The extradition of two Americans accused of helping to smuggle former auto titan Carlos Ghosn out of Japan appears imminent after the United States Supreme Court on Saturday rejected their last judicial appeal.
The decision ends a nine-month legal effort by Michael L. Taylor and his son Peter M. Taylor to avoid being sent to Japan to face criminal charges stemming from Ghosn’s dramatic escape in late 2019.
The Taylors asked the Supreme Court to suspend extradition after a federal appeals court on Thursday refused to intervene. Judge Stephen Breyer quickly denied the request on behalf of the court.
A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment when the Taylor could be sent to Japan, citing government policy. Taylors’ lawyers did not respond to a request for comment.
Former chief executive of Nissan Motor Co., Ghosn faced charges of financial crime in Japan and lived in a court-monitored house in Tokyo when he disappeared in late 2019. In a Hollywood-worthy plot, he took a 300 bullet train miles from Tokyo to Osaka was then smuggled into a large box of musical equipment for a private jet.