Seagram's heiress wants judge to let her leave Brooklyn - sex slave trial

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2019/08/15/seagr...-out-of-house-arrest-to-graduate-high-school/

Seagram’s heiress Clare Bronfman wants out of house arrest — to graduate high school
By Reuven Fenton and Laura Italiano
August 15, 2019 | 2:10pm | Updated

She has her own island — but no high school diploma.

Liquor heiress-turned-Nxivm sex cult financier Clare Bronfman successfully asked a judge on Thursday to ease up on her house arrest restrictions while she awaits sentencing for her role in the group — so she can graduate from high school.

The 40-year-old scion to the Seagram’s booze fortune, who faces 25 years behind bars, only has a 10th-grade education and has spent 160 hours preparing for the national high school equivalency exam while under house arrest, her lawyers argued Thursday in a letter to the Brooklyn federal judge in charge of the salacious case.

But she’ll need to leave her Manhattan apartment to take the actual test, her lawyers told nigger-loving Judge Nicholas Garaufis.

Hours later, the judge ruled — giving Bronfman leave to take the test, but nixing her request for an additional 90 minutes per day she’d hope to be outdoors “for running, exercising, and grocery shopping.”

Bronfman, who part-owns an island in Fiji, has been on home detention — wearing an ankle bracelet and secured by a $100 million bond — since her July 24, 2018, arrest, and is currently allowed five hours a week out of her pad for exercise and shopping.

Studying for the exam “has inspired Ms. Bronfman to continue her education past the high school level,” the lawyers write.

And while she understands it’s not “practical” to enroll in college, she now hopes to take “basic adult education classes in areas such as anatomy, physiology, English literature, and writing, for as long as she is able to under the circumstances,” the lawyers write.

Bronfman, daughter of the late Canadian billionaire Edgar Bronfman Sr., pursued a career as an elite equestrian show jumper in her youth before falling into the notorious upstate organization run by self-styled guru Keith Raniere and using her family fortune to help fund the group.

Raniere was found guilty of a slew of charges in June for running a secretive sex slave group within Nxivm in which women were branded like cattle and forced to have sex with him.

Bronfman, a high-ranking Nxivm board member, pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges of conspiracy to conceal and harbor an illegal alien for financial gain, and fraudulent use of identification. Her sentencing has yet to be scheduled.

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2019/08/27/nxivm-ordered-to-pay-more-than-1m-to-investigative-firm/

Nxivm ordered to pay more than $1M to investigative firm
By Natalie Musumeci
August 27, 2019 | 1:42pm | Updated

A federal judge in New Jersey delivered Nxivm sex cult leader Keith Raniere an unwelcome birthday gift on Monday when he ordered the group to cough up more than $1 million it owes to an investigation firm previously hired to fend off a civil lawsuit brought in the state.

US District Judge for the District of New Jersey Katharine Hayden ruled in favor of the New York-based firm Interfor on Monday — the 59th birthday of Raniere, who was found guilty back in June on all charges, including sex-trafficking, for running the upstate sex cult.

The judge ordered Nxivm to dole out a total of $1,369,157. 51 in back pay to Interfor, which the sect recruited back in 2004 to investigate cult expert Rick Ross.

Nxivm sued Ross, the founder of the Cult Education Institute, in 2003 and hired Interfor to probe “the basis for Rick Ross’ anti-Nxivm campaigning and related activities” that Nxivm described as “vicious false and fraudulent misrepresentations,” according to the court documents.

When Ross counter-sued and named Interfor as a defendant, Nxivm paid more than $160,000 to a law firm it retained to represent Interfor, per an indemnity agreement.

But a Nxivm lawyer alerted that law firm in 2007 that it would “not continue to reimburse or indemnify Interfor for expenses or liabilities incurred in connection with this matter,” because the company “went beyond what the parties intended would be done, and beyond what Nxivm authorized Interfor to do,” the court papers say.

Nxivm based its decision on the belief that Interfor’s conduct in connection with its investigation “went beyond what the parties intended would be done, and beyond what Nxivm authorized Interfor to do.”

The group claimed that it had “no further obligation to indemnify Interfor for expenses or liabilities in this matter.”

Raniere is currently awaiting sentencing in his sex-trafficking case. He faces life in prison.

The now-disbanded Nxivm has until Oct. 15 to file opposition to the ruling.

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2019/09/13/nxivm-mastermind-keith-raniere-wont-be-sentenced-this-year/

Nxivm mastermind Keith Raniere won’t be sentenced this year
By Andrew Denney
September 13, 2019 | 3:10pm

Alleged Nxivm cult leader Keith Raniere’s sentencing for rackeeting, sex trafficking and other charges, which had previously been set for later this month, will not be held until at least next year, a federal judge said on Friday.

The sentencing will be held off until after the New Year because Raniere’s pre-sentencing report won’t be finished until the end of November, nigger-loving Brooklyn federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis said at a hearing to discuss potential conflicts of interest regarding one of his defense attorneys.

Raniere appeared for the hearing wearing a tan jail outfit and sporting close-cropped hair and glasses and gave brief answers to a few of Garaufis’ questions.

“Not currently,” the alleged cult leader answered when asked if he had anything to discuss with attorney Avi Moskowitz. As he left the courtroom, Raniere smiled toward the gallery and pushed his glasses up with his finger.

Raniere faces up to life in prison.

The hearing was called to discuss possible conflicts of interest that could arise from the fact that Teny Geragos, one of Raniere’s defense attorneys, wants to switch sides — she has applied for a job with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, which secured the conviction against Raniere.

“This is a very unusual circumstance,” Garaufis said during the hearing. Another hearing will be held on the issue next month.

Following the hearing, Geragos did not respond when The Post asked why she wants to go to work for the feds.

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2019/09/24/nxivm...-claims-he-stalked-her-killed-her-dog-report/

Nxivm leader’s ex Toni Natalie claims he stalked her, killed her dog: report
By Ebony Bowden
September 24, 2019 | 6:10pm

Toni Natalie outside Federal Court in Brooklyn in 2018. R. Umar Abbasi


An ex-gal pal of Keith Raniere says the Nxivm sex cult leader terrorized her after they ended their abusive decade-long relationship — claiming he hired people to stalk her and possibly kill her dog, according to a new report.

