It wasn't until her friend and fellow NXIVM member Lauren Salzman, the daughter of top-ranking leader and psychologist Nancy Salzman, convinced Edmondson to join the secret sorority DOS that she woke up to Raniere's brainwashing. India Oxenberg wrote and narrated an audio book memoir, This page was last edited on 13 February 2023, at 13:37. One cited price was $7,500. A genius intellect in grade school who mastered college level mathematics; An elite athlete who won judo and track tournaments. [66] Mack became "an enthusiastic proselytizer" for NXIVM, persuading her parents to take courses, and after wrapping production of Smallville in 2011, moved to Clifton Park, New York, to be near NXIVM's home base in Albany. Another module, "Dracula and his ghouls", reportedly discussed psychopaths and their followers. [75][94][51] Appearing on an A&E television program about cults, Edmondson provided additional context for the use of the "collateral" concept, saying that it was used in innocuous forms from the earliest, outermost stages of NXIVM in order to acclimate victimsfor example, collateralizing small amounts of money that one might forfeit if one did not go to the gym one day. In handing down the sentence, Judge Garaufis said Ms. Mack had used her celebrity status to recruit and groom women as sexual partners for Mr. Raniere. [167] On December 9, 2022, the federal appeals court upheld the convictions and sentences for Keith Raniere and Clare Bronfman. [52] In 1999, Raniere's eight-year relationship with Natalie ended. Salinas served as vice president of Prorsus Capital, a financial consortium with ties to Raniere and NXIVM. "[199], At Raniere's trial, testimony revealed that Raniere had convinced several girls and women that sex with him could heal their purported "disintegrations," and that his semen had supernatural qualities. Salzman, 66, admitted in court to stealing the email addresses and passwords of Nxivm critics. Here Are the Major Players in the Case", "Lder de secta NXIVM enseaba que la violacin y el abuso infantil no son delitos", "Inside Nxivm, the 'Sex Cult' That Preached Empowerment (Published 2018)", "Inside the Tangled Web of NXIVM: The Surprising Players Sucked Into the Alleged Cult's Orbit", "Ordered to seduce Raniere, woman planned escape from NXIVM", "NYC Prison Dancers Linked to 'Sex Cult' NXIVM Start Social Justice Org", "NXIVM members dancing for Raniere outside federal prison", "Doctor Associated With Cult-Like New York Group Loses License", "NXIVM Trial: Prosecution's opening statements lasted 90 minutes", "NXIVM Leader Keith Raniere Convicted on Sex Trafficking Charges. They seemed to be losing an unhealthy amount of weight and restricting their caloric intake, Piesse said in "The Vow.". My Grandfather, Grandmother and Fathers who long ago passed away. [75][91] Edmondson further appeared in "Escaping NXIVM", during the first season of the CBC podcast Uncover. [22][23][24][25][26], Raniere chose to go to trial in 2019. Everything goes flawlessly until, at the very end, a mistake is made during a jump and the skater falls to the iceall hope of winning the event is gone. [111], In April 2018, the New York Post reported that NXIVM had moved to Brooklyn, New York, and was being led by Clare Bronfman. [172] Judge Sunshine Sykes granted the motion, dismissing the lawsuit and granting Lions Gate Entertainment's request for attorneys' fees and costs. Ms. Mack, whose involvement in Nxivm boosted the cases profile, pleaded guilty to racketeering and racketeering conspiracy charges related to her role in the organization. Nicole Hong, Barry Meier and Colin Moynihan contributed reporting. Found guilty at jury trial of all charges including: Pleaded guilty to racketeering and racketeering conspiracy, Pleaded guilty to conspiring to conceal and harbor an undocumented immigrant for financial gain, and fraudulent use of identification, Pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, Act 1: Conspiracy to Commit Identity Theft, Conspiracy to Unlawfully Possess an Identification Document, Act 2, 3: Sexual Exploitation of a Child (separate acts against the same victim), Act 5: Conspiracy to Commit Identity Theft; Identity Theft (two