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WINNIPEG — Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard is to be back in court today for the second day of a bail hearing on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering that he faces in the United States.
WINNIPEG — Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard is to be back in court today for the second day of a bail hearing on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering that he faces in the United States.
Nygard, who is 79, was arrested last month in Winnipeg under the Extradition Act and faces nine counts in the southern District of New York.
Lawyers for the Attorney General of Canada have told court they have concerns about two former Nygard employees who have offered to act as sureties if Nygard is released.
The lawyers say complicated business structures and previous actions of the employees leave Nygard with the means to flee.
Defence lawyer, Jay Prober, has argued that his client’s health is at risk behind bars.
He says a proposed bail plan will ensure Nygard has a place to stay and follows release conditions.
Authorities in the U.S. accuse Nygard of using his influence in the fashion industry to lure women and girls with the promise of modeling and other financial opportunities.
They allege that for 25 years Nygard targeted women and underage girls from disadvantaged economic backgrounds and forcibly sexually assaulted them.
Nygard is the subject of a class-action lawsuit in the U.S. involving 57 women with similar allegations. Two of Nygard’s sons have also filed a separate lawsuit against him claiming they were statutorily raped at his direction as teenagers.
Prober has said his client denies all the allegations against him.
Nygard founded his fashion company in 1967 in Winnipeg, where it grew from a partial stake in a women’s garment manufacturer to a brand name sold in stores around the world.
He stepped down as chairman of the company after the FBI and police raided his offices in New York City last February.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2021.
The Canadian Press
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