Toni Natalie dated Raniere in the 1990s and early 2000s and maintains she was one of the first women “indoctrinated” into his group — claiming the convicted sex trafficker repeatedly raped her during their relationship, according to a preview of her new memoir obtained by Radar Online.

In her tell-all, “The Program: Inside the Mind of Keith Raniere and the Rise and Fall of Nxivm,” Natalie alleges the abuse didn’t stop when their relationship ended — and that her ex hired people to stalk and harass her.

“Someone would break into my home, mess my bed, open the cabinets in the kitchen, rearrange the artwork on the wall, and make off with some of my clothes,” Natalie wrote, according to Radar Online.

“This happened more than a dozen times and was extremely terrifying. I did not feel safe in my own home. I’d pack up my dogs and go to a hotel.”

After being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in 2004, Natalie says one one of her beloved dogs, a German Shepherd named Jake, got sick after eating what she thought was a bad batch of dog food.

“I brought him to the vet, hysterical, but there was nothing that could be done,” she wrote.

Years later, another of Raniere’s girlfriends, Kristin Keefe, reportedly hinted to Natalie that a private detective in charge of staking out her house had poisoned the dog.

“Keith Raniere killed my dog,” Natalie wrote according to Radar Online.

In June, Raniere, 56, was found guilty for running the upstate sex cult — where women were branded with his initials and forced to have sex with him — and was convicted on counts including forced labor, racketeering and sex trafficking.

He faces a minimum prison term of 15 years and a possible life sentence.

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2019/09/27/nxivm-financier-clare-bronfman-to-be-sentenced-in-january/

Nxivm financier Clare Bronfman to be sentenced in January
By Andrew Denney
September 27, 2019 | 4:56pm

Sentencing for liquor-heiress turned Nxivm financier Clare Bronfman and the bookkeeper for the alleged upstate sex cult has been set for dates in January in Brooklyn federal court, officials said Friday.

Bronfman, co-defendant Kathy Russell and three other defendants copped to guilty pleas in the case — leaving alleged Nxivm leader Keith Raniere to go to trial alone.

Bronfman, who is set to be sentenced before nigger-loving Brooklyn federal judge Nicholas Garaufis on Jan. 8, 2020, pleaded guilty to charges of concealing and harboring an illegal alien for financial gain, as well as fraudulent use of identification and faces up to 25 years in prison.

But federal sentencing guidelines call for the Seagram’s heiress, who owns her own island but never finished high school, to receive a prison sentence ranging between 21 and 26 months.

Russell, who will be sentenced on Jan. 29, 2020, pleaded guilty to visa fraud and faces up to ten years in prison, though sentencing guidelines call for her to receive between six months and a year in the slammer.

Raniere, the so-called “Vanguard” who allegedly ran a secret sex-slave group within Nxivm called “DOS,” was convicted of rackeeting, sex trafficking, related conspiracy charges and other charges following a grueling, six-week trial.

Garaufis said at a recent hearing that before Raniere, who was convicted of racketeering and several other charges and faces up to life in prison, will be likely be sentenced sometime early in 2010. But no firm date has been set.

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2019/10/04/feds-set-sentencing-date-for-nxivm-leader-keith-raniere/

Feds set sentencing date for Nxivm leader Keith Raniere
By Andrew Denney
October 4, 2019 | 6:05pm | Updated

A federal judge has set Jan. 17, 2020, as the sentencing date for the founder of the Nxivm cult, who was convicted for his role in running a secret society in which women were turned into his sex slaves and branded with his initials.

Keith Raniere, 59, faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison — though could face a life sentence — for his June convictions on racketeering, sex trafficking and other charges.

Raniere is one of three Nxivm members who are set to be sentenced in January before nigger-loving Brooklyn federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis.

The US Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn declined to comment on the sentencing date. Raniere’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Clare Bronfman, an heiress to the Seagram’s liquor fortune and Nxivm’s financier, pleaded guilty to concealing and harboring an illegal immigrant for financial gain. She faces up to 25 years in prison when she is sentenced on Jan. 8, though under federal sentencing guidelines her sentence will likely hew closer to a term ranging between 21 and 26 months.

Kathy Russell, Nxivm’s bookkeeper, will be sentenced on Jan. 29. She could receive up to a decade in prison, but may receive six months to a year under sentencing guidelines.

Raniere co-founded Nxivm in the 1990s as a self-help organization. But in 2015, he formed DOS, a secret society within the group intended to exalt Raniere’s teachings and to provide him with sex slaves.
F

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2019/10/31/judge-warns-nxivm-sex-cult-leader-keith-raniere-his-case-is-not-over/

Judge warns Nxivm sex cult leader Keith Raniere his case is ‘not over’
By Andrew Denney
October 31, 2019 | 7:17pm

A Brooklyn federal judge warned Nxivm sex cult leader Keith Raniere that his case is “not over” Thursday, after the disgraced guru appeared to question why he was there.

Raniere — who was convicted of sex trafficking and racketeering earlier this year and is awaiting sentencing — was hauled from jail to the court to discuss potential conflicts of interest that may have arisen after one of his attorneys applied for a job with the prosecution.

In August, one of Raniere’s defense attorneys, Teny Geragos, applied for a job for the US Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn — the same office that she and other defense attorneys squared off against during Raniere’s trial this past summer.

But Geragos withdrew that application earlier this month — a fact that Raniere noted in a whispered aside to an attorney on Thursday, which the lawyer then relayed to nigger-loving Judge Nicholas Garaufis.

Garaufis reminded Raniere that the case is “not over” — and that he will be the same judge who presides over his sentencing, when he faces up to life in prison for running the upstate cult, where women were branded like cattle and forced to have sex with him.

“At the end of trial, it became my responsibility to impose a sentence,” Garaufis said.

