The U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago has charged former Hollinger International head Conrad Black and others in an alleged scheme to divert more than $80 million US from the company.

The Canadian-born media mogul and other former Hollinger officers were hit with an indictment that expands on previous charges laid in August.

Black is facing eight charges, each of which calls for a penalty of five years in prison, if he is found guilty.

Black, through his lawyer Eddie Greenspan, maintained Thursday that he is innocent, saying he will fight the charges.

"Conrad Black asserts his innocence without qualification with respect to each and every one of the charges set forth in the indictment," Greenspan said in a statement released late Thursday.

"It will be shown that he has, at all times, acted within the law. He is confident that if given a full and fair opportunity to defend himself, he will be found innocent."

In response to the August charges, David Radler, Hollinger International's ex-chief operating officer, pleaded guilty and Mark Kipnis, the company's former in-house lawyer, pleaded not guilty.

Also named in Thursday's indictment are former Hollinger International executives John Boultbee, Peter Atkinson and Kipnis.

Authorities allege the defendants fraudulently diverted $51.8 million in 2000 from Hollinger International's multibillion-dollar sale of assets to CanWest Global Communications Corp.

In the initial charges announced in August's indictment, they are accused of diverting $32 million US through a series of secret deals by disguising the money as noncompete fees connected to the sale of U.S. newspapers to other companies -- legal arrangements commonly used in the publishing industry.

Among new allegations in the indictment is an accusation that Black and one of his co-defendants "fraudulently misused corporate perks including a company jet for a vacation by Black and his wife (Barbara Amiel) in the South Pacific, two Park Avenue Apartments in New York City, and corporate funds to throw a lavish birthday party for Black's wife.''

The long-expected criminal indictment was announced at a news conference Thursday in Chicago by Patrick Fitzgerald of the U.S. Attorney's Office -- the same prosecutor who is leading the investigation into White House leaks of a CIA agent's name.

"For years, Conrad Black lived large on millions of shareholders' dollars. Today, a grand jury returned an indictment alleging he did so by means of repeated criminal frauds," said Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald was joined by representatives of the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service criminal investigation division.

The U.S. Attorney's Office has been investigating fraud allegations at Hollinger International Inc. for months and has already charged two former company executives, including Black's long-time business partner David Radler.

Radler, 63, pleaded guilty in a Chicago court in September to one count of mail fraud and agreed to co-operate with prosecutors. In return for his co-operation, Radler agreed to a 29-month jail term and a fine of $250,000 US.

Black, who controlled Hollinger through a Toronto-based holding company, has already indicated that he expected to face charges.

In a lawsuit filed last month over the FBI's seizure of nearly $9 million of his cash from the proceeds of the sale of his New York apartment, Black said he needed the money to pay lawyers to defend him against a possible criminal indictment.

The timing "of the government's seizure of money, in the midst of a grand jury investigation and perhaps on the eve of a criminal charge, can only raise questions as to the government's true purpose," the suit alleged.

Without the money, Black "will be hamstrung in his ability to challenge the substance of many allegations set forth," the suit added.

Speaking on CTV's Canada AM, George Tombs, author of 'Conrad Black: The Biography,' said he was unsure of the media tycoon's net worth.

"Some people have estimated that his assets two years ago were in the neighbourhood of $250 or $300 million but what his liabilities are is an open question," he said Friday.

"No doubt the fact of having to keep two teams of very high-priced lawyers working, one in Washington and one in Toronto, to defend him in the face of so many different lawsuits and also now these criminal charges is a very costly process and it is definitely eating through a lot of the assets."

Meanwhile, author Peter C. Newman arrived for a black-tie Maclean's party in Toronto Tuesday night to find out he was being sued by Black.

Newman, an old friend of the media tycoon, was handed a six-page statement of claim upon entering the magazine's 100th anniversary party.

The lawsuit is seeking more than $2 million in damages, and accuses the journalist and author of libelling Black.

According to the statement of claim, Black alleges that Newman "falsely and maliciously" accused him of breaking criminal laws, including mail and wire fraud and money laundering.

The comments are contained in Newman's 2004 autobiography, There be Dragons: Telling Tales of People, Passion and Power.

Black's lawyer, Edward Greenspan, said they had tried for some time to serve Newman with the papers, but were unable to locate him.

With files from Canadian Press