Rick Alan Ross is the executive director of the Ross Institute, which specializes in studying cults. NXIVM is a new ethical understanding that allows you to create an internal framework that reflects your best self, and offers the resources to manifest that vision into a reality. Keith Raniere, the groups leader, styled himself a visionary, but a jury found him guilty of racketeering, sex trafficking and other charges. She faces between 33 and 41 months in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Morris, Scot (April 1985). By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider My birthday is always a strange thing. Edmondson alleged that participants were blindfolded naked, held down by Mack and three other women, and branded by NXIVM-affiliated doctor Danielle Roberts, using a cauterizing pen. It did not cure my Tourettes in any way. Piesse is also featured in "The Vow," and continues to pursue music. nxivm website archive. [116][117][118] She agreed, as nominal owner, not to contest forfeiture of NXIVM-related assets including real estate as well as corporations that owned Keith Raniere and NXIVM's trademark and patent portfolio. They seemed to be losing an unhealthy amount of weight and restricting their caloric intake, Piesse said in "The Vow.". "I showed. In November 2022, advertisements similar in format to editorial content (commonly known as "advertorial" or "sponsored content") ran in the websites of the Miami New Times, The Mercury News, East Bay Times, and The Village Voice. [247] On November 7, 2016, Pam Cafritz died. [271], Sarah Edmondson is a Canadian actress. [292], James Odato is an investigative reporter who wrote for the Albany Times Union. NXIVM reportedly kept dossiers on Soares, Spitzer, political consultants Roger Stone and Steve Pigeon, U.S. Mr. Raniere and Nancy Salzman, a former psychiatric nurse, founded Nxivm (pronounced NEX-ee-um) as a purported self-help organization near Albany, N.Y. Senator Chuck Schumer, and Albany Times Union publisher George Randolph Hearst III in a box in the basement of Nancy Salzman's home. [147][148], In summer 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic preventing in-person visitation to the Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn, Raniere's remaining followers including actress Nicki Clyne began assembling to dance near the jail. [3][29][30][31] Co-conspirators Clare Bronfman, Nancy Salzman, and Allison Mack were given lesser prison sentences. Salzman, who pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy charges connected to NXIVM, is currently serving a three and one half-year prison . Former NXIVM member Sarah Edmondson describes being branded with sex cult leader Keith Raniere's initials during a secret initiation ceremony. Lauren Salzman testified that the women in D.O.S. The government credited her for providing relevant emails, documents and recordings later used to convict Raniere. Thank you to all of you! Vicente, a writer and director from South Africa, joined NXIVM after meeting and befriending Raniere while on vacation. Salzman met Raniere through her mother who helped co-found the group. Bronfman was also charged with ID fraud after pleading guilty for using the credit card and bank information of someone who had been dead for 15 months, racking up $135,000 in bills. The mysterious group NXIVM has been covered in newspapers, Lifetime movies, and magazine exposs. I am sorry I ever exposed you to the nefarious and emotionally abusive schemes of a twisted man, she wrote, adding, I feel a heavy weight of guilt for having misused your trust.. At his trial in May 2019, jurors heard a seemingly endless slew of. [185] When comparing the distinctions between cults and religions, cult expert Janja Lalich stated: "A legitimate religion is going to have you worshipping a higher source. 425.16", "NXIVM leader Raniere suing Arizona federal prison", "DEFENDANTS' RESPONSE TO MOTION FOR PRELIMARY INJUNCTION", "Order on Motion for Summary Judgment and Order on Motion to Dismiss", "Keith Raniere's case appears to be the product of manufactured evidence, according to FBI experts", "The Court of Appeals overlooks damning evidence of FBI corruption in the Keith Raniere case", "NXIVM founder Keith Raniere claims the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is trying to "silence" him for going public with his evidence tampering claim against the FBI in his 2019 conviction", "Impending Transfer from USP Tucson "clear retaliation" for continued legal efforts to clear my name, says Keith Raniere - The Village Voice", "Businesses Licensed Or In-Process By The City of Irvine", "A Cult Expert Tells Us Why the NXIVM Story Is Far from Over", "IJCAM - Introduction - Comparative Reflections on Scientology and NXIVM", "Janja Lalich: how normal people end up in cults like NXIVM", "NXIVM turned Lake George resort into annual Raniere birthday jamboree", "United States v. Keith Raniere - Detention Memo", "Blast from the past: Complete text from 1988 Times Union article about Raniere and his take-home IQ test", "Univision's timeline of Keith Raniere's life", "NXIVM: Keith Raniere said swallowing his semen made women see blue lights | The Underground Bunker", "When We Exposed Keith Raniere, The Leader Of The Nxivm 'Sex Cult', "Did Asimov inspire Raniere to be 'the mule'? After concluding that NXIVM members were being defrauded by Raniere, Parlato began blogging about the group on his sites ArtVoice, The Niagara Falls Reporter, and The Frank Report.[295][270]. 