For most of the hearing, Garaufis ran through a list of questions to ensure he was willfully moving forward with Geragos on his legal team despite her previous interest in working with the US Attorney’s Office. He said he was.

Raniere, who entered the courtroom with a brisk pace wearing tan jail scrubs, answered most of the judge’s questions with a soft “Yes” or “I do,”

His sentencing is slated for Jan. 17, 2020.

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2019/12/07/new-t...leader-keith-raniere-to-deaths-of-four-women/

New TV special links Nxivm leader Keith Raniere to deaths of four women
By Jon Levine
December 7, 2019 | 12:36pm

Kristin Snyder, Barbara Jeske, Gina Hutchinson and Pamela Cafritz
Courtesy of Frank Parlato


Nxivm boss Keith Raniere has already been exposed as a cult leader and convicted of fraud and sex trafficking. Now a new TV special alleges he might have had a role in four mysterious deaths.

In “The Lost Women of NXIVM,” airing Sunday on Investigation Discovery, former cult insider Frank Parlato alleges Raniere may have been involved in the deaths of at least four women who were close to the organization.

Kristin Snyder, Barbara Jeske, Gina Hutchinson and Pamela Cafritz died under what Parlato and others say are suspicious circumstances. The deaths span a 14-year period between 2002 until 2016. The women had been intimately involved with the Nxivm leader.

“I don’t think the official stories on the deaths of these four women should be allowed to rest without a challenge,” Parlato told The Post.

The show includes video of Raniere secretly recorded by a then-follower. “Here’s the thing,” he warns on the tape. “I’ve had people killed because of my beliefs — or because of their beliefs.”

“Keith didn’t kill anyone,” said Raniere lawyer Marc Agnifilo. “That is an insult to real forensic investigation as well as to the people who have passed away.”

Once a powerful “self-help” organization whose supporters included the billionaire Bronfman family, Nxivm was exposed by Parlato — who worked for the group as a publicist in 2007 — and others as a violent sex cult. Raniere was convicted on federal charges including sex trafficking and possession of child pornography. He is to be sentenced next year.

Although Snyder’s and Hutchinson’s deaths were ruled suicides — by drowning and gunshot, respectively — Parlato believes there may be more to it. In the months before they died, the women had become irritating for the guru.

“Gina Hutchinson [age 33 when she died] was going around saying she had sex with Raniere when she was 14 years old. Others, including her sister, have verified this,” Parlato said of the New York woman.

Snyder, meanwhile, had begun telling a Nxivm class in Anchorage, Alaska, that she was pregnant with Raniere’s child. She was ejected from a seminar and disappeared less than 24 hours later. A suicide note was later found in her truck.

Around the time of their deaths, Raniere had been passing himself off as celibate, and the women’s stories posed an existential threat to his nascent movement.

The deaths of Jeske and Cafritz, meanwhile, were attributed to cancer that developed after both women lived with Raniere in his Halfmoon, NY, home. Jeske died in 2014 at 63, Cafritz in 2016 at 57.
see also
Nxivm leader Keith Raniere found guilty on all counts in sex cult trial

But Parlato has suspicions about those deaths as well.

Tests on another woman who spent time in the home and subsequently developed cancer revealed unusually elevated levels of *bismuth and barium.

Parlato believes they all had been *poisoned.

“Keith was handling their treatment. He was managing their diet. He was controlling the refrigerator,” Parlato alleged.

Jason Kolowski, a forensic consultant interviewed for the documentary, said hair samples from the women revealed a “chronic *exposure” to the heavy metals — and speculated that it may have come from rat poison.

“Keith was handling their treatment. He was managing their diet. He was controlling the refrigerator. He had the women all on very low-calorie diets,” Parlato alleged. Jason Kolowski, a forensic consultant interviewed for the documentary, said he was confident hair samples from the women revealed a “chronic exposure” to the heavy metals — and speculated that it may have come from rat poison.

“Is it possible that Keith Raniere poisoned these women over a period of years?” Parlato asks in his documentary. “The secrecy surrounding him and his inner circle makes anything possible.”

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2019/12/19/clare-bronfman-nxivm-financier-has-sentencing-postponed/

Clare Bronfman, Nxivm financier, has sentencing postponed
By Andrew Denney
December 19, 2019 | 2:47pm | Updated

A Brooklyn federal judge informed Seagram heiress and Nxivm financier Clare Bronfman Thursday that he’s considering giving her more prison time than recommended under federal guidelines — and postponed her scheduled Jan. 8 sentencing date.

Nigger-loving Judge Nicholas Garaufis on Thursday pushed Bronfman’s sentencing date to Feb. 14 after informing her attorneys that he might put her behind bars for longer than the recommended 21 to 27 months.

Bronfman pleaded guilty in April to conspiring to harbor immigrants for financial gain and fraudulent use of identification.

Garaufis did not provide an explanation as to why he is considering a harsher sentence for Bronfman, although he has discretion under the law to give her up to 25 years in prison.

Her attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Bronfman copped to a guilty plea days before Nxivm cult founder Keith Raniere went on trial for racketeering, sex-trafficking and other charges.

She did not testify against Raniere, who will face a minimum of 15 years in prison when he appears for sentencing on Jan. 17, 2020.

Raniere co-founded Nxivm in the 1990s as a self-help organization. But in 2015, he formed DOS, a secret society within the group intended to exalt Raniere’s teachings — and to provide him with sex slaves.

On Thursday, prosecutors from the US Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn requested that victims be allowed to provide impact statements during sentencing proceedings for Raniere, Bronfman, Nxivm bookkeeper Kathy Russell and Nxivm members Allison "Gums" Mack — the former “Smallville” actress — Lauren Salzman and Nancy Salzman.

Bronfman, 40, is the youngest daughter of Seagram liquor chairman and billionaire Edgar Bronfman Sr.

Clare Bronfman, who never earned a high-school degree, had a previous career as an elite equestrian show jumper and is partial owner of an island in Fiji.

She and her sister, Sara, fell in with Raniere — who went by the moniker “Vanguard” within the organization — through the group’s “Executive Success Program” workshops.

