fashion mogul Peter Nygard Biography
Peter J. Nygrd (born Pekka Juhani Nygrd; born July 24, 1941) is a former fashion executive who is of Finnish and Canadian descent. He established Winnipeg-based Nygrd International in 1967 to produce women’s clothing. In 2020, Nygrd was charged with long-term sex trafficking, rape, and racketeering following an FBI raid on the New York City offices of his business. Later that year, he was officially charged with and detained on counts of racketeering and sex trafficking, including claims of sex trafficking involving minors.
The Toronto police accused Nygrd of many counts of sexual assault and forcible confinement in instances that took place between the mid-1980s and the mid-2000s in October 2021; Nygrd has been accused of sexual misconduct since 1968. Nygrd’s criminal trials are still going on as of September 2022, and he hasn’t been found guilty of anything yet.
Peter Nygard Early life
Pekka Juhani Nygrd was born Peter Nygrd on July 24, 1941 in Helsinki, Finland. At the age of about eleven, his parents moved to Deloraine, Manitoba, Canada, in 1952. Nygrd earned a business degree from the University of North Dakota in 1964.
Nygård International
In 1967, Nygrd founded Nygrd Apparel Manufacturing Company in Winnipeg, which later changed its name to Nygrd International. The company’s world offices were in Times Square, New York, New York, while its Canadian headquarters were on King Street in Toronto, Ontario. The Nygrd fashion concept retail store, which opened on Friday, November 6, 2009, was likewise located in Times Square.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducted a raid on Nygrd International’s offices in February 2020 as part of a sex trafficking investigation against Nygrd. On March 18, 2020, the business filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy in New York. The following day, a Manitoba judge put a number of Nygrd companies under receivership. A Canadian judge granted an accounting firm permission to sell off a portion of the company on April 30.
2020 sex trafficking arrest and lawsuits
The Bahamian police started looking into six rape charges against Nygrd on November 24, 2019. The accused victims were all all minors. On January 27, 2020, Nygrd was accused of sexual assault and was the target of two different lawsuits.
Ten women filed a class-action lawsuit in New York on February 13, 2020, accusing Nygrd of sexually assaulting them at his Bahamas home. The reported assaults allegedly occurred between 2008 and 2015. Additionally, the ladies claimed that he ran a sex trafficking ring and that seven of the victims of the attacks were under the age of 18 at the time.
According to a report on February 14, 2020, the Bahamian police were looking into the claims made by four of the plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit. The FBI and the New York City Police Department conducted a raid at the Nygrd International offices in New York on February 25, 2020, in relation to allegations of sex trafficking. Following these, Nygrd made the announcement that he would leave the company and sell his ownership stake. A judge ruled in March 2020 that Nygrd still controlled 100% of the shares of the Nygrd group of companies and that there was no proof that he had officially quit.
The class action lawsuit now has 46 plaintiffs after 36 additional women filed on April 20, 2020, increasing the number of sexual assault cases. 11 more women reportedly joined the class action complaint on June 17, 2020, bringing the total number of plaintiffs to 57. On July 9, 2020, Nygard submitted a request to dismiss the 52 plaintiffs’ claims, arguing that “numerous deficiencies” precluded them and, in particular, that the claims of 50 plaintiffs had no relation to New York. Additionally, he claimed that for 38 of the claimants, the statute of limitations had already run.
Two of Nygrd’s sons filed a lawsuit against him on August 17, 2020, alleging that he had ordered a known sex worker who was posing as “his girlfriend” to rape them. The class action lawsuit was reportedly put on hold on August 22, 2020 as a result of the US government’s request for a stay of proceedings while the criminal investigation was ongoing.
The US attorney’s office in Manhattan announced on December 15, 2020 that Nygrd had been detained in Winnipeg in preparation for extradition to the US to face sex trafficking charges. Nygrd was refused bail on February 5, 2021, and was in danger of being sent to the US.
