Fashion Designer Nancy González Submits To Extradition To Face Charges In The US

Fashion designer Nancy González will be extradited to the United States after committing environmental crimes when she created fashion products out of endangered wildlife species before illegally exporting them to other countries.

González, who was arrested last year alongside accomplices Diego Mauricio Rodríguez Giraldo and Jhon Camilo Aguilar Jaramillo for trafficking fur and wildlife, was approved for extradition by the Supreme Court of Colombia to face charges in the United States.

She was caught using the skins of endangered and exotic animals for some of her luxury fashion goods, animal skins that she allegedly acquired illegally. More importantly for prosecutors, she set up a smuggling ring for the expensive bags and other accessories to the United States through the use of couriers who claimed to customs officials that they were for personal use as gifts to friends and family.

Strict documentation is required for such importation; documentation Gonzalez was aware of. She originally complied with the regulations but then realized she could evade them by sending goods with individuals disguised as gifts or personal items.

See the indictment here:

She had paid those people, who travelled regularly to Miami, their air tickets as well as a $600 maintenance fee to smuggle the bags and accessories to the country, which would then be sent to luxury stores and fashion exhibitions in the country.

The lawyers of González said that they will comply with the new extradition ruling due to their client’s belief that she would be treated better if detained in the United States, and that she would be able to control the conditions she is put under better.

The new court ruling by the Colombian Supreme Court approving González’s extradition is subject to approval by President Gustavo Petro.

González first caught international attention in 1998 when her bags were sold exclusively by Bergdorf-Goodman in their stores in New York City, with her eight-piece collection catching the eye of the prominent fashion people in the country.

Because of this, her bags and accessories were featured prominently in fashion magazines and films like “Sex in the City” and “The Devil Wears Prada.” She also started creating exclusive designer bags for celebrities like Sarah Jessica Parker and Oprah Winfrey.

González has always been upfront that her bags and fashion accessories were made of natural animal skins like “iridescent python and cobalt blue ostrich” as well as her brand’s signature crocodile skin, but though she originally obeyed export and customs regulations, she succumbed to the temptation of customs evasion for her high priced pieces, smuggling haute couture into the US like bags of narcotics.