Editing NXIVM (section)

== History ==
[[File:US v. Raniere GovtExhibit GX46.JPG|thumb|upright|NXIVM founder [[Keith Raniere]]]]
Before founding NXIVM, Raniere created Consumers Buyline, a business venture that the [[New York (state)|New York]] [[Attorney General of 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".<ref name="auto0">{{cite news |first=James M. |last=Odato |title='Ample evidence' to justify investigation |date=February 20, 2012 |access-date=April 18, 2018 |location=Albany, New York |work=[[Times Union (Albany)|Times Union]] |url=https://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Ample-evidence-to-justify-investigation-3337402.php}}</ref>

===Founding and initial success===
In 1998, Raniere and Nancy Salzman founded NXIVM, a [[personal development]] company offering "Executive Success Programs" (ESP) and a range of techniques for [[self-improvement]].<ref name="auto2">{{cite web |url=https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/longform/the-making-of-the-vanguard |title=Escaping NXIVM: Inside the secretive world of leader Keith Raniere |first1=Josh |last1=Bloch |first2=Kathleen |last2=Goldhar |first3=Anita |last3=Elash |first4=Dave |last4=Pizer |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name="Newsweek20180328">{{cite news |url=https://www.newsweek.com/who-keith-raniere-self-help-guru-accused-sex-trafficking-and-branding-slave-863816 |title=Who is Keith Raniere? Self-help guru accused of sex trafficking |date=March 28, 2018 |work=[[Newsweek]] |access-date=April 22, 2018}}</ref><ref name="NYT20180530">{{cite web |title=The 'Sex Cult' That Preached Empowerment |date=May 30, 2018 |access-date=May 30, 2018 |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/30/magazine/sex-cult-empowerment-nxivm-keith-raniere.html}}</ref> Raniere claimed that its "main emphasis is to have people experience more joy in their lives".<ref name="AECEB">''A&E Cults and Extreme Belief'' [https://www.aetv.com/shows/cults-and-extreme-belief/season-1/episode-1 S1E1], aired May 28, 2018. Retrieved May 30, 2018.</ref> In one account cited by former NXIVM member Sarah Edmondson, Raniere chose the name based on the ancient Roman system of debt bondage known as [[nexum]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Edmonson |first=Sarah |author-link= |date=2019 |title=Scarred: The True Story of How I Escaped NXIVM, the Cult that Bound My Life |location=San Francisco |publisher=Chronicle Prism |page=25 |isbn=978-1-4521-8426-5}}</ref> The 2002 registration with [[United States Patent and Trademark Office]] for the NXIVM [[trademark]] states that "The foreign wording in the mark translates into English as 'the next millennium{{'"}}.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2002-02-19 |title=Mark: NXIVM, U.S. Serial Number: 78109670 |url=https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=78109670&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch |access-date=2022-12-11 |website=Trademark Status & Document Retrieval}}</ref>

During NXIVM seminars, students would call Raniere and Salzman "Vanguard" and "Prefect", respectively.<ref name="TimesUnion20120210">{{cite news |last1=Odato |first1=James |last2=Gish |first2=Jennifer |date=February 11, 2012 |title=Secrets of NXIVM |url=https://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Secrets-of-NXIVM-2880885.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214211129/http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Secrets-of-NXIVM-2880885.php#media-23728 |archive-date=February 14, 2012 |access-date=February 10, 2018 |work=[[Albany Times Union]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Barcella |first=Laura |date=November 21, 2017 |url= https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/is-nxivm-a-cult-what-we-know-w512261 |title=Is NXIVM a Cult? What We Know |magazine= Rolling Stone |access-date=February 10, 2018}}</ref><ref name="VF1">{{cite web |last=Andrews |first=Suzanna |date=October 13, 2010 |url= https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2010/11/bronfman-201011 |title=The Heiresses and the Cult |work=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]|access-date= February 10, 2018}}</ref> ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' wrote that Raniere adopted the title from the 1981 video game ''[[Vanguard (video game)|Vanguard]]'', "in which the destruction of one's enemies increased one's own power".<ref name="THR201805">{{cite magazine|title=Her Darkest Role: Actress Allison Mack's Descent From 'Smallville' to Sex Cult |access-date=May 18, 2018 |date=May 16, 2018 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/how-smallvilles-allison-mack-went-actress-sex-cult-slaver-1112107|magazine=[[Hollywood Reporter]]}}</ref> Within the organization, the reasoning for the titles was that Raniere was the leader of a philosophical movement and Salzman was his first student.<ref name="NYT20180530"/>

By 2003, 3,700 people had taken part in ESP classes. Reported participants included businesswoman [[Sheila Johnson]], former [[Surgeon General of the United States|Surgeon General]] [[Antonia Novello]], [[Enron]] executive Stephen Cooper, Ana Cristina Fox (daughter of former [[President of Mexico|Mexican president]] [[Vicente Fox]]),<ref name="Forbes20031013">{{cite news |title=Cult of Personality |first=Michael |last= Freedman |url= https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2003/1013/088.html |work=[[Forbes]] |location=New York City |access-date=April 24, 2018 |date= October 13, 2003}}</ref> entrepreneur [[Richard Branson]] (who denied having taken the classes),<ref name="VF20180420">{{cite magazine |title=This Keith Raniere Sex-Cult Story Is Much Deeper Than Allison Mack's Arrest |access-date=March 30, 2018 |date=April 20, 2018 |magazine=Vanity Fair |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2018/04/allison-mack-arrested-in-connection-to-keith-raniere}}</ref><ref name="TDB20180526">{{cite web |title=A Top NXIVM Sex Cult Recruiter Comes Forward, Says Founder 'Messed With the Wrong Person' |access-date=March 30, 2018 |date=March 26, 2018 |work=[[The Daily Beast]] |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/a-top-nxivm-sex-cult-recruiter-comes-forward-he-messed-with-the-wrong-person}}</ref> businessman [[Edgar Bronfman Sr.]],<ref name="Forbes20031013" /> and actresses [[Linda Evans]], [[Grace Park (actress)|Grace Park]], and [[Nicki Clyne]].<ref name="Kohler">{{cite news |title=How to Lose $100 Million |first=Nicholas |last=Köhler |url=http://www.macleans.ca/2010/09/09/how-to-lose-100-million |newspaper=[[Maclean's]] |date=September 13, 2010 |access-date=March 22, 2011 |archive-date=February 1, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201184159/http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/09/09/how-to-lose-100-million/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=VF1/> In the early 2000s, [[Seagram]] heiresses [[Clare Bronfman|Clare]] and [[Sara Bronfman]], daughters of Edgar Bronfman Sr., became attached to the organization.<ref name=VF1/><ref name="NYT20180530"/>