According to a report on February 18, 2021, one of the class-action plaintiffs had filed a new lawsuit and implicated Peter Nygrd’s niece, Angela Dyborn, as an alleged co-conspirator in the purported sex-trafficking operation. Nygrd received a second denial of bail on March 26, 2021. According to a story from April 2021, Nygrd would have an extradition hearing in November 2021.
Peter Nygard consented to being extradited to the US on October 1, 2021, in order to face the allegations brought against him there. Nygard was accused with six counts of sexual assault and three counts of forcible imprisonment by Toronto police on the same day.
Unseamly: The Investigation of Peter Nygrd, a Discovery+ television series on Nygrd’s life, was set to premiere on December 17, 2020, just two days after his arrest. The program aired in February 2021 and featured family members and former Nygrd workers in interviews.
The first episode of CBC Podcasts’ podcast, Evil by Design, covering the accusations against Nygrd was made available on January 25, 2021. Supposed victims are interviewed in the podcast. Evil by Design: Surviving Nygard, a documentary series that debuted on CBC Television in 2022, later adapted the story. In December 2021, a Dateline segment focusing on the Nygard case was also shown.
Peter Nygard Sexual abuse allegations
Nygard has been accused of multiple acts of sexual misconduct over the years, including rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment, in addition to his claimed involvement in a sex trafficking ring.
When his alleged victim declined to testify, Winnipeg police in 1968 accused Nygard of a sexual offense; however, the accusations against him were eventually withdrawn.
The Free Press reported in 1980 that Winnipeg police had accused Nygrd of raping an 18-year-old woman. Due to the girl’s refusal to testify, those accusations were later dropped. Later, it was alleged in a lawsuit that Nygrd used money from his enterprises to compensate her.
Nygrd resolved three former employees’ sexual harassment claims in Manitoba in the 1990s.
The FBI investigated Nygrd in 2015 and 2017 in relation to allegations of sex trafficking. Additionally, he was under investigation for nine months in 2016 by the US Department of Homeland Security.
Nygrd was accused of six counts of sexual assault and three counts of forcible imprisonment by Toronto police on October 1st, 2021.
Following a ten-month investigation into allegations of sexual assault made by eight women against Nygrd, it was announced on December 2, 2021, that Winnipeg police will charge him.
Lawsuits
Prior to his arrest in 2020, Nygrd was involved in a number of cases, including ones alleging unfair labor practices, tax evasion, and murderous conspiracy.
A 12-year legal dispute in New York federal court resulted from Nygrd’s 1978 acquisition of a sportswear designer’s business in New York City.
In Manitoba in the 1990s, Nygrd resolved three former employees’ claims of sexual harassment.
In 1999, Nygrd filed a defamation lawsuit against Linda Lampenius for her remarks regarding Nygrd’s parties with naked women. The case persisted until 2001, when Lampenius claims she had to pay because she was out of money and did so by printing an apology in the Ilta-Sanomat newspaper.
An American couple who claimed Nygrd tricked them into accepting employment as managers of his Bahamas estate sued Nygrd in Florida in 2003. In 2007, the case was resolved.
After Jessica Alba had to leave a party at the Nygrd Cay mansion (she was there filming Into the Blue) due to the debauchery with young girls going on, a short interview with Jessica Alba about the sex parties at the mansion was published in 2005 by the Finnish newspaper Iltalehti. Nygrd filed a slander lawsuit against Alma Media’s parent firm in Los Angeles. The lawsuit was lost by Nygrd.
According to Canadian tax authorities, Nygrd failed to disclose $15 million in taxes in 2006. Nygrd claimed that he cut his ties to Canada in 1975; as a result, he was forced to pay taxes on $2 million that he had not disclosed.
In 2007, a dispute between Nygrd and Louis Bacon and their associates turned into a legal war that involved no less than 16 lawsuits. Both sides have claimed damages in the tens of millions of dollars and have made accusations of vandalism, bribery, insider trading, arson, murder, destroying the delicate seabed, and having a close relationship with the Ku Klux Klan.
