The founder and CEO of Cleveland-based First Brands resigned this week, weeks after the auto parts supplier filed for bankruptcy protection amid an accounting scandal that has left lenders scrambling for more than $2 billion in missing funds.

Patrick James, who founded the company in 2013, will be replaced on an interim basis by Charles Moore, who was appointed as chief restructuring officer last month to sort out the company’s financial and potential legal troubles and prepare it for a possible sale.

After changing its name to First Brands from Crowne Group about five years ago, the company began buying and then cobbling together a number of aftermarket auto parts manufacturers through debt-financed deals. Acquisitions by First Brands included well-known industry brands such as Fram filters, Autolite sparkplugs and Anco windshield wiper blades.

Yet the company collapsed late last month. According to filings with a bankruptcy court, First Brands had between $10 billion and $50 billion in debt and less than $10 billion in assets.

The amount of money that is owed spread fear on Wall Street about lenders that helped finance First Brands’ spending spree, and shares of some of those financial firms tanked over the past week.

Jefferies Financial Group, the shares of which lost nearly a quarter of their value since the Sept. 29 bankruptcy filing, downplayed its exposure to the collapse.

“We are confident that any losses or expenses from these investments or otherwise in respect of First Brands can readily be absorbed and do not threaten our financial condition or business momentum,” wrote Jefferies CEO Rich Handler and President Brian Friedman in an open letter.

Raistone Capital filed an emergency motion last week requesting the appointment of an independent examiner, saying that First Brands-appointed “independent” directors were insufficient considering the amount of money — as much as $2.3 billion — that had “simply vanished.”

Earlier this month, First Brands got approval from a U.S. bankruptcy court to immediately access $500 million out of the $1.1 billion in debtor-in-possession financing to maintain operations, make payroll and pay vendors and suppliers.

First Brands’ next bankruptcy hearing is scheduled for Oct. 29.