==== Cult allegations in early 2000s ====
{{Main|NXIVM Corp. v. Ross Institute}}
NXIVM claimed its training was a [[trade secret]], subject to [[non-disclosure agreements]], but reportedly used a technique the organization called "rational inquiry" to facilitate personal and professional development. In 2003, NXIVM sued the Ross Institute in the case known as ''[[NXIVM Corp. v. Ross Institute]]'', alleging [[copyright infringement]] for publishing excerpts of content from its manual in three critical articles commissioned by cult investigator [[Rick Alan Ross]] and posted on his website.<ref name=Hochman>{{citation |title=A Forensic Psychiatrist Evaluates ESP |date=February 2003 |publisher=Cult Education Institute |url=https://culteducation.com/group/907-nxivm/6047-a-forensic-psychiatrist-evaluates-esp.html}}</ref><ref name=Martin1>{{citation |title=A Critical Analysis of the Executive Success Programs Inc. |date=February 2003 |publisher=Cult Education Institute |url=https://culteducation.com/group/907-nxivm/5969-a-critical-analysis-of-the-executive-success-programs-inc.html}}</ref><ref name=Martin2>{{citation |title= Robert Jay Lifton's eight criteria of thought reform as applied to the Executive Success Programs |date=February 2003 |publisher=Cult Education Institute |url= https://culteducation.com/group/907-nxivm/5980-robert-jay-liftons-eight-criteria-of-thought-reform-as-applied-to-the-executive-success-programs.html}}</ref> Ross posted a psychiatrist's assessment of NXIVM's "secret" manual on his website that called the regimen "expensive [[brainwashing]]".<ref name="Kohler"/><ref name="auto6">{{cite web |title=NXIVM Corp. v. Ross |url=http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/nxivm-corp-v-ross |work=legal case |publisher=Citizen media law company |access-date=February 10, 2012}}</ref>

Ross obtained the manual from former member Stephanie Franco, a co-[[defendant]] in the trial, who had signed a [[non-disclosure agreement]] not to divulge information from the manual to others. NXIVM filed suits in New York and New Jersey, but both were dismissed.<ref name="Kohler"/><ref name="auto6"/> On appeal, the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit]] affirmed the dismissal, ruling that the defendant's critical analysis was [[fair use]] since the secondary use was [[transformative]] as criticism and was not a potential replacement for the original on the market.<ref name="Casenotes2007">{{cite book|author=Aspen Publishers|title=Copyright. Keyed to Keyed to Course Using Gorman and Ginsburg's Copyright: Cases and Materials Seventh Edition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I6gWONBoXpIC&pg=PA95|year=2007|publisher=Wolters Kluwer|isbn=978-0735561762|pages=95–96|series=Casenote Legal Briefs}}</ref><ref name="MeinersRingleb2006">{{cite book|author1=Roger E. Meiners|author2=Al H. Ringleb|author3=Frances L. Edwards|title=The legal environment of business|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8ZvaVXT1n3IC&pg=PA230|year=2006|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-0324204858|page=230}}</ref><ref name=justia>{{cite court |litigants=NXIVM Corp. v. Ross Institute|reporter=F.3d |opinion=471 |court=2d Cir. |date=2004 |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/364/471/532988/ |access-date=February 24, 2018 }}</ref>

In October 2003, ''[[Forbes]]'' published a critical article on NXIVM and Raniere.<ref name="Forbes20031013"/> According to ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]],'' NXIVM leadership, who had spoken to ''Forbes'', had expected a positive story. 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.<ref name="Forbes20031013"/> In 2006, ''Forbes'' published an article about the Bronfman sisters, stating that they had taken out a [[line of credit]] to loan NXIVM $2&nbsp;million, repayable through personal training sessions and phone consultations with Salzman.<ref name= "Forbes20060724">{{cite news |url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2006/0724/044a.html |title=The Bronfmans and the Cult |last1=Berman |first1=Phyllis |date=June 24, 2006 |work=Forbes |access-date=July 24, 2006 |last2=Gillies |first2=Andrew T. |last3=Novack |first3= Janet |last4=Egan |first4=Mary Ellen |last5=Blakeley |first5=Kiri}}</ref> Another ''Forbes'' article in 2010 discussed the failures of commodities and real estate deals by the Bronfmans made on Raniere's advice.<ref name="Forbes20100329">{{cite web |url= https://www.forbes.com/sites/docket/2010/03/29/the-bronfmans-and-the-cult/ |title=The Bronfmans and The 'Cult' |last=Vardi |first=Nathan |date= March 29, 2010 |work=Forbes |access-date= February 11, 2018}}</ref>

==== Recruitment in Vancouver ====
After actress [[Kristin Kreuk]] became involved with NXIVM in 2006, Salzman and her daughter Lauren, a junior NXIVM leader,<ref name="NYT20180530" /> went to Vancouver to recruit Kreuk's ''[[Smallville]]'' co-star [[Allison Mack]].<ref name="THR201805"/> Lauren bonded with Mack (the two women eventually became Raniere's inner circle and his sexual partners). Kreuk, however, left NXIVM in 2013.<ref name="TDB201803">{{cite web |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/smallville-actress-kristin-kreuk-horrified-and-disgusted-by-nxivm-cult-she-left |title='Smallville' Actress Kristin Kreuk 'Horrified and Disgusted' by Nxivm Cult She Left |website=[[The Daily Beast]] |date=March 30, 2018 |access-date=May 18, 2018}}</ref> 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, New York|Albany]].<ref name="THR201805"/>

==== 2008–2010 ====
In 2008, the Bronfman sisters allegedly pressured Stephen Herbits, a confidant of their father, to ask [[Albany County, New York|Albany County]] [[District Attorney]] David Soares, [[Governor of New York|New York Governor]] [[Eliot Spitzer]], and [[Attorney General of New Jersey|New Jersey Attorney General]] [[Anne Milgram]] to begin criminal investigations into NXIVM's critics. NXIVM reportedly kept dossiers on Soares, Spitzer, political consultants [[Roger Stone]] and [[Steve Pigeon]], U.S. Senator [[Chuck Schumer]], and Albany ''[[Times Union (Albany)|Times Union]]'' publisher [[George Randolph Hearst III]] in a box in the basement of Nancy Salzman's home.<ref>{{cite news |first=Robert |last=Gavin |title=NXIVM's files on 'enemies' debated in court
|url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/NXIVM-s-files-on-enemies-debated-in-court-13844301.php
|date=May 14, 2019|access-date=January 22, 2022|newspaper=Times Union}}</ref><ref>Gavin, Robert (May 16, 2019). [https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/NXIVM-13851004.php "Witness: Bronfmans tried to apply political pressure"]. ''Times Union''.</ref> According to the ''Times Union'', NXIVM "developed a reputation for aggressively pursuing critics and defectors who broke from its ranks, including using litigation to punish critics of Raniere, the organization, or its training methods."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/FBI-shifts-mountain-of-data-in-NXIVM-s-seized-13254160.php |title=FBI shifts mountain of data in NXIVM's seized computers |first=Brendan J. |last=Lyons |date=September 24, 2018 |website=Times Union}}</ref>

