Colombian Handbag Nancy Gonzalez Designer Sentenced for Smuggling Protected Reptile Skins
Nancy Gonzalez, a renowned Colombian luxury handbag designer whose creations have adorned celebrities like those from “Sex and the City” and Britney Spears, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to smuggling purses made from the skins of protected reptiles.
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Nancy Gonzalez
The 71-year-old designer was sentenced on Monday in a Miami federal court for breaking an international treaty by unlawfully importing handbags crafted from caimans and pythons.
Gonzalez violated regulations set by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which safeguard caimans and pythons. Both Colombia and the US, where she imported the bags, are signatories to this convention, as noted by the US Department of Justice.
Despite the trade in caimans and pythons being regulated under CITES, Gonzalez failed to obtain the necessary import permits required by regulators.
Between February 2016 and April 2019, Gonzalez orchestrated a scheme involving friends, family, and employees to transport the bags on passenger airlines to the US, then directing them to her showroom in New York.
The handbags gained prominence as they were worn by celebrities like Victoria Beckham and Salma Hayek and featured in a 2008 exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Moreover, luxury stores such as Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Harrods carried these bags, according to reports.
Edward Grace of the US Fish and Wildlife Service condemned Gonzalez’s actions, stating, “This investigation uncovered a multi-year scheme that involved paid couriers smuggling undeclared handbags made of CITES-protected reptile skins into the US to be sold for thousands of dollars.”
Gonzalez, who was arrested in Cali, Colombia, in 2022 and subsequently extradited to the US, expressed remorse to the court, stating, “From the bottom of my heart, I apologize to the United States of America… I never intended to offend a country to which I owe immense gratitude. Under pressure, I made poor decisions.”
