Front Burner - The arrest of Peter Nygard, disgraced fashion mogul

Episode Date: December 16, 2020

Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard was arrested Monday night in Winnipeg under the Extradition Act. He faces nine charges related to sex trafficking and racketeering in a New York court. You may remember that Nygard has already been accused by dozens of women across the globe of sexual assault, rape and human trafficking. While he has denied all allegations, these charges out of New York are the first criminal charges he will contend with. Today we are joined by Timothy Sawa. He's a CBC investigative reporter who has been covering this story for more than a decade and has a new CBC podcast about Nygard, Evil by Design, out this February.

In the Dragon's Den, a simple pitch can lead to a life-changing connection. Watch new episodes of Dragon's Den free on CBC Gem. Brought to you in part by National Angel Capital Organization, empowering Canada's entrepreneurs through angel investment and industry connections. This is a CBC Podcast. Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygaard's legal troubles are getting deeper. He was arrested Monday night in Winnipeg under the Extradition Act, and he now faces nine charges of sex trafficking and racketeering in a New York court. You may remember that Nygaard has already been accused by dozens of women across the globe of sexual assault, rape, and human trafficking. These charges out of New York are the first criminal charges that he will contend with.

Today, CBC investigative reporter Timothy Sawa is here. He's been covering this story for about a decade. And this February, his new CBC podcast on this topic will launch. It's called Evil by Design. his new CBC podcast on this topic will launch. It's called Evil by Design. And just a note to say, there are some really difficult details in this conversation,

including descriptions of sexual assault and the drugging of women. I'm Jamie Poisson, and this is FrontBurner. Hey, Timothy, thanks so much for making the time today. That's great, Jamie. Nice to talk to you. All right. So Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygaard was arrested Monday night in Winnipeg. And what do we know about what happened? We know that the RCMP and the Winnipeg police last night, they arrested him at the request of the Department of Justice in the state of New York.

We know he spent the night in jail. We know that the FBI and the New York Police Department have been investigating him for months. So this is the end of that, presumably, or the beginning of the end of their investigation. Because we know they searched their offices, his offices in New York and L.A. in February. Nygaard has stepped down from his famous fashion house. The FBI and the NYPD descended on the Times Square offices as part of the criminal investigation into allegations of sex trafficking. And a lot of people have been waiting a long time, I guess, since that happened, because that was the real first public indication that the FBI had their sights on him. And that was back in February. So people have been waiting ever since then.

And we know that that Nygaard is in court. He was in court today on an extradition warrant. And when he came into court, there was a description from journalists who were there who witnessed it, described him as looking disheveled. And he looked really quite frail and small compared to how he normally looks. Peter Nygaard was escorted into the courtroom and placed in the prisoner's box. His hands and feet were shackled and his hair was tied up in a messy bun. Nothing like the photos we're used to seeing of him on city billboards. And you know, you mentioned these charges out of New York that he's facing. I know on Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney's Office out of the Southern District of New York,

they are a notoriously tough office. They released a 23-page indictment. And Timothy, what did the indictment allege? Well, this is our very first peek into the allegations that the FBI has been looking at. And as I said, people have been waiting a long time to know what's really going on. And we're getting that first glance into what they're looking at. It's a whole slew of allegations that really add up to an overall charge of sex trafficking and racketeering. Things like how he and others in his company lured, paid, threatened, coerced many women and young girls who were eventually sexually assaulted and raped by him.

Many of these women came from disadvantaged backgrounds. They were lured to him through parties and offers of modeling contracts and an exciting lifestyle on airplanes and hotels. But in the end, according to this indictment, the end goal was to provide victims for Peter Nygaard to eventually sexually assault or rape. Right, right. And you mentioned these parties. This is something that we've talked about on the podcast with you before, these so-called pamper parties that he would hold in the Bahamas. from his staff who goes out to get women of a certain age and of a certain look. They're told that they've been invited because they're attractive young women and Nygaard's looking for potential models. And tell me a little bit more about what the New York prosecutors allege were happening at these parties. These parties are somewhat notorious. I mean,

Peter Nygaard is famous for holding these parties. I mean, there was what he described them as and what we now know them to be are two different things. But he, at the time when he was holding these parties, would describe them as ways for women to come and be pampered. He called them pamper parties. Come and get a free massage. Come and get your nails done. Have some food. Have some drinks.

Relax on my beautiful beach in the Bahamas. And as I said, a lot of the women and girls who were attracted to these parties, who were invited and lured to these parties, were from disadvantaged backgrounds. They'd never even been to the side of the island where he lives, which is where the rich, famous people live. And what we now know from what we've been investigating this for a while and now what they're saying in this indictment is that these parties were just a mechanism for Nygaard to lure victims so that he could eventually sexually assault or rape them. This indictment also alleges that other people played a role in facilitating this, people in Nygaard's orbit. And who and how? What does the indictment say about that? I mean, the indictment is both clear and vague when it comes to this. It doesn't name any names, but it makes it clear there are others.