The World Ethical Foundations Consortium, an organization co-founded by Raniere and the Bronfman sisters, sponsored a visit to Albany by the [[14th Dalai Lama|Dalai Lama]] in 2009. The visit was initially canceled by the Dalai Lama owing to negative press about NXIVM,<ref>{{cite news |last=Ettkin |first=Brian |date=April 6, 2009 |url=http://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Dalai-Lama-cancels-his-visit-to-Albany-118447.php |title=Dalai Lama Cancels His Visit to Albany |work=[[The News-Times]] |access-date=November 2, 2011}}</ref> but was rescheduled; the Dalai Lama spoke at the Hart Theater at [[The Egg, Albany|the Egg]] in Albany in May 2009.<ref>{{cite web |last=Caprood |first=Tom |date=May 7, 2009 |url=https://www.troyrecord.com/article/TR/20090507/NEWS/305079979 |title=Dalai Lama fills Palace with message of compassion |work=Troy Record |access-date=February 10, 2018}}</ref> The Bronfman sisters announced at the talk that they were broke and could not pay him.  He said that he gives talks to spread dharma, not for money.{{cn|date=November 2025}} 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.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Suspended Lama Tenzin Dhonden Had A Lover Too! |url=https://www.tibetanjournal.com/suspended-lama-tenzin-lover/ |work=Tibetan Journal |date=November 1, 2017 |access-date=August 13, 2018}}</ref>

NXIVM has been described as a [[pyramid scheme]],<ref name="TimesUnion20171113">{{cite web |last=Odato |first=James |title=Lawyer attacks NXIVM 'scheme' |url=http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Lawyer-attacks-NXIVM-scheme-1032548.php |website=TimesUnion.com |date=February 27, 2011 |publisher=The Hearst Corporation |access-date=November 13, 2017}}</ref><ref name="Slate201803">{{cite web |title=The Only (Alleged) Sex-Slave Cult Story You Need to Understand: Kirsten Gillibrand's Weakness as a 2020 Candidate |website=Slate |date=March 28, 2018 |access-date=May 18, 2018 |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/03/kirsten-gillibrand-alleged-sex-slavery-and-the-2020-primary.html}}</ref><ref name="NYT18Oct">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/17/nyregion/nxivm-women-branded-albany.html?pagewanted=all |title=Inside a Secretive Group Where Women Are Branded |last=Meier |first=Barry |work=The New York Times|date=October 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207013003/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/17/nyregion/nxivm-women-branded-albany.html?pagewanted=all|archive-date=December 7, 2022|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Newsweek20180328"/> a sex-trafficking operation,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47563045 |title=Associate pleads guilty in 'sex cult' case |date=March 13, 2019 |publisher=BBC}}</ref> a cult,<ref name="TheNation20141118">{{Cite news |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/190881/how-strange-secretive-cult-company-waging-legal-war-against-journalists |title=How a Strange, Secretive, Cult-like Company Is Waging Legal War Against Journalists |last=Cohan |first=William D. |date=November 18, 2014 |work=[[The Nation]] |access-date=May 27, 2015}}</ref><ref name = TUBronf>{{cite web |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Bronfman-Russell-to-plead-guilty-in-NXIVM-case-13780718.php |title=Bronfman, Russell plead guilty in NXIVM case |date=April 19, 2019 |website=timesunion.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/members-alleged-sex-cult-nxivm-federal-court/story?id=60645426 |title=Members of alleged sex cult NXIVM appear in federal court |website=ABC News}}</ref> and a sex cult.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44946059 |title=Heiress among four arrested in 'sex cult' |date=July 25, 2018 |publisher=BBC |access-date=January 14, 2019}}</ref> In a 2010 ''Times Union'' article, former NXIVM coaches characterized students as "prey" for Raniere's sexual or gambling-related proclivities.<ref name="TimesUnion20101122">{{cite web |last=Odato |first=James |title=Ex-NXIVM trainer: Students are prey |url=http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Ex-NXIVM-trainer-Students-are-prey-824046.php |newspaper=[[Times Union (Albany)|Times Union]] |date=November 22, 2010}}</ref> Kristin Keeffe, a longtime partner of Raniere and mother of his child, left the group in 2014 and called Raniere "dangerous", saying, "All the worst things you know about NXIVM are true."<ref name="TimesUnion20140512">{{cite web |last=Odato |first=James |title=A split from NXIVM |url=http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/A-split-from-NXIVM-5468731.php |location=Albany, New York |newspaper=[[Times Union (Albany)|Times Union]] |date=May 12, 2014}}</ref>

==== Related organizations ====
NXIVM has been associated with several related organizations. '''Jness''' was a society aimed at women, while the '''Society of Protectors''' was aimed primarily at men.<ref name="rollingstone.com" /> A third group was known by the acronym DOS, short for "'''Dominus Obsequious Sororium'''", which, according to one member, means "master over slave women".<ref>{{cite news |last=Bellamy-Walker |first=Tatyana |date=March 27, 2018 |title=Feds: 'Self-Help' Guru Kept Women as Sex 'Slaves,' Branded Them With His Initials |newspaper=The Daily Beast |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/feds-self-help-guru-kept-women-as-sex-slaves-branded-them-with-his-initials |access-date=June 20, 2019 |via=thedailybeast.com}}</ref> In 2006, Raniere founded '''Rainbow Cultural Garden''', an international chain of childcare organizations in which children were to be exposed to seven different languages.<ref>{{cite web |last=Iannelli |first=Jerry |date=April 27, 2018 |title=State Closes Midtown Miami School Tied to NXIVM 'Sex Cult' Leader |url=https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/alejandro-sanzs-wifes-miami-school-closed-by-state-tied-to-nxivm-sex-cult-founder-10295903 |website=Miami New Times}}</ref>

In 2014, Raniere founded the NXIVM-affiliated news organization ''The Knife of Aristotle'', to identify and measure media bias.<ref name="ny-pyramid">{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/29/nyregion/nxivm-lawsuit-keith-raniere.html |title=Nxivm 'Sex Cult' Was Also a Huge Pyramid Scheme, Lawsuit Says |last=Hong |first=Nicole |date= January 29, 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=April 27, 2020 }}</ref>