A previous girlfriend of Nygrd filed a lawsuit against him in Los Angeles Superior Court in 2008 after he slammed a door on her hand. Nygrd swiftly resolved the legal dispute
In 2012, Nygrd filed a lawsuit against the CBC for violating his copyright in connection with home video recordings that were utilized in an April 2010 documentary. In an effort to stop the item from running, he had also filed a copyright complaint with the US District Court in New York and filed a case in Manitoba. He had already sued two former workers for disclosing private information, and according to his attorney, several of the workers had been harassed by CBC. In addition to filing a private criminal complaint against three CBC journalists, Nygrd filed a civil lawsuit against his neighbor and the Lyford Cay Property Owners Association, alleging that they conspired with the CBC to harm his reputation.
The Bahamas Supreme Court seized Nygrd Cay in 2018 as part of a court dispute involving Nygrd’s attempts to dig the seabed surrounding the estate.
Nygrd repeatedly neglected to show up in court for a sentencing hearing associated with two convictions for contempt of court in the Bahamas, thus a warrant was issued in 2019.
The New York Times became embroiled in the conflict between Nygrd and Louis Bacon in September 2019. According to the lawsuit, the newspaper’s reporters “tried to steer the individuals to provide information to fit a story” and that they sought to “bring down” Nygrd.
A judge in the Bahamas sentenced Nygrd to 90 days in prison and fined him $150,000 on November 15, 2019, after ruling that he had violated a court order that forbade the release of emails that had been taken from a nonprofit organization. After paying the fee, Nygrd appealed the contempt decision and was successful in getting a stay of execution for his prison sentence while his appeal was being reviewed. Nygrd’s appeal against the contempt order was rejected by the Court of Appeal of the Bahamas on February 1st, 2021.
Nygrd submitted a motion on February 4, 2021, asking for permission to appeal to the Privy Council, but the Court of Appeal of the Bahamas denied this. The judge who handed the rejection said Nygrd might still apply for leave to appeal straight to the Privy Council.
Feud with Louis Bacon
In 2005, Nygrd erected a sizable concrete slab on Louis Bacon’s land in an effort to address a parking overflow issue at Nygrd Cay. For its removal, Bacon asked for and was granted a court injunction. In 2007, Bacon put industrial-grade speakers at the edge of his land and pointed them at Nygrd’s home because he was bothered by the noise there.
The speakers were taken during a police raid on Bacon’s home in the Bahamas in the summer of 2010. Bacon asserted that it was Nygrd’s creation, which he refuted. According to Vanity Fair, Nygrd allegedly defamed Bacon by claiming that he was engaged in the murder of the Point House caretaker, ran a drug-smuggling operation, belonged to the KKK, was accused of insider trading, and was a member of the KKK. Bacon sued Nygrd for defamation in January 2015 due to these assertions. Savvy Media Holdings purchased the rights to two novels on Nygrd’s conflict with Louis Bacon in January 2021 with the intention of turning them into a feature film. The movie’s screenplay was picked by Justin Lader.
Louis Bacon received more than $203 million in damages from a New York judge on May 5, 2023. According to the court order, Nygard ran a worldwide smear campaign for almost ten years, falsely accusing Bacon of being a member of the Ku Klux Klan, insider trading, being responsible for an employee’s death, and engaging in arson, all of which were “a deliberate plan by Nygard to personally and professionally destroy Bacon.”
Peter Nygard Nygård Cay
He spent $1.76 million on a beach villa in 1984. At Lyford Cay in the Bahamas, Nygrd constructed a 14,000 square meter (150,000 square foot) compound in 1987. Nygrd announced on April 14, 2010, that he was preparing to renovate Nygrd Cay for $50 million, a project that would take two years to complete, employ 200 workers, and repair the damage.
His request for a building permit was denied in a letter from the Bahamian prime minister’s office due to the inappropriate enlargement of his property caused by the deliberate accretion of land over the seabed. The Bahamas Supreme Court seized Nygrd Cay on September 28, 2018, as part of a legal dispute involving Nygrd’s attempts to dig the seabed surrounding the estate. The property is mostly in deterioration in 2021.