There are others who took part in these trafficking allegations. For example, it says over and over there are references to co-conspirators or others known and unknown with his company who all helped make this happen, but we don't know who they are yet, according to the indictment. It also talks about women who were trafficked to and assaulted by associates of Nygaard. And does the indictment name these people, these people who also allegedly assaulted the women? It names them or describes them as business associates or friends of Peter Nygaard, but it doesn't name them per se. It just makes it clear there are others who took part in this. Okay. And what does the indictment say about alleged cover-up efforts?

There definitely talks about covering things up. It talks about two things. It talks about how Peter Nygaard got them to do what he wanted them to do, and then how he kept it quiet afterwards. So it talks about how women were drugged, or there were promises made to women, or women were held against their will. But then after they were assaulted, it talks about how he kept them quiet. For example, it talked about how witnesses were threatened. They were threatened with arrest, jail, It talked about how witnesses were threatened. They were threatened with arrest, jail, prosecution, civil litigation, how witnesses were paid money to silence them, all kinds of threats and intimidation that were made towards these women and witnesses to keep this quiet for all these years. These are just brutal allegations to hear. They're so difficult to hear and to hear about how, you know, allegedly how widespread this was and how many women it affected. The indictment talks about women being trafficked across borders, Tim. Are there other criminal investigations in other jurisdictions against Peter Nygaard? There are. There are

several that we've been hearing about for some time. In the same way, we've been waiting for the results of these investigations. But we know that since last summer, the Bahamas has been investigating allegations of rape and sexual assault. And I've met and spoke with some of those young women and girls who made those allegations to the police. And there's some very credible allegations that have been made in the Bahamas. After a game with Peter Nygaard, she says he invited her to stay for dinner. Then beyond. He offered me my own cabana to stay for the rest of the summer. You know, he said I could enjoy the beach and enjoy the tennis

and that it would be great. And the Bahamas police have been supposedly investigating them ever since, but we are waiting for the results of that. And then we know in Winnipeg there are a number of women who have come forward who say they were assaulted in Winnipeg. And again, we've met and interviewed and introduced those women in stories that we've done. but i certainly told everybody who was close to me that i'd had a bad event and so that puts me in a situation where i'm not having to say this

for the first time to people my friends and family aren't hearing this for the first time 40 years later we wish you'd said something why didn didn't you say something? I did. And now I'm just telling the rest of the world what happened. And the fact that there were such young girls and I have a 13 year old daughter made me so, so sad and so sick because I felt like if I had done something back then, then maybe it wouldn't have happened to them. And again, some very credible allegations involving some very serious, very serious things involving rape, kidnapping, sexual assault, drugging that took place in Winnipeg.

So all of these things are ongoing. And then, of course, what the FBI has done and what we're hearing about today, finally. Right. And has Nygaard released any sort of statement following his arrest in Winnipeg, responding to the charges that he's now facing in New York? There's been nothing official yet. There was a court appearance today in which there was a request from his lawyer for a publication ban because his

lawyer said that without it, Nygaard couldn't get a fair trial. But the judge disagreed, said there's going to be no publication ban. But that was it. That was the end of the court process today. Nygaard was shuffled out in his shackles and sent back to jail. And a new court date's been set where I guess there'll be discussions about bail. But in the meantime, he's going to wait in jail and we're waiting to hear what his perspective. Now, he has said all along, up until now, he has denied these allegations. He has said it's a big conspiracy against him by his neighbor in the Bahamas who he's been feuding with for 10 years, that he says this has all been made up, that victims have been paid to lie. And we know that from the past. But as of today, there's nothing

new in terms of his perspective. Right. And as you just mentioned, these allegations, they're not new. They date back years. And he's previously been accused by 57 women in a class action lawsuit of rape, sexual assault, human trafficking. At least 18 of those women, I believe, are Canadian. And we talked about this with you on the podcast before. I know that you've been investigating this for about 10 years now. And are the alleged victims in this lawsuit some of the ones that are part of the new criminal charges in New York? You know, I can't answer that question because it's not entirely clear, like they don't name the Jane Does in the FBI indictment, but it's clear the allegations

overlap and are extremely similar. In fact, they mirror the allegations that we're seeing today in the indictment mirror almost word for word in some cases, the class action lawsuit that's been launched. It's all the same kind of stuff, how were lured by nygaard and and by his employees to parties and events people say they were drugged or kidnapped it's all the same allegations in the civil class action lawsuit with actually far more detail and involving far more women in the civil case but the allegations are the same and this has been going on for some time now the civil case it's been on pause right now it's actually on hold because when there's a criminal case going on and a civil case going on at some time now, the civil case. It's been on pause right now. It's actually on hold because when there's a criminal case going on and a civil case going on at the same time, sometimes the prosecution in the U.S. will request that the civil case be put on hold while the

criminal case runs its course, which is often a signal that charges are coming. And today, we got the results of that signal. can lead to a life-changing connection. Watch new episodes of Dragon's Den free on CBC Gem. Brought to you in part by National Angel Capital Organization, empowering Canada's entrepreneurs through angel investment and industry connections. Hi, it's Ramit Sethi here. You may have seen my money show on Netflix. I've been talking about money for 20 years.