=== Exposure of "DOS" and NXIVM downfall ===
Starting with reports by [[Frank Parlato Jr.|Frank Parlato]] in June 2017<ref>{{cite web|date=June 13, 2017|title=Part 1 The Slave Women of DOS – Revealed|url=https://frankreport.com/2017/06/13/part-1-the-slave-women-of-dos-revealed/ |access-date=July 27, 2020|website= Frank Report |language=en-US}}</ref> and bolstered by an October 2017
article in ''[[The New York Times]]'',<ref name="NYT18Oct"/> details began to emerge about "[[Keith Raniere#DOS: secret "slaves" and branding|DOS]]", a secret society of women that started in 2015 within NXIVM in which female members were allegedly called slaves, [[human branding|branded]] with the initials of Raniere and Mack, subjected to [[corporal punishment]] from their "masters", and required to provide nude photos or other potentially damaging information about themselves as "collateral".<ref>{{cite web|date=March 26, 2018|title=The Founder of "Nxivm', a Purported Self-Help Organization Based in Albany, N.Y., Arrested for Sex Trafficking and Forced Labor Conspiracy |url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/founder-nxivm-purported-self-help-organization-based-albany-ny-arrested-sex-trafficking|access-date=February 6, 2021|publisher=Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of New York|language=en}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/nxivm-member-invited-secret-sorority-branded/story?id=51617201 |title=Former NXIVM member says she was invited into a secret sorority, then branded |date=December 16, 2017 | work =ABC News |access-date=February 10, 2018}}</ref><ref name="RollingStone20180328">{{cite magazine |title=NXIVM: What We Know About Alleged Sex Trafficking, Forced Labor |last=Barcella |first=Laura |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=March 28, 2018 |access-date=April 20, 2018 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/nxivm-what-we-know-about-alleged-sex-trafficking-forced-labor-w518483}}</ref> Law enforcement representatives have alleged that DOS members were forced into [[sexual slavery]].<ref name="Newsweek20180327">{{cite news |title=What is Nxivm? |date=March 27, 2018 |access-date=April 18, 2018 |url=https://www.newsweek.com/nxivm-keith-raniere-sex-trafficking-self-help-vow-dos-slaves-multi-level-861293}}</ref>

==== Whistleblowers' accounts ====
[[Sarah Edmondson]], a Canadian actress who had been an ESP participant since 2005, said that she left NXIVM after Mack inducted her into DOS at her Albany home. Edmondson alleged that DOS participants were blindfolded naked, held down by Mack and three other women, and branded on the lower abdomen with a [[cauterizing|cauterizing pen]] by NXIVM-affiliated doctor Danielle Roberts.<ref name="NYT18Oct"/><ref name="CBC">{{cite news |title=Vancouver woman says scars from ritual 'branding' fuel her fight against 'cultish' group |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/sarah-edmondson-executive-success-programs-esp-nxivm-branding-1.4374048 |publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] |date=October 27, 2017}}</ref><ref name="THR201805"/> Appearing on an [[A&E (TV channel)|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 victims—for example, collateralizing small amounts of money that one might forfeit if one did not go to the gym one day.<ref name="NYT20180530"/> The ''New York Times'' later reported that hundreds of members left NXIVM after Edmondson went public about her experience.<ref name="NYT20180530"/>

On December 15, 2017, the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] newsmagazine ''[[20/20 (U.S. TV series)|20/20]]'' aired an exposé including interviews with many former NXIVM adherents, including Edmondson and [[Catherine Oxenberg]], who alleged that her daughter, [[India Oxenberg]], was in danger from the group. Several former members reported financial and [[sexual predation]] by NXIVM leaders.<ref name="NYT18Oct"/><ref name="auto"/> Edmondson further appeared in "Escaping NXIVM", during the first season of the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]] [[podcast]] ''Uncover''.<ref name="auto2"/>

Seven socially prominent Mexican citizens, including [[Emiliano Salinas]] (son of former president [[Carlos Salinas de Gortari]]) and Ana Cristina Fox (daughter of former president [[Vicente Fox]]), Rosa Laura Junco, Loreta Garza Dávila (a business leader from [[Nuevo Leon]]), Daniela Padilla, and Mónica Durán, have been accused of involvement.<ref>{{citation |url=https://www.elsoldemexico.com.mx/mexico/sociedad/quienes-son-los-mexicanos-involucrados-con-la-secta-nxivm-3674611.html |title=¿Quiénes son los mexicanos involucrados con la secta NXIVM? |newspaper=El Sol de Mexico |access-date=May 26, 2019 |language=es |date=May 26, 2019|trans-title=Who are the Mexicans involved with the NXIVM sect?}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFmoaSvOP1c |title=Revelan video de Emiliano Salinas bailando en celebración a Keith Raniere |work=Proceso Magazine|date=June 18, 2019 }}</ref>

==== Arrest of Raniere ====
[[File:Nxivm-Indictment-S-1.pdf|thumb|upright|''United States. v. Raniere, et al.'' Superseding indictment #1, filed July 23, 2018.<ref>{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=United States of America|defendant=Keith Raniere|title=Superseding Indictment 1|doc-number=50|date=July 23, 2018|pacer-number=420065|use-recap=yes|case-state=NY|case-district=ED|case-division=1|case-year=2018|case-type=cr|case-sequence=00204|access-date=May 18, 2022}}</ref>]]
In March 2018, Raniere was arrested and [[indictment|indicted]] on charges related to DOS, including sex trafficking, sex trafficking [[conspiracy (crime)|conspiracy]], and conspiracy to commit [[forced labor]].<ref name="NBCNY20180326">{{cite web |date=March 26, 2018 |title=Leader of NY Group Branded Women, Made Them Sex Slaves: Feds |url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Leader-of-Secret-Upstate-New-York-Group-Charged-with-Sex-Trafficking-477966643.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019081848/https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/leader-of-secret-upstate-new-york-group-charged-with-sex-trafficking/450418/ |archive-date=October 19, 2020 |access-date=April 21, 2018 |website=[[WNBC|NBC 4 New York]] |publisher=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref><ref name="NBCNews0516">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/self-help-guru-denies-enslaving-branding-women-sex-cult-n871441 |title=Self-help guru denies enslaving, branding women in Nxivm sex cult |last=Siemaszko |first=Corky |date=May 4, 2018 |work=[[NBC News]]|access-date=May 16, 2018 |language=en-US}}</ref> He was arrested in Mexico and held in custody in New York after appearing in federal court in [[Fort Worth, Texas]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/leader-of-alleged-cult-that-ensnared-vancouver-woman-appears-in-court-1.4595940 |title=Leader of alleged cult that ensnared Vancouver woman appears in court |date=March 27, 2018 |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref> The indictment alleged that at least one woman was coerced into sex with Raniere, who forced DOS members to undergo the branding ritual alleged by Edmondson and others.<ref>{{cite news |title=Feds say self-help guru coerced followers into sex, had them branded with a cauterizing pen |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/03/27/feds-say-self-help-guru-coerced-followers-into-sex-had-them-branded-with-a-cauterizing-pen/?noredirect=on |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=March 27, 2018|last=Swenson|first=Kyle}}</ref><ref name="CBS20180327">{{cite news |title=NXIVM female sex 'slaves' allegedly branded with secretive group leader's initials |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nxivm-leader-keith-raniere-charged-sex-trafficking |work=[[CBS]] |agency=Associated Press |date=March 27, 2018}}</ref> [[United States Attorney]] [[Richard Donoghue]] stated that Raniere "created a secret society of women whom he had sex with and branded with his initials, coercing them with the threat of releasing their highly personal information and taking their assets".<ref name="Newsweek20180328"/>