separate victims), Act 6: Conspiracy to Alter Records for Use in an Official Proceeding, Act 7: Conspiracy to Commit Identity Theft, Act 8: Trafficking for Labor and Services; Document Servitude, Act 11: Conspiracy to Commit Identity Theft, $1.75 million in fines due to the United States Government, Monetary restitution from Raniere of $3.46 million to twenty-one victims, "All lower-ranking members of DOS are victims of the wire fraud conspiracy in which the Defendant participated. "I showed. nxivm website archive By on July 1, 2021 Publication date. In 2019, she plead guilty to racketeering conspiracy after stealing former members' identities, hacking into their emails, and altering video footage to avoid lawsuits against NXIVM. The company values the land at $20-$25 million. They were especially upset by remarks made by Bronfman, who told Forbes that he believed NXIVM was a cult and that he was troubled by his daughters' "emotional and financial investment" in it. ; The expos prompted a federal investigation, and several members, including Raniere and "Smallville" actress Allison Mack . [293] The suit alleged that NXIVM computers had been illegally accessed. Vicente, a writer and director from South Africa, joined NXIVM after meeting and befriending Raniere while on vacation. The film is executive produced by Clare Bronfman. The council page on the Niagara Falls website. The prosecution said Bronfman promised one of the migrants $3,600 a month for her work, but the woman, identified as Jane Doe, only received $4,195 total of the $96,000 she was promised. Salzman met Raniere through her mother who helped co-found the group. Lauren Salzman testified that the women in D.O.S. So here I am at 55. NXIVM Co-Founder Sentenced To 3 1/2 Years In Sex Slaves Case. Short for The Knife of Aristotle, the site described itself on the NXIVM website as follows: "The Knife Media is a digital news outlet that offers news without spin . Marc Elliot, an author, claims taking courses through NXIVM and working with Keith Raniere and Nancy Salzman have helped him overcome his Tourette syndrome. How Keith Raniere, a former I.T. [208], The oldest program of NXIVM, Executive Success Programs, had students recite a "Twelve-point Mission Statement", pledging to "purge" themselves "of all parasite and envy-based habits", to enroll others, and to "ethically control as much of the money, wealth and resources of the world as possible within my success plan." Jness was a society aimed at women, while the Society of Protectors was aimed primarily at men. [224][225][226][227], In the sentencing of Clare Bronfman, prosecutors from the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York wrote, "the participants in this 'study' have expressed significant distress at their involvement" and offered one victim impact statement from a Tourette's study's participant said that the study "did nothing for me except ruin my self-esteem, ruin my mental health, and made me hate myself. Kristin Snyder. [212] People who irrevocably turned against Raniere were said to have undergone "The Fall" and were labeled, in the words of a former member, as "Luciferians, lost people for whom bad feels good, and good feels bad. The two founded Executive Success Programs, a personal development company[42] offering a range of techniques aimed at self-improvement. Much of "The Vow" focuses on her mother's quest to rescue Oxenberg from the cult. [247] On November 7, 2016, Pam Cafritz died. NXIVM loyalist files $12 million suit against Starz network. [254] On June 30, 2021, Mack was sentenced to three years in prison. Mr. Raniere has accused Judge Garaufis of corruption and has demanded a new trial, which the judge has denied twice. In an eight-page letter, prosecutors said that Mr. Raniere has spent his life profiting from pyramid schemes and has otherwise received financial backing from independently wealthy women, like Clare and Sara Bronfman, heirs to the Seagrams liquor fortune. comment. In "The Vow," Ames said he's in intense therapy to work through his time with the cult. Beginning in 2000, Bouchey dated Raniere. She began her three-year sentence on September 13, 2021, after. Salzman broke her allegiance to