Designer Nancy Gonzalez sentenced to prison for smuggling crocodile and python handbags

A top fashion designer whose accessories have been used by celebrities, from Britney Spears to the cast of TV series Sex and the City, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty in Miami federal court on charges of smuggling crocodile handbags from her native Colombia.

Nancy Gonzalez was arrested in 2022 in Cali, Colombia, and then extradited to the United States for leading a massive, multi-year conspiracy involving recruitment. couriers to transport her handbags on commercial flights to high-end showrooms and fashion events in New York – all in violation of US wildlife laws.

"It's all motivated by money," Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Watts-Fitzgerald said Monday, who compared Gonzalez's behavior to that of drug dealers. "If you want to deter this behavior, you want the cocaine kingpin, not the person on the ground."

Gonzalez's lawyers asked for leniency against of the famous designer, describing her journey. as a divorced single mother of two who designed belts on a home sewing machine in Cali for friends and became a fashion icon who surpassed Dior, Prada and Gucci.

"She was determined to show her children and the world that women, including minority women like her, can successfully pursue their dreams and become financially independent," they wrote in a note before Monday's hearing "Against all odds, this small but powerful woman succeeded in creating the first-ever luxury, high-end fashion company from a third world country."

see the image full screen

Lawyers said the 71-year-old designer had already paid dearly for her crimes. The Colombian company she created, which once employed 300 mostly women employees, declared bankruptcy and ceased operations after her arrest.

They also argues that only 1% of the goods it imported into the United States did not have the proper authorization and were samples for New York Fashion Week and other events.

Gonzalez, speaking to the court before the sentencing, said she deeply regrets not having meticulously followed U.S. laws and that her only wish was to hug again. arms his 103-year-old mother.

“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,” she said, holding back tears. “Under pressure, I made bad decisions.”