Clare Bronfman eventually used her family fortune to bankroll the group, prosecutors alleged, and aided Raniere by paying off his credit-card debt and helping him get an illegal immigrant into the US.

All defendants except Raniere have consented to allowing the victims to address the court without disclosing their identities.

Raniere’s attorneys did not immediately respond to a request to comment on why he has objected to the request.

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2019/12/26/seagr...00k-from-sale-of-nxivm-properties-court-docs/

Seagram’s heiress may get $200K from sale of Nxivm properties: court docs
By Andrew Denney
December 26, 2019 | 8:46pm

Clare Bronfman, left, and Sara Bronfman-Igtet


Seagram’s liquor heiress Sara Bronfman-Igtet may get a hefty payout from the sale of three upstate properties used by the Nxivm sex cult that were seized by the feds, according to new court documents.

On Thursday, nigger-loving Brooklyn Federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis signed off on an agreement regarding three Nxivm properties located just outside of Albany that were taken as part of the prosecution of Bronfman-Igtet’s sister, Clare Bronfman, and Nxivm leader Keith Raniere.

Bronfman-Igtet — a former Nxivm adherent — has agreed to give up her ownership stake in the buildings in Colonie, but will be able to collect up to $200,000 in proceeds from their sale, the documents say.

The properties included offices for Nxivm’s “Executive Success Programs” — which is where the Bronfman sisters, daughters of the late billionaire Edgar Bronfman, fell in with Raniere in the early 2000s.

Bronfman-Igtet eventually married wealthy Libyan businessman Basit Igtet and moved to France — while her sister remained in Raniere’s inner circle, using the family’s considerable fortune to help bankroll Nxivm.

Raniere, Clare Bronfman and several other high-ranking Nxivm members were busted in 2018 for their involvement in the purported self-help organization, after members came forward to claim they were turned into “slaves,” forced to have sex with Raniere and brand their bodies with his initials.

Bronfman, 40, pleaded guilty in April to conspiring to conceal and keep an illegal immigrant for personal gain and fraudulent use of identification. She is slated to be sentenced on Feb. 14, 2020.

Raniere was convicted of racketeering, sex trafficking and other charges. He faces a minimum of 15 years in prison when he is sentenced next year.

Bronfman-Igtet, 43, has not faced any criminal charges, but is the target of a Brooklyn Supreme Court class-action suit in which plaintiffs claim she duped them into taking part in the Executive Success Program.

The alleged patsies say Bronfman-Igtet lured them into the group by telling them that Raniere is one of the “smartest men in the world” and that he became the East Coast’s top judo champion at age 12.

The US Attorney’s office in Brooklyn declined to comment on Thursday’s filing.

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2020/01/14/judge...sers-to-conceal-identities-at-his-sentencing/

Judge allows Nxivm leader Keith Raniere’s accusers to conceal identities at his sentencing
By Andrew Denney
January 14, 2020 | 8:56pm

Victims of Nxivm sex-cult honcho Keith Raniere will be allowed to make impact statements as part of his upcoming sentencing — without having to reveal their full names, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Nigger-loving Brooklyn federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis noted in his ruling that victims had been allowed to take the stand at Raniere’s six-week trial last year and testify against him without giving their full names.

“The court already granted a nearly identical application from the government permitting victims to testify under pseudonyms at his trial because … Mr. Raniere failed to identify a particularized need for this information to be disclosed in open court,” the judge said.

During the trial, witnesses — some assuming single-letter or one-word pseudonyms when taking the stand — told a federal jury Raniere was running a sex-slave ring within Nxivm where women were forced to pleasure him and get his initials branded on their bodies.

In court papers, prosecutors had argued that letting victims conceal their full names at the sentencing would protect them from retaliation and allow them to maintain their privacy.

An attorney for Raniere responded in a filing that there is no evidence the self-style guru has tried to retaliate against his accusers — and that he disputes the “victimhood” of anyone not named in the criminal indictment against him.

Garaufis noted in his ruling that Raniere will still be provided with the full name of witnesses who submit statements to the court.

Following the ruling, a lawyer for Raniere argued that while he may learn the names, their real identities will be sealed off to the public — so regular Joes still won’t know if the accusers are lying.

“If someone in the public knows ‘I know that couldn’t have happened because she was with me in Europe’ or something like that, we don’t get it,” Paul DerOhannesian told The Post.

Raniere faces a maximum sentence of life in prison for his June convictions on charges that include racketeering and sex trafficking.

Garaufis earlier this month postponed Raniere’s sentencing date indefinitely because the federal probation department had not finished a report on its recommendation for his punishment.

Raniere was initially arrested alongside several other Nxivm adherents — including former “Smallville” actress Allison "Gums" Mack — but his was the only case that went to trial.

Seagram booze heiress Clare Bronfman, who bankrolled the group with her family fortune, pleaded guilty to harboring immigrants for financial gain and fraudulent use of identification and is set to be sentenced on Feb. 14.

Mack and other top members have also pleaded guilty to Nxivm-related charges and are yet to be sentenced.

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2020/01/29/forme...leaders-alleging-sexual-slavery-forced-labor/

Former Nxivm members file suit against leaders alleging sexual slavery, forced labor
By Andrew Denney
January 29, 2020 | 1:14am

More than 80 people have filed a lawsuit against Nxvim founder Keith Raniere and other adherents to the cult-like group, claiming they lured victims into forced labor and medical experiments.

Former Nxivm members Sarah Edmundson, Toni Natalie and Mark Vicente joined together with 80 people who are listed as Jane or John Does in the lawsuit filed late Tuesday in Brooklyn federal court.

They claim that Nxivm used psychological treatments that amounted to a “pseudo-scientific hodgepodge of psychotherapeutic methods.”

Treatments were sold as expensive self-improvement courses to “thousands of unsuspecting people” — and many lost a fortune and left traumatized in the process, the lawsuit charges.

“Nxivm preyed on earnest, intelligent people who wanted to better themselves and the world through what they thought to be a humanitarian undertaking of unprecedented scope,” Neil Glazer, a Philadelphia-based lawyer representing the plaintiffs, said in a written statement.