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. Nicole Hong, Barry Meier and Colin Moynihan contributed reporting. A former NXIVM member, Damon Brink, started a website, and I may have been the motivation. [113] Bronfman was arrested on July 24 and charged with racketeering. [96][97], In March 2018, Raniere was arrested and indicted on charges related to DOS, including sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy, and conspiracy to commit forced labor. [159] She is presently imprisoned at Federal Correctional Institution, Danbury. Also arrested and charged with the same crime were NXIVM President Nancy Salzman; her daughter, Lauren Salzman; and another NXIVM employee, Kathy Russell. [191], Well before co-founding NXIVM, Keith Raniere made fantastical claims about his intelligence. I have incredible creative partners, people who champion me, and shoulders to cry on. NXIVM - which began, in 1998, as a " personal and professional development program" dubbed Executive Success Programs - was founded by computer programmer Keith Raniere and his business . Salzman broke her allegiance to Raniere for a shorter sentencing, Esquire reported. Much of the footage in "The Vow" comes from Vicente's filming, since he took the clips with him when he left the cult. In NXIVM Corp. v. Ross Institute, NXIVM sued to try to block further publications. Since then, an. [284] Charges were ultimately dismissed. were subjected to punishments, including being whipped with a leather strap or being asked to stand barefoot in the snow. [81] Kristin Keeffe, a longtime partner of Raniere and mother of his child, left the group in 2014 and called Raniere "dangerous", saying, "[a]ll the worst things you know about NXIVM are true. Some have written books and others giving confessionals on podcasts, media appearances, and documentary-style exposes. Raniere frequently cited having earned three degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. [51][66][103][104][105] On April 24, Mack was released on $5 million bond pending trial and held under house arrest with her parents in California. [51] Lauren bonded with Mack (the two women eventually became Raniere's inner circle and his sexual partners). [286] In May 2017, India admitted to her mother that she was among those who had been branded. [92][29][99][258] He was found guilty of all charges at trial. [170] Joseph Tully, the attorney representing Elliot, also represents Raniere in his appeals. One of these was The Knife Media, or The Knife. C-SPAN is a private, non-profit public service of the cable television industry that covers the political process. [168][169], In 2021, Raniere supporter Marc Elliot filed a lawsuit against Lions Gate Entertainment in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, alleging that the Starz network documentary Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult libelled and defamed him. Prosecutors showed a biography that once appeared on a Nxivm website claiming Raniere attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute when he was 16 and immediately started taking graduate-level. NXIVM Co-Founder Sentenced To 3 1/2 Years In Sex Slaves Case. [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. [275] In 2015, Keeffe alleged that NXIVM leaders had planned to lure critics to Mexico with an invitation to an anti-cult conference; once in Mexico, the critics were to be arrested on false charges by order of a judge who had been bribed. Former members said that as Nxivms curriculum progressed, Mr. Raniere used psychological manipulation to indoctrinate his followers into obedience. What We Know About the Cult's Current Status", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=NXIVM&oldid=1139121398. 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. That happened when his wife Bonnie Piesse told Vicente she felt something was off about Raniere and was leaving the organization herself in 2017. Like Ames, Vicente was also a SOP leader. Other module titles included "Best People; Perfect World" and "The Heroic Struggle". Visitor Comments Sworn testimony of NXIVM leaders Keith Raniere and Nancy Salzman Sworn testimony of NXIVM leaders Keith Raniere and Nancy Salzman The sisterhood, which was billed as an empowerment group, comprised circles, each led by a master who recruited slaves. In time, the subordinates also recruited their own slaves.. The purported study is similar to a patent Raniere filed, "Determination of whether a luciferian can be rehabilitated": One example of a test to determine whether a person is a Luciferian comprises a video clip of an ice skater performing in a competition. the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avataror the group and the leader is on a special mission to save humanity). nxivm website archive. Natalie would subsequently claim to have been the victim of harassment. On Wednesday, Allison Mack, an actress who pleaded guilty to racketeering and conspiracy charges for her role in Nxivm, was sentenced to three years in prison. [72], NXIVM has been described as a pyramid scheme,[73][74][75][43] a sex-trafficking operation,[76] a cult,[77][78][79] and a sex cult. 227K views 2 years ago Keith Raniere is days away from being sentenced on federal charges related to NXIVM, the group he founded that prosecutors call "cult-like." Raniere spoke out from prison. "[82], In 2014, Raniere founded the NXIVM-affiliated news organization The Knife of Aristotle,[83] later known as The Knife and The Knife Media. Piesse joined NXIVM to see if it'd boost her waning singing career, which she was considering abandoning, similar to Edmondson's trajectory. [57][58][59] Ross posted a psychiatrist's assessment of NXIVM's "secret" manual on his website that called the regimen "expensive brainwashing". She faces up to 20 years in prison. Yet this cannot be done without first raising human awareness, fostering an ethical humanitarianism, and celebrating what