==== Indictment of Raniere and co-conspirators ====
On April 20, 2018, Mack was arrested and indicted on similar charges to Raniere's.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Smallville Actress Arrested for Role in Alleged Sex Cult that Branded and Enslaved Women |url=http://time.com/5248810/allison-mack-keith-raniere-nxivm-sex-cult |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=April 20, 2018|access-date=April 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180422083052/http://time.com/5248810/allison-mack-keith-raniere-nxivm-sex-cult/|archive-date=April 22, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> According to prosecutors, after she recruited women into first NXIVM and then DOS, Mack was allegedly paid by Raniere to coerce them into engaging in sexual activity with Raniere.<ref name="THR201805"/> Mack was further alleged to be DOS's second-in-command after Raniere.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/founder-nxivm-purported-self-help-organization-and-actor-indicted-sex-trafficking-and |title=Founder of 'NXIVM', a Purported Self-Help Organization, and Actor Indicted for Sex Trafficking and Forced Labor Conspiracy |website=justice.gov |date=April 20, 2018 |access-date=April 23, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/apr/22/smallville-actor-was-allegedly-a-top-member-of-cult-that-abused-women |title=Smallville's Allison Mack was allegedly a 'top member' of cult that abused women |first=Edward |last=Helmore |date=April 22, 2018 |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=April 24, 2018}}</ref> On April 24, Mack was released on $5 million bond pending trial and held under [[house arrest]] with her parents in California.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/allison-mack-smallville-actress-granted-bail-sex-cult-case-2018-04-24/|title=Allison Mack of 'Smallville' granted bail in sex cult case|website=CBS News|date=April 24, 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Gonzalez |first=Sandra |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/24/entertainment/allison-mack/index.html |title=Allison Mack granted bail in sex trafficking case |work=CNN|date=April 24, 2018 |access-date=May 3, 2018}}</ref> On May 4, Raniere pleaded not guilty.<ref name="NBCNews0516"/>

Salzman's home was raided shortly after Raniere's arrest,<ref name="Newsweek20180328"/> and prosecutors stated during his arraignment that further arrests and a superseding indictment for Raniere and Mack should be expected.<ref name=TimesUnion20180504>{{cite web |last1=Gavin |first1=By Robert |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Keith-Raniere-Allison-Mack-head-to-court-in-12887478.php |title=Raniere, Mack appear in court on sex-slavery charges |work=Albany Times Union |date=May 4, 2018 |access-date=May 4, 2018}}</ref><ref name=News10May4>{{cite web |url=http://www.news10.com/news/local-news/trial-date-set-for-keith-raniere-and-allison-mack/1159493630 |title=Trial date set for Keith Raniere and Allison Mack |work=Albany News 10 |date=May 4, 2018 |access-date=May 4, 2018 |archive-date=March 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200322102148/https://www.news10.com/news/local-news/trial-date-set-for-keith-raniere-and-allison-mack/1159493630/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> In late May, authorities moved to seize two NXIVM-owned properties near Albany.<ref>{{cite web |title=Foreclosure Complaint Reveals NXIVM Sex Cult Rituals In Upstate New York |date=May 24, 2018|access-date=May 29, 2018 |url=https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2018/05/24/nxivm-sex-cult-foreclose-halfmoon}}</ref>

In April 2018, the ''[[New York Post]]'' reported that NXIVM had moved to [[Brooklyn, New York]], and was being led by Clare Bronfman.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nypost.com/2018/04/21/sex-cult-moves-to-brooklyn-and-is-ready-for-war/ |title='Sex cult' moves to Brooklyn – and is ready for 'war' |first=Laura |last=Italiano |date=April 21, 2018 |access-date=April 9, 2019}}</ref> On June 12, 2018, the ''Times Union'' reported that NXIVM had suspended its operations owing to "extraordinary circumstances facing the company".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/NXIVM-suspends-all-operations-12987928.php |title=NXIVM suspends all operations; founder's bail denied |first1=Steve |last1=Hughes |agency=Associated Press |date=June 12, 2018 |website=Times Union}}</ref> Bronfman was arrested on July 24 and charged with [[racketeering]]. She was released to house arrest after signing a $100 million [[bail bond]]. Also arrested and charged with the same crime were NXIVM President Nancy Salzman; her daughter, Lauren Salzman; and another NXIVM employee, Kathy Russell.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/4350140/clare-bronfman-seagrams-arrested-nxivm-sex-cult/ |title=Clare Bronfman, Seagram's heiress, arrested in Nxivm sex-trafficking case |website=Global News |access-date=July 24, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Seagram's heiress Clare Bronfman charged in connection with alleged sex cult NXIVM">{{cite web |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/nxivm-bronfman-sex-cult-racketeering-1.4759640 |title=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 |last=Proctor |first=Jason |date=July 24, 2018 |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=July 24, 2018}}</ref>

==== Guilty pleas, corporations and conviction====
{{Wikisource|Superseding Indictment, United States of America v. Keith Raniere, et al.|Superseding indictment #2, USA v. Keith Raniere, et al. from March 2019.}}
On March 13, 2019, Nancy Salzman pleaded guilty to a charge of racketeering criminal conspiracy.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Brendan |first=Pierson |date=March 13, 2019 |title=Self-help guru Raniere faces U.S. child porn charges; associate pleads guilty |work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-crime-cult-idUSKCN1QU2Z2 |access-date=March 14, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Saul |first=Emily |date=March 13, 2019 |title=Nxivm co-founder Nancy Salzman pleads guilty in sex cult case |url=https://nypost.com/2019/03/13/nxivm-co-founder-nancy-salzman-pleads-guilty-in-sex-cult-case/ |access-date=March 14, 2019 |website=[[New York Post]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Leader of alleged NXIVM sex cult pleads not guilty to child porn charges |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/allison-mack-nxivm-case-smallville-actress-possible-plea-negotiations-keith-raniere-pleads-not-guilty-in-sex-cult-case/ |access-date=April 9, 2019 |website=CBS News|date=March 18, 2019 }}</ref> 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.<ref name=":3">{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=United States of America|defendant=Keith Raniere|title=Final Order of Forfeiture|doc-number=1108|att-number=1|date=September 7, 2021|pacer-number=420065|use-recap=yes|case-state=NY|case-district=ED|case-division=1|case-year=2018|case-type=cr|case-sequence=00204|access-date=May 18, 2022}}</ref>

