Peter Nygard is a Finnish-Canadian former fashion executive. He is the founder of Nygard International, founded in 1967. The company manufactures women’s apparel. He owns several estates and has investments in several businesses. He served as the chairman of Nygard International until February 2020. He resigned from his position after the FBI raided company headquarters while investigating the sex trafficking accusations against him. He was accused of sex trafficking by several women. He was eventually arrested on sex trafficking and racketeering charges in December 2020. Besides sex trafficking allegations, Nygard has faced numerous accusations and lawsuits including rape, sexual harassment, child sex trafficking, conspiring to murder, tax evasion, and abusive labor practices.
What is Peter Nygard Famous For?
- Founder and former chairman of Nygard International.
- Arrested on sex trafficking and racketeering charges in December 2020.
Source: @pinterest
Where is Peter Nygard from?
Peter Nygard was born on 24 July 1941. His birthname is Pekka Juhani Nygard. His birthplace is in Helsinki in Finland. He holds Finnish and Canadian nationality. He was born to a father, Eeli Nygard, and a mother, Hilkka Nygard. His parents immigrated to Canada in 1952. His parents who were bakers sold at first in Deloraine, Manitoba. The family moved to Winnipeg. He belongs to white ethnicity and his religion is Christianity. His zodiac sign is Leo. He has a sister named Pirjo-Liisa Nygard Johnson.
Regarding his educational background, he attended the University of North Dakota. He graduated from North Dakota with a business degree in 1964.
Peter Nygard Career
- Nygard started working for women’s clothing manufacturer, Jacob Fashions in December 1967.
- He started working as a sales manager for the company’s new jeans line.
- He used his life savings of $8,000 and an additional loan to purchase 20% of the company.
- He brought the rest of the company from Jacob’s daughters after a few years. He renamed the company, Tan Jay.
- He founded Nygard International in 1967 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The company manufactures women’s apparel.
- The Canadian headquarter of the company is located on King Street in Toronto.
- Its world headquarter is located in Times Square, New York.
- His concept retail store opened in Time Square in Manhattan in November 2009.
- He stepped down as chairman of Nygard International in February 2020 after the FBI and NYPD raided the company’s New York headquarters in ties with sex trafficking allegations.
- The company filed for Chapter 15 Bankruptcy in New York in March 2020.
- A Canadian judge gave green light to an accounting firm to sell and liquidate part of the business empire in April 2020.
Source: @theglobeandmail
Peter Nygard Legal Issues, Lawsuits, Arrest
- Peter Nygard has faced several legal issues in his life. He has been accused of abusive labor practices, tax evasion, sexual harassment, sex trafficking, conspiring to murder, and rape.
- He had a 12-year legal battle in New York federal court after he took over a sportswear designer’s business in New York City in 1978.
- He was charged with the rape of an 18-year-old girl by Winnipeg authorities in 1980. The girl refused to testify. It was claimed that Nygard paid her off not to testify.
- In the late 1990s, he settled sexual harassment complaints by three former employees in Manitoba.
- He battled a defamation lawsuit with Linda Lampenius from 1999 to 2001. Lampanius settled the lawsuit including a public apology in the newspaper, Ilta-Sanomat.
- He faced a lawsuit by an American couple from 2003 to 2007. The couple sued him claiming that he deceived them into accepting jobs as managers of his Bahamas estate. The case was settled in 2007.
- Nygard lost the slander lawsuit against Alma Media, the parent company of the Finnish newspaper Iltalehti. The newspaper had published an article about sex parties at Nygard’s mansion.
- He was subjected to taxes on an unreported $2 million in 2006. The Canadian tax authorities claimed he underreported $15 million in taxes.
- Nygard settled a lawsuit with his former girlfriend in 2008 who sued her for slamming a door on her hand.
- He launched a lawsuit against CBC in 2012 regarding copyright issues about private videos taken at his residence.
- FBI was investigating Nygard in 2015 and 2017 over sex trafficking claims.
- US Department of Homeland Security investigated him in 2016.
- He was sentenced to 90 days in prison in November 2019 after he was found breaching a court order prohibiting the disclosure of emails that were stolen from a non-profit group. He was fined $150,000 as well.
- Bahamas police began investigating Nygard of six rape allegations against him in November 2019. The victims were reported under 16.
- He faced two separate sexual assault lawsuits in January 2020.
- 10 women including 8 underaged filed a class action against Nygard in New York in February 2020. They alleged Nygard that he raped them at his Bahamas residence and maintained a sex-trafficking ring as well.
- Two of his sons sued him in August 2020 accusing him of directing a known sex worker said to be “his girlfriend” to rape them.
- It was reported in December 2020 that Instagram model Suelyn Medeiros and Warren & Baram Management LLC were named as alleged co-conspirators in Peter Nygard’s alleged sex trafficking scheme in 2 separate lawsuits.
- He was eventually arrested on 15 December 2020 in Winnipeg under the Extradition Act. Earlier in February 2020, his company’s headquarters was raided by the FBI in connection to sex trafficking claims.
Peter Nygard Wife
Peter Nygard is not married at present. In the past, he has been married only once. He was briefly married to Carol Knight in the 1970s. He had relationships with several women. He has seven children from his relationships with four women. They are four daughters Bianca, Xar, Scarlet, and Alia, and three sons, Kai, Jessar, and Mika.
One of the women, Nygard dated in the past is Anna Nicole Smith. Anna was a model-actress whom Nygar reportedly dated between 1998 and 2001. Anna died of a drug overdose in 2007.
Peter Nygard Charities
- Peter Nygard is known for his charitable works. He has contributed to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.
- He has been a longtime sponsor of amateur sports in the Bahamas, including several Amateur Boxing events.
- He held the “2011 National Family Island Regatta” at Nygard Cay in April 2011. It honored Bahamian musician “King” Eric Gibson.
- He donated $10,000 to Josie Poitier, a member of Old Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, during a Passover/Good Friday breakfast/brunch in April 2011.
Peter Nygard Height
Peter Nygard stands at a height of around 1.77 m i.e. 5 feet and 8 inches tall. He has a body weight of around 172 lbs i.e. 78 kg. He has an average body build. His eye color is blue and his hair color is greyish white. His sexual orientation is straight.
Source: @winnipegfreepress
Peter Nygard Net Worth 2020
Peter Nygard is a business mogul who founded and established Nygard International. The company sold billions of women’s apparel. The company filed for Chapter 15 Bankruptcy in New York in March 2020. Canadian Business Magazine rated him the 70th richest Canadian in 2009 with a net worth of $817 million. However, his business has been affected by several allegations and lawsuits. He has or has been facing some serious lawsuits and allegations including sex-trafficking and rape.
He built 14,000-square-meter Nygard Cay in the Bahamas in 1987. The Cay inspired by the Mayan civilization’s architecture has one 3,000 square meters building. It was partly destroyed by a fire in November 2009. Several high profile figures have visited Nygard Cay. The house has been described as a resort with guests paying $42,000 a night in 2009 to stay there. Nygard Cay was seized by the Supreme Court of the Bahamas in September 2018. The Cay was seized as part of a legal battle surrounding Nygard’s efforts to dredge the seafloor around the estate.
As of 2020, his net worth is estimated at $900 million.
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