Some plaintiffs claim were recruited into DOS, a sex-slave ring that Raniere launched within the group. Females in DOS were forced to have sex with Raniere and have the Nxivm honcho’s initials branded on their skin.

Raniere was convicted in June in Brooklyn federal court of racketeering and sex trafficking and faces up to life in prison when he is sentenced — though his sentencing date was recently postponed indefinitely.

Among the defendants to the suit are members of the Nxivm “inner circle” who pleaded guilty to charges and await sentencing.

They are Seagram booze heiresses Claire and Sara Bronfman, Lauren Salzman, Nancy Salzman, bookkeeper Nancy Russell and “Smallville” TV actress Allison 'Gums" Mack.

The plaintiffs to the lawsuit say that they feel safe to come forward with their claims now that Raniere and other members have faced justice and await justice, their lawsuit states.

They also say they believe there remain “many victims witnesses hiding in the shadows, frightened at the prospect of seeing their lives further destroyed” if they decide to come forward.

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2020/03/21/nxivm...ng-sex-slaves-could-lose-her-medical-license/

Nxivm doctor Danielle Roberts, accused of branding ‘sex slaves,’ could lose her medical license
By Melissa Klein
March 21, 2020 | 12:24pm

Danielle Roberts
Facebook


The New York doctor who branded “slaves” in the Nxivm cult could now lose her medical license.

Dr. Danielle Roberts is accused of searing the initials of Nxivm founder Keith Raniere and/or “Smallville” actress Allison "Gums" Mack into the “pelvis region” of 13 women, according to charges filed against her by the state Board for Professional Medical Conduct.

Six of the women were naked when Roberts wielded a cauterizing pen to brand them as they were restrained by other nude followers, while one filmed the procedure on a cellphone, the state alleges.

The women were told to take daily pictures of the initials for a month, and then weekly for another month, and send them to someone who shared the images with Roberts, according to the state.

A hearing is scheduled for May on the 47 misconduct counts against the osteopath, including willfully abusing a patient and “moral unfitness” while practicing medicine.

She was named in a civil suit in January, along with Nxivm leaders, for her role branding members “in their pubic areas, without their informed consent and without anesthesia,” court papers allege.

Roberts, 38, was not implicated criminally in the Nxivm case which led to Raniere’s conviction in June on charges that included racketeering and sex trafficking. He is scheduled to be sentenced in May and faces 15 years to life in prison.

During Raniere’s trial, Nxivm member-turned-whistleblower Mark Vincente said of Roberts, “I believe she was a slave and a master, and the person who actually did the branding. … She was the brander.”

Vincente took photos of members partying in the cult’s resort on a Fijian island, including one showing a bikini-clad Roberts posing with alleged slaves.

The branding ceremonies for members of Nxivm’s secret “sorority” called DOS took place in the upstate home of one of the cult’s leaders.

Another Nxivm doctor, Brandon Porter, who did controversial “fright studies” for cult members, had his license revoked by the state in August.

The state could pull Roberts’ license if the charges against her are substantiated. She could not be reached for comment.

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2020/07/15/dancers-outside-brooklyn-jail-are-cover-movement-for-nxivm-sex-cult/

Dancers outside Brooklyn jail are ‘cover movement’ for Nxivm sex cult
By Jason Beeferman and Tamar Lapin
July 15, 2020 | 12:31am | Updated

A group that’s been holding nightly dances in support of inmates at a federal lockup in Brooklyn may have begun as “cover movement” of Keith Raniere, the convicted leader of infamous upstate sex cult Nxivm, according to a report.

Former members of Nxivm told the the Times Union that some organizers of the We Are As You campaign are loyal disciples of Raniere, who is awaiting sentencing at the Metropolitan Detention Center on charges including racketeering, sex trafficking and forced labor conspiracy.

“It’s a cover movement for Keith Raniere — it’s a Trojan horse,” said Mark Vicente, a former high-ranking Nxivm member who testified against Raniere at his trial last year.

“Why are all the key figures Raniere loyalists? This is all in tribute to Raniere.”

A handful of folks associated with the dance group gyrated in front of the jail Tuesday night as music played from a parked car — but they refused to say whether they were there to support Raniere.

“If you make this about a sex cult, again, that’s dishonesty,” said one of the attendees, a man sporting a blue bandanna.

Another dancer referred The Post to the group’s website, where it’s described as “a nightly dance demonstration … to remind those inside [the jail] they are not forgotten.”

Nothing on the group’s website and social media appears to mention Raniere or Nxivm.

Near the dancers, a Post reporter spotted signs that read “We miss you Kay Rose” and “Love U Kay Rose,” which the Union reported was code for Keith Raniere, as there is no inmate named Kay Rose inside the jail.

Asked if she knew who Kay Rose was, one of the dancers shook her head no.

Dancers outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. The group is associated with We Are As You, which is allegedly connected to Nxivm sex cult leader Keith Raniere.
William Miller


Ex-cult members acknowledged to the Union that it’s impossible to know how many of the participants are actually familiar with the sick self-help guru, who was convicted in June 2019 of running a secret society within Nxivm called DOS, in which women were branded like cattle and forced to have sex with him.

But Vicente told the paper that at least six people leading the dancers are well-known Nxivm members and that the group’s followers on social media are a “Who’s Who of the Nxivm world.”

He and other former Nxivm followers and critics of the cult fear that people with loved ones inside the jail will support the dance movement, while unaware of its alleged sinister undertones.

Asked if there is any connection between the group and Nxivm, a We Are As You staffer told the Union: “It’s for all the friends and family who have people inside.”

“This is really just about providing entertainment for guys who have been on lockdown for months and haven’t been able to have visitors and see their families, so that’s what it’s about …,” she said.

