2024-04-22 19:27:43
The famous Colombian bag designer Nancy González was sentenced this Monday in the United States to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to smuggling leather goods made from the skins of exotic and endangered animals, according to court documents.
It was in November of last year when González pleaded guilty to three charges in a federal court in Miami, Florida, the same one in which she was sentenced today by Judge Robert Scola. González designed exclusive products for celebrities such as Salma Hayek, Britney Spears and Victoria Beckhamamong others, and his name appeared in films such as The Devil Wears Prada.
The smuggling occurred from February 2016 to April 2019, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). Thus, González de Barberi pleaded guilty to two counts of smuggling and one of conspiracy for the illegal importation of designer bags made of alligator and python skin from Colombia to the United States.
Both species are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), to which both the United States and Colombia are signatories.
The 70-year-old designer was extradited to the United States on August 30 in an accusation that includes two other people and her company Gzuniga Ltda. According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the defendants requested friends, family and employees of González’s company in Colombia to act as couriers and transport the designer bags on or in their luggage while traveling on passenger airlines.
Once the bags were smuggled into the United States, he adds, they were sent to González’s showroom in Manhattan, where they were displayed “for high-end retailers to view and purchase for resale in their stores.” . The average retail price of these bags specifically amounted to more than 2,000 dollars, about 1,880 euros.
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