The owner of the luxury handbag company Gzuniga and a co-conspirator were sentenced this week in federal court for illegally importing merchandise made from the skin of protected reptiles. According to Monday's announcement, Nancy Teresa Gonzalez de Barberi and Mauricio Giraldo were sentenced to 18 months and 22 months, respectively, for violating international trade laws.
In the announcement, the Justice Department said they illegally imported designer handbags made from caiman and python skin from Colombia. Both animals are protected by the U.S. and Colombia under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Officials say an investigation revealed a multi-year scheme that involved paid couriers smuggling in bags made from protected reptile skin and Gonzalez's company selling them for thousands of dollars.
Handbags on display at Gzuniga. Credit: Justice Department
Authorities say the two along with other conspirators brought hundreds of designer bags into the country between 2016 and 2019. They'd enlist friends, family, and employees who'd wear the handbags or store them in luggage while they traveled from Colombia. Once in the U.S., they'd display the merchandise in a showroom inside Gzuniga's brick-and-mortar storefront in New York.
According to the announcement, both Gonzalez and Giraldo were credited for time served, but they've been banned from any activities involving commercial trade in wildlife for three years. They also had to forfeit all smuggled goods and pay a special assessment fee.
