Celebrity Designer Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Smuggling Crocodile Handbags Into the U.S.

A high-end fashion designer has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after she was caught smuggling crocodile handbags from Colombia into the United States.

On Monday, April 22, Nancy Gonzalez was taken into custody in Miami to begin her sentence. She previously pleaded guilty to charges relating to bringing handbags made of the python and caiman species, which are protected wildlife, into the U.S., according to the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Southern District of Florida.

“The United States, in company with the international community, has established a system for overseeing the trafficking in protected species of wildlife,” U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe wrote in a press release. “That system relies on a system of permits and oversight by many agencies and demands strict compliance by all those engaged in such trade.”

It continued: “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.”

Gonzalez, 71, and co-conspirator Mauricio Giraldo were indicted in 2022 on conspiracy and smuggling charges between February 2016 and April 2019. Previously, Gonzalez's items had been worn by big names, including the cast of Sex and the City.

Lawyers for Gonzalez stated her defense is her need to support her children and keep her business thriving, per court memos obtained by ABC News. They also stated that only 1% of the imported items violated U.S. guidelines.

“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. “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.”

The outlet also reported that Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Watts-Fitzgerald compared Gonzalez’s crimes to drug smuggling.

“It’s all driven by the money,” Watts-Fitzgerald said. “If you want to deter the conduct, you want the cocaine kingpin, not the person in the field.”

In her speech at sentencing, Gonzalez reportedly apologized.

“From the bottom of my heart, I apologize to the United States of America” she said. “I never intended to offend a country to which I owe immense gratitude. Under pressure, I made poor decisions.”

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The Attorney's Office stated that Gonzalez had been soliciting friends, family and associates to carry the crocodile items in their suitcases when they traveled to the states. They then displayed the bags in the company, Gzuniga Ltd. showroom in Manhattan. 

“The Gonzalez case underscores the importance of robust collaboration with federal and international partners to disrupt illegal wildlife trade networks,” said Assistant Director Edward Grace of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) Office of Law Enforcement in a previous press release. “This investigation uncovered a multi-year scheme that involved paid couriers smuggling undeclared handbags made of CITES-protected reptile skins into the U.S. to be sold for thousands of dollars.”

Per the release, Gonzalez’s bags were selling for over $2,000 in high-end stores in New York City. The brand has now been ordered to turn over all the items.