Canadian fashion executive Peter Nygard resigned as chairman of his company hours after a task force of the FBI and the New York Police Department conducted a raid as part of a sex-trafficking investigation. A spokesman for Nygard, Ken Frydman, confirmed the executive’s departure on Tuesday evening after federal and local authorities executed the sweeping search at Nygard International. “The wonderful Nygard employees who rely upon the companies for their livelihoods must now be the priority,” Frydman was quoted saying by The Wall Street Journal, adding that Nygard “welcomes the federal investigation and expects his name to be cleared. He has not been charged, is not in custody and is cooperating with the investigation.” Almost a dozen women alleged in a lawsuit this month that the executive sexually assaulted underage girls at his home in the Bahamas. The suit alleges that Nygard “used his considerable influence in the fashion industry, his power through corruption of officials, and a network of company employees under his direction, to groom and entice underage girls and women.” 

An attorney for the plaintiffs, Greg Gutzler, said: “We have dozens of additional victims that have come forward from seven different countries, from as far back as 1977.” Nygard, who has long been accused of sexual misconduct, was previously investigated for sex trafficking by the FBI in 2015 and 2017. He has consistently denied all accusations, and his attorneys have maintained that the allegations stem from a vicious legal battle and long-running feud he has been involved in with neighbor Louis Bacon, a hedge fund billionaire.