Peter J. Nygård (born Pekka Juhani Nygård; born July 24, 1941) is a Finnish-Canadian former fashion executive. In 1967, he founded Nygård International, a Winnipeg-based company that made women's apparel.
In 2020, Nygård was accused of long-term sex trafficking, rape, and racketeering after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raided his company's offices in New York City. Later that year, he was formally charged and was arrested on sex trafficking and racketeering charges, including allegations of sex trafficking involving minors. In October 2021, Nygård was charged by Toronto police with multiple counts of sexual assault and forcible confinement in incidents that occurred between the mid-1980s and mid-2000s; accusations of sexual misconduct by Nygård date as far back as 1968. As of October 2023, Nygård's criminal trials are ongoing.
Early life
Peter Nygård was born Pekka Juhani Nygård in Helsinki, Finland, on July 24, 1941. His parents immigrated to Deloraine, Manitoba, Canada, in 1952, when Nygård was around eleven years old. In 1964, Nygård graduated from the University of North Dakota with a business degree.
Nygård International
Nygård established Nygård Apparel Manufacturing Company, later rebranded Nygård International, in Winnipeg in 1967. The company's Canadian headquarters was located on King Street in Toronto, Ontario, while its world headquarters was located in Times Square, New York, New York, United States. Times Square was also the location of Nygård's fashion concept retail store, which opened on Friday, November 6, 2009. At the peak of his fame, Nygård's personal fortune was estimated at $900 million.
In February 2020, the headquarters of Nygård International was raided as part of a sex trafficking investigation against Nygård by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The company filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy in New York on March 18, 2020, and a Manitoba judge ordered a group of Nygård companies into receivership the following day. On April 30, a Canadian judge authorized an accounting firm to sell off part of the business.
2020 sex trafficking arrest and lawsuits
On November 24, 2019, Bahamian police began investigating six allegations of rape made against Nygård. All the alleged victims were under 16. On January 27, 2020, Nygård faced two separate lawsuits after being accused of sexual assault.
On February 13, 2020, 10 women filed a class-action lawsuit against Nygård in New York, alleging that he had raped them at his Bahamas residence. The alleged attacks took place between 2008 and 2015. The women also alleged that he maintained a sex-trafficking ring, and that seven of the women were under 18 when the attacks took place.
On February 14, 2020, it was reported that the Bahamian police were investigating the allegations made by four of the women in the class-action suit. On February 25, 2020, the New York headquarters of Nygård International were raided by the FBI and the New York City Police Department in connection with sex trafficking claims. After these, Nygård announced that he would step down from the company and divest his ownership interest. In March 2020, a judge said that there was no evidence Nygård had actually resigned, and that he still owned 100% of the shares of the Nygård group of companies.
On April 20, 2020, 36 new women joined the class-action suit, bringing the total number of plaintiffs in the sexual assault case to 46. On June 17, 2020, it was reported that 11 more women had joined the class-action lawsuit, bringing the total number of plaintiffs to 57. On July 9, 2020, Nygard filed a motion to dismiss the claims of 52 of the plaintiffs, stating that "numerous deficiencies" barred their claims, and in particular that the claims of 50 of the plaintiffs lacked any connection to New York. He also argued that the statute of limitations had expired for 38 of the plaintiffs.
On August 17, 2020, Nygård was sued by two of his sons on accusations of directing a known sex worker said to be "his girlfriend" to rape them. On August 22, 2020, it was reported that the class-action suit had been placed on hold, the US government having requested a stay of proceedings while the criminal investigation was ongoing.
On December 15, 2020, it was reported that Nygård had been arrested in Winnipeg for extradition to the US to face charges of sex trafficking by the US attorney's office in Manhattan. On February 5, 2021, Nygård was denied bail and faced extradition to the US.