įollowing Raniere's conviction, he continues to direct a small set of loyal members from his prison cell, encouraging continued recruitment. Lauren Salzman and Kathy Russell were each given non-prison sentences.
Co-conspirators Clare Bronfman, Nancy Salzman, and Allison Mack were given lesser prison sentences. Judge Nicholas Garaufis sentenced Raniere to 120 years imprisonment. Raniere was convicted on the top charge of racketeering and racketeering conspiracy as well as several other charges. Prosecutors revealed a decades-long pattern of grooming, sexual abuse of girls and women, physical and psychological punishments against dissenters, and hacking and vexatious litigation against enemies. All defendants except for Raniere pled guilty. The indictment alleges that Raniere and his co-defendants comprised an organized racketeering enterprise by recruiting others into NXIVM and DOS for financial and personal benefits and committed crimes ranging from sex trafficking to forced labor and visa and wire fraud. Attorney's Office argued in its Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act prosecution that NXIVM and its subsidiaries existed to promote, enhance and protect Raniere and members of the enterprise. įollowing the New York Times exposé, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York investigated the organization, and in 2018 brought criminal charges against Raniere, co-founder Nancy Salzman and her daughter Lauren, actress Allison Mack, Seagram heiress Clare Bronfman, and bookkeeper Kathy Russell. In 2017, former members Sarah Edmondson, Bonnie Piesse and Mark Vicente, as well as Catherine Oxenberg (mother of member India Oxenberg) spoke to The New York Times and revealed grave concerns about Keith Raniere and NXIVM, including the existence of a secret society called " DOS" in which women were branded, made to record false confessions and provide nude photographs for blackmail. The organization was criticized in similar terms by Rick Alan Ross of the Cult Education Institute and activists and academics from the anti-cult movement. Over its existence, former members and families of NXIVM clients alarmed by Raniere's behavior and NXIVM's practices spoke to investigative journalists of Forbes, Vanity Fair, The New York Observer, and the Times Union of Albany calling the organization a " cult". At its height, NXIVM had 700 active members. Courses attracted a variety of notable students including actors as well as the children of the rich and powerful. 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".
The NXIVM Corporation was based in the New York Capital District and had centers throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The United States seized ownership of NXIVM related entities and their intellectual property through asset forfeiture following Raniere's conviction. 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. NXIVM ( / ˈ n ɛ k s i ə m/ NEK-see-əm) is the name commonly used to describe the personality cult of imprisoned racketeer and sex offender Keith Raniere.
0 kommentar(er)