The same day as Nancy Salzman's plea, the court unsealed a second (and final) superseding indictment against Raniere and his codefendants, adding the charge that Raniere produced and kept [[child sexual abuse material]] of a girl who was 15 at the time.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Spiritual leader of alleged NY sex cult hit with child porn charges |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/crime-courts/new-york-woman-pleads-guilty-alleged-sex-cult-case-n982901 |access-date=May 18, 2022 |website=NBC News |date=March 13, 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

Later in March 2019, Lauren Salzman pleaded guilty to racketeering and racketeering conspiracy; she later testified against Raniere and received leniency.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Daughter-of-NXIVM-leader-pleads-guilty-13725939.php |title=Daughter of NXIVM leader pleads guilty |first1=Brendan J. |last1=Lyons |first2=Mike |last2=Goodwin |date=March 29, 2019 |website=Times Union}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Dickson |first=E. J. |date=May 21, 2019 |title='I Was in One Mode: Protect Keith': NXIVM Member Testifies About Naked Meetings, Group Sex, Dungeon Paddlings |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/lauren-salzman-nxivm-sex-slave-keith-raniere-testimony-trial-836547/ |access-date=May 18, 2022 |website=[[Rolling Stone Magazine]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=July 19, 2021 |title=Federal prosecutors recommend leniency in high-ranking NXIVM sentencing |url=https://wnyt.com/news/lauren-salzman-nxivm-sentencing/6176704/ |access-date=May 18, 2022 |website=WNYT NewsChannel 13 |language=en |archive-date=June 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615130442/https://wnyt.com/news/lauren-salzman-nxivm-sentencing/6176704/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Sentencing documents for Allison Mack state that she entered [[proffer]] sessions on April 2, 2019. The government credited her for providing relevant emails, documents and recordings later used to convict Raniere. On April 8, 2019, Mack pleaded guilty to racketeering and racketeering conspiracy. Though not called to testify against Keith Raniere, prosecutors said that Mack, "was available to testify at Raniere’s trial if requested to do so."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/apr/08/allison-mack-nxivm-pleads-guilty-racketeering-charges |title= Smallville star Allison Mack pleads guilty to racketeering in Nxivm case |newspaper= [[The Guardian]] |date=April 8, 2019 |access-date= April 21, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=United States of America|defendant=Keith Raniere|title=SENTENCING MEMORANDUM by USA as to Allison Mack|doc-number=1045|date=June 21, 2021|pacer-number=416188|use-recap=yes|case-state=NY|case-district=ED|case-division=1|case-year=2018|case-type=cr|case-sequence=00204|access-date=May 18, 2022}}</ref><ref name=" NYT MACK"/>

On April 19, 2019, Bronfman pleaded guilty to charges of [[Illegal immigration to the United States|harboring an illegal immigrant]] and [[identity fraud]]; bookkeeper Kathy Russell pleaded guilty to [[visa fraud]].<ref>{{Cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/19/nyregion/nxivm-clare-bronfman.html |title=Clare Bronfman Pleads Guilty in Nxivm 'Sex Cult' Case, Leaving Leader to Stand Trial Alone |last1=Meier |first1=Barry |date=April 19, 2019 |work=The New York Times |access-date=April 20, 2019 |last2= Moynihan |first2=Colin |language= en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

The federal trial of Keith Raniere began on May 7, 2019.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.news10.com/video/nxivm-trial-prosecution-s-opening-statements-lasted-90-minutes_20190507163116/1986277706/ |title= NXIVM trial prosecution's opening statements lasted ninety minutes |website= News 10 ABC |date= July 17, 2023 |access-date= November 6, 2019 |archive-date= September 22, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230922215106/https://www.news10.com/video/nxivm-trial-prosecution-s-opening-statements-lasted-90-minutes_20190507163116/1986277706/ |url-status= dead }}</ref> On June 19, 2019, the jury convicted him of all counts.<ref name="auto1" />

{| class="wikitable" style="vertical-align: top;"
|+ Persons convicted in the NXIVM racketeering case
|-
! Name !! Charges !! Sentence || Status ({{As of|2023|02|df=US|lc=y|url=https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/}}) <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/|title=Inmate Locator|publisher=Federal Bureau of Prisons}}</ref>

|-
| [[Keith Raniere]] || Found guilty at jury trial of all charges including:

* Count 1: [[Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act|Racketeering Conspiracy]]<ref>[[18 USC]] §§ {{USCSub2|18|1962|d}}, {{USCSub2|18|1963|a}}, and {{USCSub2|18|3551}} ''et seq.''</ref>
* Count 2: Racketeering<ref>[[18 USC]] §§ {{USCSub2|18|1961|1}} and {{USCSub2|18|1961|5}}</ref> for the predicate racketeering acts (all marked by jury foreperson as "Proven")
** 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 4: Possession of Child Pornography 
** 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 9: Extortion 
** Act 10: Sex Trafficking; Forced Labor
** Act 11: Conspiracy to Commit Identity Theft
* Count 3: [[Labor trafficking|Forced Labor Conspiracy]]<ref>[[18 USC]] §§ {{USCSub2|18|1594|b}} and {{USCSub2|18|3551}}, ''et seq.''</ref>
* Count 4: [[Mail and wire fraud#Wire fraud|Wire Fraud Conspiracy]]<ref>[[18 USC]] §§ {{USCSub2|18|1349}} and {{USCSub2|18|3551}}, ''et seq''.</ref>
* Count 5: [[Sex trafficking in the United States|Sex Trafficking Conspiracy]]<ref>[[18 USC]] §§ {{USCSub2|18|1594|c}}, {{USCSub2|18|1591|b|1}} and {{USCSub2|18|3551}}, ''et seq''.</ref>
* Count 6: Sex Trafficking<ref>[[18 USC]] §§ {{USCSub2|18|1591|a|1}},  {{USCSub2|18|1591|a|2}}, {{USCSub2|18|1591|b|2}}, {{USCSub2|18|2}} and {{USCSub2|18|3551}}, ''et seq''.</ref>
* Count 7: Attempted Sex Trafficking<ref>[[18 USC]] §§ {{USCSub2|18|1594|a}}, {{USCSub2|18|1591|b|1}} {{USCSub2|18|2}} and {{USCSub2|18|3551}}, ''et seq''.</ref><ref>{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=United States of America|defendant=Keith Raniere|title=Jury Verdict as to Keith Raniere|doc-number=735|date=June 19, 2019|pacer-number=416187|use-recap=yes|case-state=NY|case-district=ED|case-division=1|case-year=2018|case-type=cr|case-sequence=00204|access-date=May 19, 2022}}</ref> 
|[[Nicholas Garaufis|Judge Nicholas Garaufis]] entered October 27, 2020, included

* 120 years imprisonment<ref name=":7"/>
* $1.75 million in fines due to the United States Government<ref name=":0">{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=United States of America|defendant=Keith Raniere|title=Sentencing Memorandum|doc-number=966|att-number=0_1|date=October 27, 2020|pacer-number=416187|use-recap=yes|case-state=NY|case-district=ED|case-division=1|case-year=2018|case-type=cr|case-sequence=00204|access-date=May 20, 2022}}</ref>
* $15,000 assessment pursuant to the [[Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015]]<ref name=":0" />