Raniere for a shorter sentencing, Esquire reported. Son of Former Mexican President Allegedly Top Member of Sex Cult NXIVM", "NXIVM Leader Keith Raniere Sentenced to 120 Years in Prison for Racketeering and Sex Trafficking Offenses", "Raniere loses battle to keep NXIVM 'tech', "How NXIVM Rippled Through Vancouver Actors' Friend Networks", "Inside Nxivm, the 'Sex Cult' That Preached Empowerment", "How NXIVM Seduced Hollywood Stars and America's Most Powerful Elite Into a Barbaric 'Sex Cult', "Why So Many Celebrities Joined NXIVM, According to Cult Experts", "A Critical Analysis of the Executive Success Programs Inc", "Inside a Secretive Group Where Women Are Branded", "Seagram's heiress arrested for role in controversial 'sex cult', "How NXIVM Was the Ultimate Wellness Scam", "Founder Of "Nxivm," a Purported Self-Help Organization, and Five Others Charged in Superseding Indictment with Racketeering Conspiracy", "NXIVM co-founder Nancy Salzman pleads guilty in case of alleged cult", "Nxivm: Seagram heiress Clare Bronfman pleads guilty in 'sex cult' case", "Woman implicated in NXIVM sex slave case pleads guilty", "Allison Mack of 'Smallville' Pleads Guilty in Case of Nxivm 'Sex Cult' Where Women Were Branded", "Nxivm accountant spelled out dirty messages with colorful fridge magnets", "The Most Disturbing Details From the NXIVM Sex-Cult Case", "Leader of NY Group Branded Women, Made Them Sex Slaves: Feds", "Nxivm Trial: Leader Convicted After Trial Exposed Sex Cult's Sordid Inner Workings", "He told women he could help. NXIVM started to punctuate the headlines around the tail end of 2017 onwards. In 2007, O'Hara was indicted by Albany County. These women were taught to revere him and were ordered to maintain near-starvation diets to achieve the physique he found desirable. He was charged with crimes including racketeering and sex trafficking in 2018. What We Know About the Cult's Current Status", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=NXIVM&oldid=1139121398. By Associated Press. The NXIVM Files These are the essays the NXIVM cult (aka ESP, or Executive Success Program) is suing Rick Ross over, trying to have their publication suppressed. [39][40], Before founding NXIVM, Raniere created Consumers Buyline, a business venture that the New York Attorney General accused of having been a pyramid scheme; Raniere signed a consent order in 1996 in which he denied any wrongdoing but agreed to pay a $40,000 fine and to be permanently banned from "promoting, offering or granting participation in a chain distribution scheme". He was sentenced to life in prison. C-SPAN is a private, non-profit public service of the cable television industry that covers the political process. NXIVM, pronounced NEKS-ee-m, was a multi-level marketing company- which is just what people call their pyramid schemes.However, many have also classified this pyramid scheme as a cult. Nine of Nxivms victims spoke at the sentencing hearing for Ms. Bronfman in Federal District Court in Brooklyn, where Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis gave her a sentence that was longer than prosecutors had requested. He then asked her questions about her sexual history while another person performed oral sex on her, she said. Instead, officials said, she had recruited them into the society as slaves, and some women were required to have sex with Mr. Raniere. [7][8] The subsidiary companies of NXIVM recruited based on the multi-level marketing model and used curricula based on the intellectual property ("tech") of Raniere called "Rational Inquiry". Discovery+. [114][115], On March 13, 2019, Nancy Salzman pleaded guilty to a charge of racketeering criminal conspiracy. [71] In 2017, Lama Tenzin Dhonden, the self-styled "Personal Emissary for Peace for the Dalai Lama" who had arranged the appearance, was suspended from his position amid corruption charges; the investigation also revealed a personal relationship between Dhonden and Sara Bronfman, which began in 2009. The mysterious group NXIVM has been covered in newspapers, Lifetime movies, and magazine exposs. Natalie and Raniere dated for the next eight years. Shortly thereafter, Odato was described as being "on leave" from the Times Union. Hunter Biden a avut un rol esenial n finanarea i asistarea unei companii responsabile de laboratoarele biologice din Ucraina. Sarah Edmondson spent 12 years in the now-infamous . [195][196][197][198], The 2003 Forbes expos of NXIVM and Raniere showed that Raniere continued to make the claim of being the world's most intelligent man, with the addition of being "the most ethical. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider Compania Metabiota, condus de un partener al lui Ghislaine Maxwell pe nume Nathan Wolfe, a fost responsabil de nfiinarea de laboratoare biologice n Ucraina. Anyone who's seen " The Vow ," the HBO documentary series that details her 12-year experience in the NXIVM cult, is familiar. [55][56] In the early 2000s, Seagram heiresses Clare and Sara Bronfman, daughters of Edgar Bronfman Sr., became attached to the organization. an acronym for a Latin phrase that roughly translates to Lord/Master of the Obedient Female Companions. The members were branded and some were assigned to have sex with Mr. Raniere. NXIVM The NXIVM Loyalists Are Not Backing Down Keith Raniere may have been sentenced to 120 years in prison, but some of his most devoted followers remain unswayed. as well as other partner offers and accept our, Melkorka Licea/STARZ; Mary Altaffe/AP; Seth Wenig/AP; Skye Gould/Business Insider, Visit Insider's homepage for more stories, plead guilty in March 2019 to racketeering and racketeering conspiracy, Seagram's heiress Clare Bronfman has been sentenced to almost 7 years in prison for her involvement in the NXIVM cult, The 3 main personality traits of cult leaders, according to a cult-recovery therapist, 3 reasons why people join cults, according to a cult-recovery therapist, How a married couple who escaped NXIVM is rebuilding their relationship from scratch after leaving the cult. They supposedly enlist other young actresses and the cycle continues. The complaints focused on a secretive subgroup within the organization called The Vow or D.O.S. [191], Well before co-founding NXIVM, Keith Raniere made fantastical claims about his intelligence. It allows you to explore your most fundamental nature and begin to redirect your power of creation, a power that we all possess in a very human sense. For her role in NXIVM, Mack was sentenced to three years behind bars, issued a $20,000 fine and 1,000 hours of community service. A Forensic Psychiatrist Evaluates ESP, by John Hochman, M.D. Here is a timeline of some of the events that led to Nxivms downfall. Station Archive Station Archive. [268] In September 2021, Salzman was sentenced to 42 months in prison and a $150,000 fine for racketeering conspiracy. [121][122][123], Sentencing documents for Allison Mack state that she entered proffer sessions on April 2, 2019. ", "Revelan video de Emiliano Salinas bailando en celebracin a Keith Raniere", "Self-help guru denies enslaving, branding women in Nxivm sex cult", "Leader of alleged cult that ensnared Vancouver woman appears in court", "Feds say self-help guru coerced followers into sex, had them branded with a cauterizing pen", "NXIVM female sex 'slaves' allegedly branded with secretive group leader's initials", "Founder of 'NXIVM', a Purported Self-Help Organization, and Actor Indicted for Sex Trafficking and Forced Labor Conspiracy", "Smallville Actress Arrested for Role in Alleged Sex Cult that Branded and Enslaved Women", "Smallville's Allison Mack was allegedly a 'top member' of cult that abused women", "Allison Mack of 'Smallville' granted bail in sex cult case", "Allison Mack granted bail in sex trafficking case", "Self-help guru denies enslaving, branding women in sex cult", "Raniere, Mack appear in court on sex-slavery charges", "Trial date set for Keith Raniere and Allison Mack", "Foreclosure Complaint Reveals NXIVM Sex Cult Rituals In Upstate New York", "NXIVM suspends all operations; founder's bail denied", "Clare Bronfman, Seagram's heiress, arrested in Nxivm sex-trafficking case", "Seagram's heiress Clare Bronfman charged in connection with alleged sex cult NXIVM Bronfman and five others accused of racketeering related to operations of a cult-like pyramid group", "Self-help guru Raniere faces U.S. child