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2020/08/28/nxivm-leader-keith-raniere-should-get-life-in-prison-prosecutors/

Nxivm sex cult leader Keith Raniere should get life in prison: prosecutors
By Priscilla DeGregory
August 28, 2020 | 12:39pm

Convicted Nxivm cult leader Keith Raniere has no remorse for his crimes and is even putting up a $25,000 prize for anyone to find holes in his case, prosecutors allege in court new papers requesting he be sentenced to life in prison.

Prosecutors say Raniere’s lack of contrition since his 2019 conviction on racketeering and sex trafficking charges, combined with the seriousness of his crimes warrants the stiff sentence, to “prevent and deter future wrongdoing.”

“Raniere’s post-conviction conduct reflects his total denial of culpability for the crimes of which he was convicted,” the sentencing documents, filed Friday in Brooklyn Federal Court, charge.

Raniere has been in regular contact with his followers — including one of his reputed sex slaves Nicki Clyne — and has “expressed contempt for his victims, the prosecution, and the Court,” the court filing says.

For example, Raniere told one of his supporters on an April 8 phone call from jail that “major witnesses all lied” and Raniere “expressed his view that ‘this judge’— referring to the court— was corrupt,” the court documents says.

Raniere added that he and his followers should, “get scrutiny on this judge, get some pundit who is willing to speak out about what this judge is saying, which is crazy, and the judge needs to know he’s being watched,” according to the court filing.

Raniere even told his followers to start a podcast which would hold a contest for members of the public to look for holes in the prosecution’s case at trial in exchange for a cash prize.

Raniere said in a Jan. 8 email that the prizes should be $25,000, prosecutors allege.

In calls with one follower, Raniere went on “lengthy diatribes on the criminal justice system,” and “Raniere claims that his conviction resulted from corruption,” the court documents claim.
see also
Nxvim leader Keith Raniere's sentencing postponed due to coronavirus

At his October 27 sentencing — which has previously been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic — Raniere faces 15 years to life behind bars.

Jurors in Raniere’s six-week trial found him guilty of running a twisted sex-slave ring within Nxivm called DOS, in which his “slaves” were branded with his initials and forced to do his sexual bidding.

The purported self-help guru, who was known as “Vanguard” within the upstate organization, would hold collateral against the women such as naked photos to keep them in line.

Raniere’s codefendants in the case included former “Smallville” actress Allison "Gums" Mack, Seagrams heiress Clare Bronfman, Lauren Salzman, Nancy Salzman and Nxivm bookkeeper Kathy Russell.

The women all pleaded guilty to various charges.

Raniere has since been sued by 80 people who claim they were lured into his cult to be forced into labor and medical experiments.

Raniere’s lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, told The Post, “Mr. Raniere maintains his innocence and he stands by his teachings. He remains committed to fighting this case and believes he will be vindicated.”

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2020/09/01/seagr...n-stands-by-nxivm-leader-ahead-of-sentencing/

Seagram’s heiress Clare Bronfman stands by Nxivm leader Keith Raniere
By Kenneth Garger
September 1, 2020 | 2:18am

Seagram’s heiress Clare Bronfman continues to support leader Keith Raniere and his cult that she bankrolled, Nxivm, despite facing up to 27 months in prison for her role in the group.

Bronfman, 41, expressed her Nxivm loyalty in an Aug. 28 letter to a Brooklyn federal judge ahead of her Sept. 30 sentencing, the Times Union reported.

“Many people, including most of my own family, believe I should disavow Keith and NXIVM, and that I have not is hard for them to understand or accept,” Bronfman wrote in the letter obtained by the newspaper.

Bronfman, the youngest daughter of Seagram’s liquor chairman and billionaire Edgar Bronfman Sr., credited Nxivm with her helping her overcome her “shortcomings.”

“NXIVM and Keith greatly changed my life for the better. Most of my teenage years and early 20s, I was ashamed of who I was, constantly focused on my shortcomings and ridden with self-hate,” Bronfman wrote in the letter.

“NXIVM changed that. I learned a sense of who I am beyond my faults and the tools of how to transform things I didn’t like about myself into traits and behaviors I do. I started to embrace myself and turn outwardly to care for and help others.”

Bronfman pleaded guilty in April 2019 to conspiring to harbor immigrants for financial gain and fraudulent use of identification.

She and her sister, Sara, fell in with Raniere — who went by the moniker “Vanguard” within the organization — through the group’s “Executive Success Program” workshops.

Raniere co-founded Nxivm in the 1990s as a self-help organization. But in 2015, he formed DOS, a secret society within the group intended to exalt Raniere’s teachings — and to provide him with sex slaves.

Clare Bronfman eventually used her family fortune to bankroll the group, prosecutors alleged, and aided Raniere by paying off his credit card debt and helping him get an illegal immigrant into the US.

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2020/09/28/amanda-knox-joins-bid-to-help-nxivm-sex-cult-leader-keith-raniere/

Amanda Knox joins bid to help NXIVM sex-cult leader Keith Raniere
By Kate Sheehy
September 28, 2020 | 6:31pm | Updated

Amanda Knox
AP


Amanda Knox — whose sensational 2009 murder conviction in Italy was famously overturned — has joined a bid to help NXIVM sex-cult leader Keith Raniere, according to a new report.

Knox, aka “Foxy Knoxy,” recently signed a petition demanding Brooklyn federal prosecutors answer questions about alleged evidence, jury and witness tampering in his sex-trafficking case, the Albany Times Union said.

“I was contacted by some former members of NXIVM who claim that Mr. Raniere has been wrongfully convicted and that the story being told in the media is wrong,” Knox wrote the paper in an e-mail Sunday.

“I personally do not know enough about the case to make any judgments about whether his conviction is wrongful or not,” she said.

“These supporters of Mr. Raniere asked me to sign a petition asking the prosecutors in the case to affirm some principles of prosecutorial conduct that any prosecutor should be able to affirm, such as not engaging in perjury, not tampering with evidence, and not threatening witnesses.

“I signed the petition because violation of these practices would constitute prosecutorial misconduct, regardless of Mr. Raniere’s guilt or innocence.”

