Fashion mogul Peter Nygard during a bail hearing in Winnipeg, in a Jan. 19, 2021, courtroom sketch.Tadens Mpwene/The Canadian Press
Federal lawyers say the seriousness of the allegations Peter Nygard faces in the United States outweigh any risk the Canadian fashion mogul faces behind bars.
Mr. Nygard, who is 79, was arrested last month in Winnipeg under the Extradition Act and faces nine charges in the southern District of New York, including sex trafficking and racketeering.
He is seeking bail while it is decided whether he will be sent to the U.S. to face trial.
Scott Farlinger, a lawyer for the Attorney-General of Canada, told court Wednesday that Mr. Nygard engaged in a decades-long pattern of using force and coercion to get sex for himself and others.
“There is a level of premeditation, co-ordination and planning,” Mr. Farlinger said.
Mr. Farlinger said Mr. Nygard’s complicated business structures leave him with the means to flee. He said Mr. Nygard has a history of not showing up to court and U.S. authorities have made allegations that he has previously interfered with the administration of justice by bribing witnesses.
But Mr. Nygard’s lawyer, Jay Prober, said his client has no intention of leaving and is too ill to travel.
He said the proposed bail plan will ensure Mr. Nygard has a place to stay and will follow release conditions.
Mr. Prober has argued that his client’s health is at risk behind bars.
Two former Nygard employees have offered to ensure that the fashion mogul doesn’t break any bail conditions in Winnipeg.
Mr. Farlinger said both are unacceptable options.
Steve Mager, Mr. Nygard’s director of construction who has offered his home as collateral, has a criminal record and Mr. Farlinger said Mr. Mager cannot commit the time needed to monitor Mr. Nygard.
Court heard that Greg Fenske, a former executive, does not have property to offer as collateral. Mr. Farlinger said the home Mr. Fenske is offering as a place for Mr. Nygard to stay was actually purchased with the fashion mogul’s own money and Mr. Fenske has “no skin in the game.”
“[It] completely negates the value of the surety,” Mr. Farlinger said.
Mr. Nygard appeared in the Winnipeg courtroom by video from the correctional centre he’s been in since his arrest. He wore a grey shirt and had his long grey and white hair tied in a bun at the back of his head.
Mr. Nygard brought in a notepad and pen and appeared to be jotting things down during the hearing.
Authorities in the U.S. accuse Mr. Nygard of using his influence in the fashion industry to lure women and girls with the promise of modelling and other financial opportunities.
They allege that for 25 years Mr. Nygard targeted women and underage girls from disadvantaged economic backgrounds and forcibly sexually assaulted them.
The full package of extradition materials from U.S. prosecutors is not expected to be provided to Canadian authorities until February. Mr. Nygard’s lawyers say it’s unfair to keep him locked up without that information.
Mr. Nygard is the subject of a class-action lawsuit in the U.S. involving 57 women with similar allegations. Two of Mr. Nygard’s sons have also filed a separate lawsuit against him claiming they were statutorily raped at his direction as teenagers.
Mr. Prober has said his client denies all the allegations against him.
Mr. 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 Federal Bureau of Investigation and police raided his offices in New York last February.
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