Colombian bag designer, Nancy González, who gained fame for her exclusive designs worn by celebrities such as Salma Hayek and Victoria Beckham, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison in the United States. She pleaded guilty to smuggling leather goods made from the skins of endangered animals, as revealed in court documents. The smuggling operation took place between February 2016 and April 2019, according to the Department of Justice. The exotic and endangered animal skins used for the bags, including alligator and python, are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). González and her company, Gzuniga Ltda, along with two other individuals, conspired to illegally import the designer bags from Colombia to the United States. The bags, with an average retail price of over $2,000, were smuggled into the country and displayed in González’s Manhattan showroom for high-end retailers to purchase for resale.