Who is Nancy Gonzalez? Celebrity handbag designer jailed for importing bags made from protected reptiles

A fashion designer famous for her boldly coloured reptile-skin handbags has been jailed, after she illegally imported bags made from protected wildlife.

Nancy Gonzalez, 71, was handed an 18-month prison sentence on Monday (22 April), according to the US Office of Public Affairs. She and her associate, Mauricio Giraldo, had earlier pleaded guilty to smuggling and conspiracy charges, for illegally importing merchandise from Colombia made from python (a type of snake) and caiman (a small reptile in the crocodile family) skins.

The luxury handbag designer, whose products have been toted by an impressive roster of A-Listers, had to be extradited to the US from Colombia - her home country - to face the charges. She will only serve four months of her sentence behind bars, as she was already imprisoned some 14 months before her extradition. Her company, Gzuniga, has also been ordered by the court to forfeit all handbags and other previously seized products, and banned for three years from any activities involving commercial trade in wildlife.

The charges related to hundreds of purses, handbags, and totes brought into the US between February 2016 to April 2019. Gonzalez and her co-conspirators - some of whom are still going through court proceedings - enlisted friends, relatives and even employees of her South American manufacturing company to wear the designer handbags or put them in their luggage while traveling on passenger airlines. Once in the US, the bags were delivered or shipped to the Gzuniga showroom in New York to be displayed and sold.

Pythons and caimans are both protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which both the United States and Colombia have signed. While it’s not illegal to trade in their hides, there are strict permit and paperwork requirements for importing or exporting them legally - which the Public Affairs office said Gonzalez had failed to acquire.

Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim, of the Justice Department’s environment division, said: “The United States signed on to CITES in an effort to help protect threatened and endangered species here and abroad from trafficking... We will not tolerate illegal smuggling. We appreciate the efforts of our many federal and international partners who have helped with the investigation, extradition and prosecution of this case.”

Lawyer Markenzy Lapointe, who represents the Southern District of Florida, added: “The press of business, production deadlines or other economic factors are not justification for anyone to knowingly flout the system and attempt to write their own exceptions to wildlife trafficking laws. In cooperation with our international partners, our Office will continue to require strict adherence to laws that protect our endangered species.”

Who is Nancy Gonzalez?

Nancy Gonzalez was born in Colombia. Her lawyers told the court she had started her fashion career as a divorced, single mother of two children - who made belts on a home sewing machine in the city of Cali for friends, AP reports.

“She was determined to show her children and the world that women, including minority women like herself, can pursue their dreams successfully, and become financially independent,” they wrote in a memo. “Against all odds, this tiny but mighty woman was able to create the very first luxury, high-end fashion company from a third world country.”

Her official website said her designs drew from “the natural beauty and rich culture of Colombia”. She began selling bags in the US in 1998, and her creativity had been praised by top luxury buyers. “Nature is my best accomplice and my source of inspiration is life,” Gonzalez said on her site. “I always try to push the limits of what can be done with precious skins.”

But now Gzuniga’s Colombian manufacturing company - which AP reported employed some 300 people, mostly women - had declared bankruptcy. At her sentencing, a tearful Gonzalez said she deeply regretted her “poor decisions”, and said her only wish was to hug her 103-year-old mother one more time.

According to Forbes magazine, celebrities who have showcased her designs over the years include the likes of Britney Spears, Victoria Beckham, Eva Longoria, Vanessa Hudgens, and Hayden Panettiere. They also appeared on screen in fashion-forward films including the Devil Wears Prada, and the Sex and the City movie.