Nygard’s Covid Risk Isn’t Get-Out-of-Jail Card, Prosecutor Says

(Bloomberg) -- Clothing designer Peter Nygard’s bail request should be rejected because the seriousness of the sex-trafficking charges against him far outweigh the risk that his age and ill health make him more likely to contract Covid-19, a Canadian prosecutor told a judge in Winnipeg on Wednesday.

“We accept he’s at a higher risk of a morbid outcome should he contract the virus,” prosecutor Scott Farlinger said during the second day of a bail hearing for the 79-year-old Nygard. But that “is not a get-out-of-jail-free card,” he said.

Nygard, who founded women’s clothing maker Nygard International in 1967, has a pace maker and diabetes, and his legal team has argued that keeping him in jail during a global pandemic amounts to “a death sentence.” He was arrested in Winnipeg last month at the request of the U.S., which seeks his extradition from Canada on racketeering, sex-trafficking and related charges.

Prosecutors in New York allege Nygard took part in criminal conduct over 25 years, including using company money, resources and employees to traffic dozens of women and minors to force them into sex with him and his friends. A New York indictment cited a decades-long pattern of conduct involving dozens of victims in the U.S., the Bahamas and Canada, as well as elsewhere. Nygard has denied the charges.

In a hearing before Justice Shawn Greenberg, Farlinger argued the bail package proposed by Nygard’s associates was insufficient.

In court documents, Greg Fenske, a former director of systems for Nygard, and Steve Mager, former director of construction for Nygard’s company, said they would be willing to put up a combined C$1.2 million (US$940,000) in assets to ensure Nygard’s appearance in court.

But in testimony Tuesday, Fenske said he doesn’t own the home he proposed to put up for bail, which was paid for by Nygard, Farlinger said. That shows Fenske “simply has no skin in the game” and “completely negates the value of the surety,” the prosecutor said. Mager said under questioning that he had been convicted twice of possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. The bail bond being offered doesn’t include any cash.

Jay Prober, Nygard’s lawyer, said his client has no criminal record and that the sureties are credible. He also noted that authorities would be able to monitor Nygard’s movements with the help of technology, if bail is granted.

Prober said Nygard proved he has no plans to flee Canada, having stayed in the country since returning in February 2020 while knowing there was a criminal investigation going on in the U.S.

“He could have left, but he did not leave,” Prober said. “We are adamant that he does not have the funds to flee. He has no access to the funds, as the Crown has argued.”