The Tribune

By Leandra Rolle 

lrolle@tribunemedia.net 

CANADIAN fashion mogul Peter Nygard is facing two separate lawsuits after being accused of sexual assault.

In the first lawsuit filed, which was obtained by The Tribune, a woman identified as Jane Doe accused Nygard of having sex with her while she was a minor at his California home.

The lawsuit stated that Nygard, fully aware she was under 18, still engaged in sexual intercourse with her, not allowing her to leave his residence.

According to the lawsuit, another incident occurred when Nygard instructed her to have sex with another individual in New York so he could have sex with the respective individual’s partner.

Meanwhile, in a second lawsuit, a woman named Maridel Carbuccia is alleging that Nygard sexually assaulted her several times during her time of employment with him.

The first incident happened in early 2016, when Mrs Carbuccia alleged that Nygard grabbed her buttocks for the first time, but later apologised and claimed it would never happen again.

Still, Mrs Carbuccia said he continued to do so on many occasions.

In fact, according to the lawsuit, another incident occurred when Nygard’s house manager was placed on medical leave in July in 2016.

Mrs Carbuccia said Nygard insisted that she perform house manager duties in addition to her previous responsibilities.

These duties, she said, would require her to invite women to attend “pamper parties”, check them in when they arrived and ensure that they had signed confidentiality agreements.

After objecting to being involved in these activities, Mrs Carbuccia said Nygard still insisted she continue to perform those duties – at the risk of losing her job.

Several months later, Mrs Carbuccia resigned, claiming to be angered that the fashion mogul was not following through with the financial commitments he had made to her.

According to the lawsuit, the terms of Mrs Carbuccia’s employment were she “would move her family to Los Angeles and upon so doing would be paid a salary of $10,000 a month.”

The lawsuit says she was also promised “a car allowance of $40,000 and moving expenses of $30,000. Plaintiff would receive a rent subsidy of $5,000 a month for two years for a total of $120,000.”

In addition to this, the plaintiff was expected to manage a project in Topanga, California, until completion and then remain employed by Nygard when the facility opened.

“In addition, plaintiff was promised a five percent equity position in the Topanga facility,” the lawsuit notes.

However, Mrs Carbuccia claimed that Nygard made these promises with no intention of following them and only to persuade her to become employed by him.

This, along with numerous alleged sexual assaults, led to her resignation in December 2016.

Still, Mrs Carbuccia said Nygard would constantly beg her to return to work, promising that all previous commitments made would be fulfilled and that his aberrant sexual behaviours towards her would cease.

She claimed he told her that she would receive all monies owed to her and all previous commitments would be fulfilled.

Wanting to believe his sincerity, Mrs Carbuccia said she met with Nygard in February of 2017 to discuss her reemployment, where he apologised for his sexual batteries and assaults and was adamant that they would not reoccur.

But, according to the lawsuit, soon after she returned to work, the sexual incidents resumed.

“On numerous occasions in 2017 defendant Nygard grabbed plaintiff’s buttocks and on January 22, 2018 grabbed her breasts,” the lawsuit said.

“After she agreed to work for defendant Nygard, he advised plaintiff that her salary would be $80,000 a year plus quarterly non-discretionary bonuses which would add up to $120,000 a year,” the lawsuit said.

“He described this as a forced savings account. However, whenever a bonus was due, plaintiff would have to send multiple emails seeking his authorisation and approval for payment. Some of these non-discretionary bonuses were never made.

“..On January 22, 2018 defendant Nygard met with Plaintiff in person at the dispensary. She asked him about the promises that he had made and particularly about her bonuses.

“He told her that he was behind on approvals but that they would be forthcoming. He also said that she would receive the moving allowance, the rent subsidies and the car allowance when Topanga was opened.

“Then he grabbed Plaintiff’s breasts. He said that her ‘ass’ looked amazing. He said, ‘you know what they say about pregnant women.’ He said ‘they want it more’ while making a forward motion with his hips.”

Both lawsuits were filed in California.