well as the property associated with the loan.

With the La Loma spots nearly completed, Clark said Gene had offered to finish up the projects for Renee.

Clark claimed she was cordial at first, but ‘then she started playing games, and then she just refused to pay it.’

Gene said in a statement that he was never alerted of any of the ‘supposed defects’ Renee references in her lawsuit.

But Renee has fiercely disputed claims that she has been avoiding paying off her debt.

In her June filing against ISE LLC, she claimed the loan agreement was entered by William himself, and had nothing to do with her.

She also noted that the three restaurants she was awarded in the divorce, ‘have significant debt.’

‘Sadly, the accusations made against me and my character are patently false and are a purposeful and deliberate mischaracterization of my life and person, as is the $3.5 million figure PAFC is claiming it is owed,’ Renee told the Daily Mail.

The socialite went on to claim that PAFC has ‘ignored requests’ to share copies of the construction contracts and accounting records for work done on the restaurants.

William’s daughter-in-law, Johana Mendoza Brinkerhoff, told the Daily Mail William will no longer be sharing public comments on the ongoing legal conflict with Renee.

‘Her current claims are offensive and are an attempt to extort money from Gene (PAFC), who gave everything to ensure her success in some of her and our families’ darkest times,’ Johana said.

She went on to commend William for always supporting Renee’s philanthropy through her nonprofit Valkyrie Racing, which aims to combat human trafficking.

Johana said: ‘If Renee were truly committed to philanthropy, she would instead spend the millions of dollars she is pouring into attorneys into actually rescuing children.’

In the aftermath of the divorce, Renee claimed in a lawsuit that William tried to swindle her out of her half of the business and painted him as controlling and adulterous.

In March, she sued her ex-husband over allegations he stole business shares, after the judge in their divorce found that he had used a ‘series of concealed machinations’ to ice her out.

But the pair’s children and William fiercely denied these statements.

Clark said he and his brother have no intentions of backing down against Renee, claiming she has offered each of their companies ‘insulting’ settlements.

‘As far as we’re concerned, we own those restaurants,’ Clark said. Adding that while William is an ‘honest’ person, he ‘can’t say the same about Renee.