The structures will be destroyed by the Bahamas government in April 2023.
Peter Nygard Personal life
Eight wives gave birth to 10 children to Nygrd. In the Bahamas, Nygrd has traditionally supported amateur sports. He served as the primary sponsor of the Amateur Boxing Federation of the Bahamas squad at the invitation-only Continental Elite Boxing Championships in Quito, Ecuador, in June 2010.
Nygrd was detained in Winnipeg, Canada on December 15, 2020, in accordance with the Extradition Act. He was detained as of February 2021 while extradition processes took place and a possible extradition to the US were considered.
Peter Nygard Honours
Nygrd received a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012.
Nygrd’s hometown of Deloraine, Manitoba, dedicated a memorial plaque and named a park in his honor in 2002. After Nygrd was arrested on allegations of rape and sex trafficking in May 2020, the park’s name was changed to Prairie Sentinels Park.
Where is Peter Nygard now?
In addition, Nygard is charged with crimes in Toronto, Quebec, and the United States. According to Winnipeg police, Nygard was detained in Toronto by members of their sex crimes section. He was taken into custody in December 2020 after being apprehended in Winnipeg pursuant to a preliminary warrant issued by American prosecutors.
How did Peter Nygard make all his money?
In 1967, Peter Nygard started his own clothing company called Nygard. Up until 1978, the company mostly produced athletic wear. The company’s headquarters, Nygard International, are located in the center of Times Square in New York City.
What is Peter Nygard’s age, height, and weight?
Peter Nygard is an average-sized man with a fit physique for his age. He stands 5 feet 8 inches (177 cm) tall, weighs 172 pounds (78 kilograms), and has greyish white hair and blue eyes. He was born in Helsinki, Finland, on July 24, 1941.
What is Peter Nygard’s Nationality and Ethnicity?
The Business Magnate is of White ethnicity, of Finnish and Canadian descent, and is a Leo. Christianity is the religion of choice for Peter.
What is Peter Nygard’s profession?
The well-known businessman was born, raised, and had his siblings in Finland along with his parents. Peter continued his education at the University of North Dakota after finishing high school.
Nygard founded Nygard International in the early 1960s, a company that specializes in women’s clothing, and was honored by Queen Elizabeth II with the Diamond Jubilee award. The residents of Deloraine, Manitoba, honored him by dedicating a park and a commemorative plaque to his humanitarian efforts. Peter is an entrepreneur as well as the sponsor of the Bahamas Amateur Boxing Federation squad competing in the World Championships. The business tycoon has a net worth of 910 million dollars and is thought to make 50 million dollars annually.
Where is Peter Nygard today?
The millionaire Nygard is currently in an awkward situation because he is being held for sexual assault. The former fashion icon is expected to stand trial for his charges in 2024, according to rumors.
What did Peter Nygard do to Trey Peele?
Getting his mother Beverly Peele to speak up about what happened to her in the past captured global attention. It was rumored that Peter Nygard had assaulted the former supermodel before he was famous, which is how Trey Peele came to be. Based on the facts given, his abuses started before the cases that are now coming to light. Currently, www.newyorktimes.com, www.financialtimes.com, and many more websites detail his early life, family, profession, and abuses and molestations.
Does Peter Nygard have children?
The business tycoon, Peter, fathered 8 children, 5 of whom he had with his ex-girlfriend Patrica Bickle and 2 of whom did not live. Bianca, Li, Kai, Mika, Jessar, Scarlet, Xar, and Trey are the names of his children.
Who is Peter Nygard married to?
According to the media, the well-known businessman is married to multiple women. Angelica Szczepaniak, Kaarina Pakka, and Patrica Bickle, a former model and actress who has long been active in humanitarian issues, are a few of the women. Numerous times, others saw the couple together. They first fell in love while attending the university in Central Florida, got married in 2002, and had five children in total, however only three of them lived to adulthood. They are not presently dating.