I've talked to millions of people and I have some startling numbers to share with you. Did you know that of the people I speak to, 50% of them do not know their own household income? That's not a typo, 50%. That's because money is confusing. In my new book and podcast, Money for Couples, I help you and your partner create a financial vision together. To listen to this podcast, and your partner create a financial vision together. To listen to this podcast, just search for Money for Cops. All right, so I know that you spoke with a Canadian woman who is part of the lawsuit, and I know that she wouldn't be part of the charges in New York because she's not

based there. Her allegations aren't based there. But how did she react to Peter Nygaard's arrest? Well, as I'm sure you can guess, she was incredibly relieved, feeling vindicated and happy and excited to see that something's finally happening. Canadian actor and designer April Telek, she's glad that he's been charged. If he is finally held accountable for what he did to even one of us, I will be happy. It has been far too long that he has been allowed to be free to let this happen to anybody else. But right now, he's in custody. He's behind bars right now. Oh, that is the best news.

I think I'm in shock. Tim, we talked earlier about how the indictment said other people in Nygaard's orbit were involved in the alleged trafficking and assaults of these women. And could other people be facing criminal charges here? Well, if the indictment today is any indication, the FBI has their eyes on other people because it says all over and over again there are co-conspirators. has their eyes on other people because it says all over and over again there are co-conspirators and if we know anything from cases like like jeffrey epstein where it's not just the alleged abuser who gets pursued but also the enablers and also we get another signal on that front as well because there's a number of other lawsuits civil lawsuits that have been filed that actually name some of his enablers for example there's an's an Instagram model, um, it goes by the name Sula and Medeiros, who is accused of some very serious things, luring victims specifically to

be raped by Peter Nygaard and being paid a lot of money to do this. She received a Ferrari, apparently the allegation is, um, to, to do this kind of work. Um, and, uh, those allegations though, haven't been tested in court and she denies them, but if those allegations are out there as part of a civil case. There's another civil case that's out there right now that names three very senior employees of his. One of them based in L.A. who's accused of luring victims for him to rape, including in one case an underage victim. And there are two other senior employees, one based in Winnipeg and one based in Toronto, who have been accused of helping hide assets from the creditors, and one specifically who's accused of deleting over a thousand records after he was asked to preserve records by the FBI. So there's a three sort of corporate enablers

that have been accused through civil cases. Right, and I know that you mentioned that lawsuit against Sulene Medeiros, and her lawyer actually sent an email to one of our colleagues at the CBC. The lawyer said Ms. Medeiros vehemently denies these false and salacious allegations and looks forward to the court dismissing these baseless claims. And as you mentioned, Tim, everybody accused of wrongdoing in these lawsuits is denying those accusations. I just want to take a quick stab at trying to summarize what we've learned today. So Nygaard has these criminal charges in New York, he could be facing additional charges in other jurisdictions, including Canada. And there is still this massive lawsuit filed against him, though it's currently put on pause. And while no

associates are currently facing criminal charges, there are these several other lawsuits that Nygaard associates are currently facing. Does that about sum it up? Yeah, I think it's fair to say the walls are closing in on Peter Nygaard and his associates. I know that you've been following this story, you know, as we talked about for a long time, for a decade. You're about to launch this new CBC podcast on Nygaard. And after so much time investigating him, do you feel like you're any closer to understanding Nygaard and how he was able to get away with this alleged behavior for so long? I mean, that is the big question. It's been more than 40 years. And there are so many women and so many people who either could have or should have known what was going on or did know what was going on and helped cover it up or helped enable it.

So, yeah, in the new year, we'll be launching a podcast called Evil by Design. It's going to be eight parts. And we're going to have a brand new documentary on the Fifth Estate as well, where we're going to tackle that very question. And I think we're going to come close to answering it. We've got some pretty interesting and revealing new details that's going to shed some pretty serious light on how Peter Nygaard kept this quiet for so long. Tim, thank you so much. I'm really looking forward to this podcast, and I hope that you'll come back on and talk to us about it and other important developments soon. I'd be happy to. Thanks so much. All right, so some other news before we say goodbye today. On Tuesday, Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne joined CBC's Vashie Kapelos on power and politics and made some unexpected comments about Flight PS752,

the passenger plane that was shot down by the Iranian military over Tehran in January, killing 176 people aboard, many of them Canadians. Minister Champagne told Vashi that he doesn't believe the destruction of Flight PS752 can be blamed on human error, but he would not say what he believes caused the disaster. I ask if you trust Iran, right? And respectfully, you didn't answer. I will question everything they say because I take nothing at face value. So you don't trust them? No, because there's too many examples that we've seen where, you know,

we have, they've not been forthcoming. We'll be closely watching how the story develops. That's all for today, though. I'm Jamie Poisson, and thanks so much for listening to Frontburner. For more CBC Podcasts, go to cbc.ca slash podcasts.