From a supplemental sentencing statement & order, filed July 20, 2021, by Judge Garaufis:

* Monetary restitution from Raniere of $3.46 million to twenty-one victims<ref>{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=United States of America|defendant=Keith Raniere|title=Supplemental Sentencing Statement & Order as to Keith Raniere|doc-number=1073|date=July 20, 2020|pacer-number=416187|use-recap=yes|case-state=NY|case-district=ED|case-division=1|case-year=2018|case-type=cr|case-sequence=00204|access-date=May 20, 2022}}</ref>
** Seventeen victims recognized under the [[Trafficking Victims Protection Act]] (TVPA)
** Four victims compensated under [[Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act of 2018|Mandatory Victims Restitution Act]] (MVRA)
* "All lower-ranking members of DOS are victims of the wire fraud conspiracy in which the Defendant participated. […] Accordingly, the court finds that all lower-ranking DOS members are statutorily entitled to the return of their collateral, and it orders Mr. Raniere to effectuate that return to the fullest extent practicable."
** Due to [[Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fifth Amendment]] concerns, Garaufis stayed this order while Raniere's direct appeal is heard before the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit]].
||Incarcerated at [[Tucson USP]]
|-
| [[Allison Mack]] || Pleaded guilty to racketeering and racketeering conspiracy || 3 years in prison<ref name=" NYT MACK">{{cite news | title = Actress Who Recruited Women for Nxivm Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/30/nyregion/allison-mack-nxivm-sentencing.html | first = Colin | last = Moynihan | work = The New York Times | date = June 30, 2021}}</ref>
||Released on July 3, 2023<ref>{{cite web | title='Smallville' actor released from prison for role in sex-trafficking case tied to cult-like group | website=AP News | date=2023-07-05 | url=https://apnews.com/article/nxivm-allison-mack-smallville-f7b869eb7f5b89e5069a7cda00870606 | access-date=2024-02-05}}</ref>
|-
| [[Clare Bronfman]] || Pleaded guilty to conspiring to conceal and harbor an undocumented immigrant for financial gain, and fraudulent use of identification || 81 months in prison<ref>{{cite news | title = Seagram's heir sentenced to prison in branded sex slave case | date = September 30, 2020 | first = Tom | last = Hays | url = https://apnews.com/article/keith-raniere-new-york-brooklyn-clare-bronfman-sentencing-2113db0c7ea15dc91c7de297cec89736 | publisher = The Associated Press}}</ref>
||Previously incarcerated at [[Danbury FCI]], now in [[Halfway house|RRM]] New York<ref name=inmateClare/><ref>{{Cite news |last=Gavin |first=Robert |date=2024-05-06 |title=NXIVM's Bronfman released to halfway house in NYC |url=https://www.timesunion.com/nxivm/article/nxivm-s-bronfman-released-halfway-house-nyc-19442124.php |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=Times Union |language=en-US}}</ref>
|-
| Lauren Salzman || Pleaded guilty to racketeering and racketeering conspiracy || 5 years of probation<ref>{{cite news | title = Prominent NXIVM cult leader Lauren Salzman avoids jail time after 'extraordinary' cooperation | first = David | last = Li | url = https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/high-ranking-nxivm-cult-leader-lauren-salzman-avoids-jail-time-n1275275 | publisher = NBC News | date = July 28, 2021}}</ref> 
|-
| [[Nancy Salzman]] || Pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy || 42 months in prison<ref>{{cite news | title = NXIVM Co-Founder Nancy Salzman, Featured in 'The Vow' Docuseries, Sentenced to 42 Months in Prison | publisher = Variety | date = September 8, 2021 | url = https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/nxivm-cult-nancy-salzman-the-vow-prison-sentence-1235059017 | first = Kate | last = Aurthur}}</ref>||Released on March 19, 2024<ref>{{cite web|title=Find an inmate - Register Number: 25533-052|url=https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/|date=May 30, 2024 |work=Federal Bureau of Prisons}}</ref>{{better|date=November 2025}}
|-
| Kathy Russell || Pleaded guilty to visa fraud || 2 years of probation<ref>{{cite news | title = Judge hands down final sentence in NXIVM case| work =ABC news| date = October 7, 2021|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/judge-hands-final-sentence-nxivm-case/story?id=80443423}}</ref>
|}

=== NXIVM after Raniere's conviction ===
The assets of NXIVM were held by Nancy Salzman, including several corporate entities and titles to intellectual property. As part of her plea agreement with the government, Salzman did not contest [[asset forfeiture]].<ref name=":3" />

Following the conviction of Keith Raniere, members of the defunct organization split, with many speaking out against Raniere and the organization. A small number of NXIVM members continue to support Raniere and protest his innocence.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gavin |first=Robert |date=March 28, 2021 |title=3 years after Raniere's arrest, NXIVM divides into victims, loyalists, guilty |url=https://www.timesunion.com/nxivm/article/Three-years-after-Keith-Raniere-s-arrest-NXIVM-16009952.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614174408/https://www.timesunion.com/nxivm/article/Three-years-after-Keith-Raniere-s-arrest-NXIVM-16009952.php |archive-date=June 14, 2021 |access-date=June 12, 2022 |website=Times Union |language=en-US}}</ref> Attorneys for Raniere submitted letters from 56 supporters requesting leniency for Raniere.<ref>{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=United States of America|defendant=Keith Raniere|title=LETTERS OF SUPPORT ACCOMPANYING SENTENCING MEMORANDUM ON BEHALF OF KEITH RANIERE|doc-number=950|date=October 9, 2020|pacer-number=416187|use-recap=yes|case-state=NY|case-district=ED|case-division=1|case-year=2018|case-type=cr|case-sequence=00204|access-date=June 12, 2022}}</ref>

==== Civil lawsuit against NXIVM leadership ====
In January 2020, [[Sarah Edmondson]] became lead plaintiff in a [[Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act|Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act civil suit]] filed in [[United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York]] accusing Raniere and 14 associates (including [[Nancy Salzman]], [[Clare Bronfman]], [[Sara Bronfman]], Lauren Salzman, [[Allison Mack]], Kathy Russell, Karen Unterreiner, Brandon Porter, Danielle Roberts, and [[Nicki Clyne]]) of conducting illegal psychological experiments on members of the company and abusing them physically, emotionally and financially.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/29/us/nxivm-lawsuit-experiments-abuse/ |title= Nxivm leadership accused of illegal psychological experiments and systematic abuse in federal lawsuit| first1 =Giulia McDonnell Nieto | last1 = del Rio | first2 = Madeline | last2 = Holcombe | first3 = Rob | last3 = Frehse|date= January 30, 2020|publisher=CNN|access-date= February 21, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Docket for Edmondson v. Raniere, 1:20-cv-00485 - CourtListener.com |url=https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/16772334/edmondson-v-raniere/ |access-date=June 12, 2022 |website=CourtListener |language=en-us}}</ref>