porn charges; associate pleads guilty", "Nxivm co-founder Nancy Salzman pleads guilty in sex cult case", "Leader of alleged NXIVM sex cult pleads not guilty to child porn charges", "Spiritual leader of alleged NY sex cult hit with child porn charges", "Federal prosecutors recommend leniency in high-ranking NXIVM sentencing", "Smallville star Allison Mack pleads guilty to racketeering in Nxivm case", "SENTENCING MEMORANDUM by USA as to Allison Mack", "Actress Who Recruited Women for Nxivm Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison", "Clare Bronfman Pleads Guilty in Nxivm 'Sex Cult' Case, Leaving Leader to Stand Trial Alone", "NXIVM trial prosecution's opening statements lasted ninety minutes", "Supplemental Sentencing Statement & Order as to Keith Raniere", "Seagram's heir sentenced to prison in branded sex slave case", "Prominent NXIVM cult leader Lauren Salzman avoids jail time after 'extraordinary' cooperation", "NXIVM Co-Founder Nancy Salzman, Featured in 'The Vow' Docuseries, Sentenced to 42 Months in Prison", "Judge hands down final sentence in NXIVM case", "3 years after Raniere's arrest, NXIVM divides into victims, loyalists, guilty", "LETTERS OF SUPPORT ACCOMPANYING SENTENCING MEMORANDUM ON BEHALF OF KEITH RANIERE", "Nxivm leadership accused of illegal psychological experiments and systematic abuse in federal lawsuit", "Docket for Edmondson v. Raniere, 1:20-cv-00485 - CourtListener.com", "Podcast: NXIVM members dance outside federal lockup for Keith Raniere", "Dancers outside Brooklyn jail are 'cover movement' for Nxivm sex cult", "Brooklyn Prison Dancers Linked to 'Sex Cult' NXIVM Start Social Justice Organization", "Exhibit D, Response in Opposition re: 7 First Motion for Preliminary Injunction", "NXIVM Cult Leader's Jailhouse Call to Disciples: 'The Judge Needs to Know He's Being Watched', "Raniere, facing possible life sentence, wants judge to know 'he's being watched', "Government's Sentencing Memorandum as to Defendant Keith Raniere", "Exhibit D, Sentencing Memorandum by USA as to Keith Raniere", "Sentencing Memorandum as to Clare Bronfman", "Seagrams heiress keeps paying as NXIVM's Keith Raniere adds big-name lawyers", "Raniere in Quarantine in USP Lewisburg PA; Likely Headed for Sex Offender Prison in Tucson Next", "Leader of New York sex cult transferred to federal prison in Tucson", "Larry Nassar now housed in Arizona prison", "Oral Argument for United States v. Raniere (Bronfman) CourtListener.com", "NXIVM 'Cult' Founder Keith Raniere Loses Appeal of 120-Year Sentence Following Sex Trafficking Convictions", "Appeals court upholds sentences for NXIVM sex cult leaders Keith Raniere, Clare Bronfman", "NXIVM loyalist files $12 million suit against Starz network", "Former Epstein lawyer drops out of appeal for NXIVM leader Raniere", "NOTICE OF MOTION AND SPECIAL MOTION TO STRIKE FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT PURSUANT TO C.C.P. All the celebrities we know were part of the NXIVM sex cult. NXIVM is an American company based near Albany, New York. [263] After Raniere's conviction, Roberts was among the dancers outside the jail in which he was incarcerated. In a six-week trial, prosecutors presented a damning case against Mr. Raniere. Celebratory in the sense that I am here, I am alive. [3] NXIVM is also the trademarked name of the defunct corporation that Raniere founded, which provided seminars and videos in the field of human potential development. Prosecutors claim NXIVM was an illegal pyramid scheme, which Raniere used to recruit women and force them to have sex with him. Since then, an estimated 18,000 people enrolled in the groups workshops, including its Executive Success Programs. Most participants only took a few classes, but some members became ardent followers of Mr. Raniere, calling him Vanguard and regarding him as the most ethical man in the world. Today, Edmondson lives with Ames and their two young children in Vancouver. At the time, she was told the brand, which was done without anesthetic, symbolized elements in nature. She was featured in many video tutorials used in NXIVM courses, and lead Jness, a women's group that was the gateway into the secret sorority DOS for some members.