Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard agreed on Friday to be extradited to the United States to face charges of racketeering and sex trafficking.
Nygard, the 80-year-old founder of Canadian clothing company Nygard International, was indicted on federal sex trafficking charges in December. He consented to extradition to challenge charges against him in the U.S., according to comments from Nygard’s attorney Brian Greenspan during a hearing in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
“He always unequivocally maintains his innocence of any wrongdoing,” Greenspan said, as seen in a livestream of the hearing.
Nygard is accused of trafficking dozens of women and underage girls for sex for over 25 years. If convicted, he faces up to a lifetime in prison. The fashion mogul appeared on Friday via a video from the facility in Canada where he is being held.
FASHION TYCOON INDICTED ON DECADESLONG SEX-TRAFFICKING ALLEGATIONS
Prosecutors in the U.S. claim Nygard used resources from his company, which filed for bankruptcy protection in 2020, to help him control women through surveillance and physical restraint at his properties in Marina del Rey, California, and his home in the Bahamas.
He is accused of hosting “pamper parties,” using employees and “girlfriends” to let victims know he was interested in having sexual intercourse with them and paying them in cash. Some of the unwilling participants were drugged or coerced into sex with Nygard and his associates, according to a Dec. 15 Justice Department readout.
Nygard, born in Finland, has been held in a jail outside of Winnipeg since his December arrest after several unsuccessful attempts to win bail. Toronto police said Friday an arrest warrant against Nygard was issued on six counts of sexual assault and three counts of forcible confinement for a half-dozen incidents that allegedly took place between October 1987 and March 2006.
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Canada’s minister of justice must approve the extradition of Nygard, meaning he won’t immediately be sent to the U.S. until further motion. The fashion mogul can still challenge the decision.
