The extradition of two Americans accused of helping smuggle former auto titan Carlos Ghosn out of Japan appears imminent, after the U.S. Supreme Court on Saturday rejected the pairs last-ditch legal appeal.
The decision brings an end to 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 the dramatic escape of Mr. Ghosn in late 2019.
The Taylors had asked the Supreme Court to stay the extradition, after a federal appeals court on Thursday declined to intervene. Justice Stephen Breyer quickly denied the application on behalf of the court.
A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment on when the Taylors could be sent to Japan, citing government policy. Lawyers for the Taylors didnt respond to a request for comment.
A former chief executive of Nissan Motor Co., Mr. Ghosn was facing financial-crime charges in Japan and living in a court-monitored house in Tokyo when he disappeared in late 2019. In a plot worthy of Hollywood, he took a bullet train 300 miles from Tokyo to Osaka, then was smuggled inside a large musical-equipment box onto a waiting private jet.