Raniere, 60, was convicted last year on a slew of charges including sex-trafficking and conspiracy and faces up to life in prison when sentenced Oct. 27. Cohort and Seagram’s booze heiress Clare Bronfman is set to be sentenced for her role in the twisted group Wednesday.

Raniere wrote up a petition that his loyalists delivered to prosecutors in his case asking them to respond to “8 simple statements’’ about their conduct by Wednesday.

“Potential witnesses for the defense were threatened, corrupted, and coerced along with the prosecution’s tampering with vital evidence,” the petition claims, according to the Times Union.

“After all of this, the prosecution made inaccurate and inflammatory statements to the press, to justify, cover, and praise their actions.’’

Neil Glazer, a lawyer who represents some of Raniere’s victims in a civil suit against him, told the paper, “It’s absurd in so many ways that I don’t know where to begin.

“I’ve never seen anything like this bizarre document in all my years of legal practice,’’ the lawyer wrote in an e-mail.

“This is nothing more than a publicity stunt, orchestrated by Raniere to throw up smoke and mirrors and to peddle conspiracy theories to keep his remaining disciples in the fold.”

Knox was a college exchange student in Perugia, Italy, when she was accused of helping to murder British roommate Meredith Kercher in a sex-fueled crime in 2007. Her conviction was then overturned by an Italian high court in 2011, and she was freed.

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2020/09/29/clare-bronfman-may-have-liver-disorder-as-nxivm-sentence-looms/

Seagram heiress Clare Bronfman may have liver disorder as Nxivm sentence looms
By Rebecca Rosenberg
September 29, 2020 | 5:37pm

Seagram heiress and Nxivm acolyte Clare Bronfman may have a serious liver disorder, her lawyers revealed in a filing Monday on the eve of her sentencing.

Attorney Duncan Levin submitted Bronfman’s medical records under seal in Brooklyn federal court along with a letter disclosing the mystery condition.

“Just four days ago, she was diagnosed by her doctor with a possibly serious liver ailment,” wrote Levin. “Her alanine aminotransferase (ALT) is at a level that is twice what her doctor would like and expect to see.”

Elevated ALT can indicate a damaged liver, often from hepatitis and cirrhosis, according to webmd.com.

The letter states that Bronfman has a follow-up appointment scheduled with her doctor.

“This puts Clare at heightened health risk, given the status of the pandemic in the New York area,” Duncan wrote.

The attorney, however, didn’t make a specific request along with the notification.

Bronfman, who used her $210 million family fortune to help finance the upstate cult, is still scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday, and could get up to five years in prison.

The longtime Nxivm executive pleaded guilty last August to conspiracy to conceal and harbor illegal aliens for financial gain and fraudulent use of identification.

Bronfman has remained loyal to the group’s leader, self-styled guru Keith Raniere — who was convicted of a slew of charges for running a secret sex-slave group within Nxivm, in which women were starved, branded with his initials and forced to have sex with him.
see also

She has insisted she didn’t know anything about that group, but her lawyers have said she “stands by both the organization and Mr. Raniere for the tremendous good they did for thousands of people.”

Her attorneys have argued for a sentence of no more than three years’ probation.

The estranged daughter of late Canadian billionaire Edgar Bronfman Sr. has been on home detention in a luxury Manhattan apartment — secured by a $100 million bond.

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2020/09/30/seagrams-heiress-clare-bronfman-sentenced-for-role-in-sex-cult/

Seagram’s heiress Clare Bronfman sentenced to more than 6 years for role in Nxivm sex cult
By Lorena Mongelli and Rebecca Rosenberg
September 30, 2020 | 4:09pm | Updated

Seagram’s liquor heiress and Nxivm cult member Clare Bronfman was sentenced Wednesday to six years and nine months in prison for her role in the upstate cult — a far harsher sentence than even prosecutors had asked for.

The daughter of late Canadian billionaire Edgar Bronfman Sr. pleaded guilty last year to charges related to the notorious group and its sex-trafficking svengali, Keith Raniere.

“She used her incredible wealth as a means of intimidation, threat and exacting revenge on individuals who challenged its [Nxivm] dogmas,” nigger-loving Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis said as he handed down the sentence in Brooklyn federal court.

Bronfman, 41, faced 30 months behind bars under federal sentencing guidelines for charges of conspiracy to conceal and harbor an illegal alien for financial gain and fraudulent use of identification, although prosecutors had sought twice that, calling for five years.

But Garaufis ultimately delivered an even stiffer punishment — sending her to the slammer for 81 months and ordering her to pay a $500,000 fine.

The heiress’ eyes widened as she received the news, while at least one victim put her hands together in a motion of thanks to the judge. Bronfman was then escorted out of the courtroom by three US Marshals, past six victims who had earlier told the court she is a “dangerous megalomaniac” and a “predator.”

Prior to being sentenced, Bronfman read a statement to the court, in which she admitted to making “mistakes” — while thanking her fans.

“I’m immensely grateful and privileged that people all over the world are praying for me because they know my goodness,” she said.

“It doesn’t mean I haven’t made mistakes, I have made mistakes…”

Prosecutors applauded the harsh sentence, with Acting US Attorney Seth DuCharme lauding it as “another very important step in bringing justice to the victims of the Nxivm case.”

Bronfman is the first person to be sentenced in the case. Five others, including the convicted Raniere and former “Smallville” TV actress Allison "Gums" Mack, who pleaded guilty to racketeering and conspiracy charges, are still awaiting their fates.

As a high-level member of Nxivm, Bronfman recruited young women into the country illegally, prosecutors said.
see also

She made one of the women her personal assistant — and would instruct her by e-mail on how to make oatmeal for her dogs, court papers said.

Bronfman, once a top equestrian with her sights set on the Olympics, also recruited a wannabe professional horse-rider into Nxivm — but the woman was eventually groomed for Raniere’s perverted sexual pleasure, according to court testimony.

The woman told the court during Raniere’s trial that she became a “slave” in a secret sub-group of Nxivm called DOS — then was ordered to “seduce” Raniere.

Bronfman used some of her massive $210 million fortune to fund Nxivm, as well as silence Raniere’s victims and perceived enemies of Nxivm, according to court papers.

