A prominent fashion designer whose accessories were worn by celebrities ranging from Britney Spears to the cast of the TV series “Sex and the City” has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to smuggling crocodile handbags from her native Colombia. Nancy Gonzalez was arrested in Cali, Colombia, in 2022 and later extradited to the United States for orchestrating a massive multiyear conspiracy that involved recruiting couriers to transport her handbags on commercial flights to high-end showrooms and New York fashion events, all in violation of US wildlife laws.
“It’s all driven by the money,” said Assistant US Attorney Thomas Watts-Fitzgerald, who compared Gonzalez’s behavior to that of drug traffickers. “If you want to deter the conduct, you want the cocaine kingpin, not the person in the field.”
Gonzalez’s attorneys pleaded for leniency, portraying her as a divorced mother who started her career making belts for friends on a sewing machine in Cali and rose to compete with major brands like Dior, Prada, and Gucci.
“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 before Monday’s hearing. “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.”
Nancy Gonzalez expressed her deep regret for not fully adhering to U.S. laws
Her lawyers pointed out that Gonzalez, at age 71, has already faced severe consequences for her actions. Her once thriving company, which employed over 300 people, mostly women, went bankrupt and ceased operations following her arrest.
They also argued that only a minor fraction of her imports to the U.S. were unauthorized, mainly samples intended for displays at New York Fashion Week and similar showcases.
Before her sentencing, Gonzalez expressed her deep regret for not fully adhering to U.S. laws, tearfully stating her only wish is to hug her 103-year-old mother once more.
“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 poor decisions.”
Prosecutors countered that Gonzalez’s luxurious lifestyle starkly contrasted with the modest couriers she employed to sneak her products into the U.S., who were instructed to declare the items as gifts if questioned by customs.
“Her mission turned into producing felons,” said Watts-Fitzgerald. “She tried to rewrite the law for herself, to do it her way.”
According to the testimony of her co-defendants and her employees, Gonzalez, described as a micro-manager, would recruit up to 40 passengers to carry four expensive handbags apiece on commercial flights ahead of major fashion shows. In this way, investigators estimate that she trafficked goods worth up to $2 million in the United States. Gonzalez’s attorneys contested the assertion, claiming that each skin cost only about $140.
The hides were all from captive-bred caimans and pythons. Nonetheless, on some occasions, she neglected to secure the necessary import authorizations from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, required under a widely ratified international treaty governing the trade in endangered and threatened wildlife species.
Although the judge considered the 14 months Gonzalez spent in a Colombian prison under tough conditions, she has been ordered to start her U.S. prison term soon.
Celebrities like Salma Hayek and Victoria Beckham were among those who bought Gonzalez’s exquisite handbags, and her designs were even showcased in a 2008 Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition.
In court, a video showed prominent buyers from luxury retailers praising Gonzalez’s work, a sentiment that the prosecutor suggested they might now regret given the circumstances.
“They must be regretting they were ever put up to that and if they heard it was presented in court they would cringe,” said Watts-Fitzgerald. “They have their own brand to protect.”