it truly means to be human - and this is our mission. In March 2018, FBI tracked Raniere down to a $10,000-a-week villa in a gated community near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where he was staying with several womenincluding Mackwho ran after the . Hunter Biden a avut un rol esenial n finanarea i asistarea unei companii responsabile de laboratoarele biologice din Ucraina. [282] In a January 2003 ruling, federal judge Robert Littlefield implied Raniere was using a legal suit to harass Natalie. He is the son of former Mexican president Carlos Salinas de Gortari. [272][91][273] Edmondson showed the brand in a New York Times expos of NXIVM. In "The Vow," Ames said he's in intense therapy to work through his time with the cult. Nxivm trial evidence On Wednesday, Salzman apologized for keeping a woman named Daniela captive in a room from 2010 to 2012 at Raniere's request and threatening to deport her to Mexico. She first shared a detailed account of her experiences on the podcast "Escaping NXIVM," before writing a memoir called "Scarred," and becoming a key voice in HBO's docuseries "The Vow.". [207], In a transcript and audio of Clare Bronfman's testimony in a bankruptcy proceeding, Bronfman described the organization as a part of the Human Potential Movement. 9-8-2021. Discovery+. [51] Mack was further alleged to be DOS's second-in-command after Raniere. [154][155][156], On September 30, 2020, Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York sentenced Clare Bronfman to six years and nine months in federal prison. And yet, I could say this particular existential marker has been going on for 3 years: Help bring about Justice (check) Lose MANY cherished people I care about Turn my life upside down Regain my soul But, there are gifts to these challenges and I am SO grateful. [255] Porter was stripped of his medical license in 2020. [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". 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. guy . [253] Mack was reportedly a founder of DOS, a Raniere-affiliated Master/Slave group. The organization had been . 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. [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. 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. This is where current and former NXIVM members, including top-ranking executives and Raniere's former sex slaves, are now. The YouTube link for the full song is in Bonnies bio. Their official website no longer exists, and an archived version from before it was taken down reads, in part, "It is with deep sadness that we inform you we are suspending all NXIVM/ESP. [172] Judge Sunshine Sykes granted the motion, dismissing the lawsuit and granting Lions Gate Entertainment's request for attorneys' fees and costs. [111], In April 2018, the New York Post reported that NXIVM had moved to Brooklyn, New York, and was being led by Clare Bronfman. [42][270], Barbara Bouchey was a client of Nancy Salzman, having been referred to her in 1988. The facility in Tucson, Arizona is noted as the sole facility in the federal prison system that is both specially-designated for sex offenders and also at maximum-security level. Marc is a passionate advocate for NXIVM's founder, Keith Raniere, arguing that Keith didn't get a fair trial and that his actions have been . drawing from innovations from courses in emotional intelligence (NXIVM), using only mind over body, and sheer will. [249][250][251], Nicki Clyne is a Canadian actress known for her role on the series Battlestar Galactica. At the very end of Episode 3 of @hbo The Vow' you will hear the awe-inspiring song 'Found' written and performed by @bonniempiesse An appropriate and heart-wrenching ending to an intense episode! Courts ruled in favor of Ross. In June 1988, the Times Union profiled Raniere, reporting on his membership in the Mega Society after he achieved a high score on founder Ronald K. Hoeflin's MEGA test, an unsupervised, 48-question test published in the April 1985 issue of Omni magazine. [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. Bronfman was previously charged with racketeering, which she denied, in 2018. The film identifies the Tourette's study's "lead researcher" as Dr. Brandon Porter, at the time a hospitalist at St. Peter's Hospital in Albany. [52] According to Vanity Fair, NXIVM leadership, who had spoken to Forbes, had expected a positive story. [159], Oral arguments on both Raniere and Bronfman's appeals were heard before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on May 3, 2022. NXIVM was founded by Keith Raniere and Nancy Salzman, a nurse and hypnotist, in the '90s. The complaints focused on a secretive subgroup within the organization called The Vow or D.O.S. The council page on the Niagara Falls website. In Federal District Court in Brooklyn, Ms. Salzman admitted that she had planned invasions of privacy involving email accounts and the altering of recordings edited to remove sections we did not want to turn over to opponents in a lawsuit. Edmondson regularly sees a therapist to work through the trauma she endured during her time with the cult. After multiple members left the group, pressed charges, and spoke out for a 2017 New York Times expos of the group, Raniere fled to Mexico where he was arrested in 2018. "[174], In May 2022, Keith Raniere filed suit against the U.S. Department of Justice and Bureau of Prisons, alleging that his civil rights are violated as a prisoner in United States Penitentiary, Tucson. NXIVM loyalist files $12 million suit against Starz network. 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. . India Oxenberg wrote and narrated an audio book memoir, This page was last edited on 13 February 2023, at 13:37.