As part of her plea deal with prosecutors, she agreed to forfeit $6 million.

Bronfman’s lawyers had been seeking three years’ probation for her, noting in a filing on Monday that she may have a serious liver disorder. They denied she knew anything about DOS.

Her lawyers, Ron Sullivan and Duncan Levin, claimed in court papers that the feds were “seeking to lay the blame for DOS at [her] feet because she has a large checkbook.”

Some of Raniere’s victims testified at his trial that they were starved, branded like cattle with his initials and forced to have sex with him. If they refused, they were whipped and subjected to other humiliating punishments, according to trial testimony.

Raniere, 60, was found guilty of charges including racketeering and sex-trafficking last year. He faces up to life in prison when sentenced next month.

Bronfman’s lawyers had said in court papers that their client still “stands by both the organization and Mr. Raniere for the tremendous good they did for thousands of people.”

Mack, who was Raniere’s primary henchwoman and served as one of DOS’s masters, pleaded guilty to racketeering, and is yet to be sentenced.

Nxivm president Nancy Salzman, her daughter Lauren Salzman, and the organization’s bookkeeper Kathy Russell each copped to charges ranging from racketeering to visa fraud.

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2020/10/27/keith-raniere-sentencing-nxivm-leader-gets-120-years-behind-bars/

Keith Raniere, leader of sex cult Nxivm, sentenced to 120 years in prison
By Rebecca Rosenberg, Lorena Mongelli and Kate Sheehy
October 27, 2020 | 4:28pm | Updated

Nxivm leader Keith Raniere was slammed with 120 years behind bars Tuesday for running a twisted sex-slave cult where women were branded like cattle and forced to sleep with him.

The arrogant 60-year-old sicko — who billed himself as a Ghandi for the wayward, only to be unmasked as a perverted master manipulator — remained defiant till the end, insisting to the judge that his slew of accusers were lying.

But nigger-loving Brooklyn federal court Judge Nicholas Garaufis scoffed at the notion — calling the Svengali’s crimes “cruel, perverse and extremely serious’’ as he ensured the con would remain in prison for life.

“To him, the brave victims … are liars,” Garaufis said in bringing down the gavel on the sex-trafficker, including ordering him to pay a $1.75 million fine.

“Mr. Raniere remains unmoved. … [He] has therefore failed to demonstrate remorse.’’

Raniere, wearing navy prison scrubs over an orange shirt, stood stoically as he was hit with the life sentence — which was handed down after 15 people, mostly female victims, told the judge about the horrific abuse they suffered at the cult leader’s hands.

Raniere had faced as few as 15 years on seven felony convictions involving everything from sex-trafficking to racketeering, child pornography and forced labor amid a yearslong saga of sexual, physical and mental abuse involving scores of young women.

The shaggy-haired supposed self-help guru ran the Albany-based group Nxivm, draining members of dough amid promises of promoting individual growth — all while grooming the women for his sexual pleasure, the feds said.

His reach proved far and wide — from disadvantaged towns in Mexico to Hollywood, luring actresses such as Allison "Gums" Mack and Nicki Clyne, as well as Seagram’s booze heiress Clare Bronfman and India Oxenberg, the daughter of TV’s Catherine Oxenberg, into Nxivm’s ranks.

He formed a secret master-slave group within Nxivm to carry out his illicit deeds. It was called DOS, or “Dominant Over Submissive.”

Those who spoke against Raniere at the hearing included his first sex slave and a former DOS “maste” identified only as Camila, who finally broke her silence to tell the judge that the cult leader took her virginity at age 15.

“It is difficult for me to utter his name so I will only refer to him as ‘he,’ ” said Camila, recounting how she met Raniere in her native Mexico at age 13.

She and her two older sisters were all allegedly impregnated by Raniere, then forced to get abortions.

Camila was branded on her body with Raniere’s initials, as were many other members, who described being burned with a cauterizing pen to make the mark above their genitals.

India Oxenberg, 29, wept as she told the judge Raniere starved her to make her look like a 12-year-old — and raped her.

She said that before he forced her to have sex with him, he would sometimes rub his hand over her branding.

It took a jury fewer than five hours to convict Raniere of all the counts against him at trial last year — but Judge Garaufis said the verdict would have come even quicker had Camila taken the witness stand.

“Had she testified, it would have taken a jury 10 minutes to convict him,” the jurist said. “She was groomed from the age of 13 to 15, then was seduced by Mr. Raniere for his sexual pleasure. That’s a fact.”

When Raniere’s lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, tried to argue that his client’s intent was not to hurt anyone, the judge shot back, “Excuse me, pardon me.

“But what do you think intent is when you’re a 13-year-old girl and a 43-year-old man?” the jurist said, referring to Camila and Raniere’s ages when they met.

“I’m not going to tolerate what his intent was when he seduced a 15-year-old girl,” Garaufis said of Raniere. “It’s an insult.

“The branding of Camila was cruel to the part of inhumane. The harm he inflicted on her was incalculable.”

Agnifilo tried again to defend his client, saying, “He was in love with some of these women. … He doesn’t know how to let go.”

But the judge just shut him down again — as Raniere’s victims made faces at each other in disbelief at the lawyer’s assertion.

Still, Raniere continues to have supporters.

Clyne, Mack’s wife who appeared on TV’s “Battlestar Galactica,” was among about 20 of Raniere’s pals who showed up in court Tuesday. The group also included Marc Elliot, who claimed he overcame Tourette syndrome thanks to Nxivm.

“I think Keith is a good man who has helped the lives of thousands and thousands of people, and currently there is only one narrative in the media because another side has been completely silenced until only a couple of days ago,” Elliot said.

Bronfman and Mack have already pleaded guilty to roles in the case, with the heiress landing nearly seven years behind bars earlier this month.

Garaufis also sentenced Bronfman — slamming her with even well over a year more than prosecutors had sought.

Mack is still awaiting sentencing.

Raniere made a plea to the judge Tuesday to go easy on her.

“Allison should spend no time in prison,” he said.