==== Raniere and loyalists activities====
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. Though they initially claimed to be entertaining all of the detainees, they were seen with a sign addressed to "Kay Rose," a name sharing Raniere's initials.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 17, 2020 |title=Podcast: NXIVM members dance outside federal lockup for Keith Raniere |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Podcast-NXIVM-members-dance-outside-federal-15415507.php |access-date=June 12, 2022 |website=Times Union |language=en-US}}</ref> The group began calling itself "The Forgotten Ones" and "We Are As You." Former NXIVM member turned prosecution witness Mark Vicente dismissed the group as a "cover movement" to support Raniere.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Beeferman |first1=Jason |last2=Lapin |first2=Tamar |date=July 15, 2020 |title=Dancers outside Brooklyn jail are 'cover movement' for Nxivm sex cult |url=https://nypost.com/2020/07/15/dancers-outside-brooklyn-jail-are-cover-movement-for-nxivm-sex-cult/ |access-date=June 12, 2022 |website=New York Post |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=July 23, 2020 |title=Brooklyn Prison Dancers Linked to 'Sex Cult' NXIVM Start Social Justice Organization |url=https://bkreader.com/2020/07/23/nxivm-group-holds-nightly-dances-outside-of-brooklyn-prison-despite-its-controversial-ties/ |access-date=June 12, 2022 |website=BK Reader |language=en-US}}</ref>

While incarcerated, Raniere has maintained his leadership role over NXIVM, regularly communicating with his followers by phone and through [[TRULINCS]] email. A July 16, 2020, intelligence analysis memorandum from the [[Federal Bureau of Prisons]]' Counter Terrorism Unit states that Raniere instructed his follower Suneel Chakravorty to get more women to dance "erotically" outside of the MDC. In response, authorities at the MDC moved Raniere to another unit to keep the dancers out of his line of sight. A frustrated Raniere instructed his followers to help get him moved back by ingratiating themselves to prison staff, including offering coffee and donuts as they left their shifts.<ref name=":2">{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=Keith Raniere|defendant=Merrick Garland|title=Exhibit D, Response in Opposition re: 7 First Motion for Preliminary Injunction|doc-number=14|att-number=5|date=June 9, 2022|pacer-number=1295745|use-recap=yes|case-state=AZ|case-division=4|case-year=2022|case-type=cv|case-sequence=00212|access-date=June 12, 2022}}</ref>

Ahead of his sentencing, prosecutors submitted a number of Raniere's communications and disciplinary issues in prison as evidence of [[remorse]]lessness and that he continues to control his followers. The communications included Raniere instructing his followers to have [[Alan Dershowitz]], the attorney who successfully negotiated a [[non-prosecution agreement]] of the late [[Jeffrey Epstein]], speak on his behalf; Dershowitz did not comment on the matter.<ref name="dailybeast_watched2">{{cite news |last=Melendez |first=Pilar |date=August 28, 2020 |title=NXIVM Cult Leader's Jailhouse Call to Disciples: 'The Judge Needs to Know He's Being Watched' |newspaper=The Daily Beast |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-judge-needs-to-know-hes-being-watched-nxivm-leader-keith-raniere-says-in-jailhouse-call}}</ref> Prosecutors also submitted documentation that Raniere and his follower Chakravorty used a false name and "[[Prepaid mobile phone|burner phone]]" to evade detection, with Raniere instructing Chakravorty to "get scrutiny" on Judge [[Nicholas Garaufis]], explaining that "the judge needs to know he's being watched".<ref name="auto42">{{cite web |last=Gavin |first=Robert |date=August 28, 2020 |title=Raniere, facing possible life sentence, wants judge to know 'he's being watched' |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Raniere-facing-possible-life-sentence-wants-15521201.php |website=Times Union}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=United States of America|defendant=Keith Raniere|title=Government's Sentencing Memorandum as to Defendant Keith Raniere|doc-number=914|date=August 27, 2020|pacer-number=416187|use-recap=yes|case-state=NY|case-district=ED|case-division=1|case-year=2018|case-type=cr|case-sequence=00204|access-date=June 12, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=United States of America|defendant=Keith Raniere|title=Exhibit D, Sentencing Memorandum by USA as to Keith Raniere|doc-number=914|att-number=3|date=August 27, 2020|pacer-number=416187|use-recap=yes|case-state=NY|case-district=ED|case-division=1|case-year=2018|case-type=cr|case-sequence=00204|access-date=June 12, 2022}}</ref>

==== Sentencing and appeals for Raniere and Bronfman ====
On September 30, 2020, Judge [[Nicholas Garaufis|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. The sentence was more severe than those recommended by guidelines, with Garaufis stating that, "Raniere and his adherents appear to understand Ms. Bronfman’s continued loyalty—even after his trial and conviction, during which all the details of his sexual abuse and exploitation became known to the world."<ref>{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=United States of America|defendant=Keith Raniere|title=Sentencing Memorandum as to Clare Bronfman|doc-number=936|date=September 30, 2020|pacer-number=420062|use-recap=yes|case-state=NY|case-district=ED|case-division=1|case-year=2018|case-type=cr|case-sequence=00204|access-date=June 12, 2022}}</ref>

[[Ronald S. Sullivan Jr.]], attorney for Bronfman, called the sentence "an abomination."<ref name=":1" /> Sullivan filed notice of appeal on October 7, 2020. Bronfman only could appeal the sentence, as she forfeited the right to appeal her conviction as part of her plea.<ref>{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=United States of America|defendant=Keith Raniere|title=Notice of Appeal|doc-number=948|date=October 9, 2020|pacer-number=420062|use-recap=yes|case-state=NY|case-district=ED|case-division=1|case-year=2018|case-type=cr|case-sequence=00204|access-date=June 12, 2022}}</ref>

Bronfman initially served her sentence in [[Federal Detention Center, Philadelphia]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Gavin |first=Robert |date=July 13, 2021 |title=Seagrams heiress keeps paying as NXIVM's Keith Raniere adds big-name lawyers |url=https://www.timesunion.com/nxivm/article/Seagrams-heiress-keeps-paying-as-NXIVM-s-Keith-16311046.php |access-date=June 12, 2022 |website=Times Union |language=en-US}}</ref> She is presently imprisoned at [[Federal Correctional Institution, Danbury]].<ref name=inmateClare>{{Cite web |title=Search for "Clare Bronfman" |url=https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/ |access-date=June 12, 2022 |website=Inmate Locator}}</ref>

On October 27, 2020, federal judge Nicholas Garaufis sentenced Raniere to a prison term of 120 years in prison and fined him $1.75 million.<ref name=":02">{{Cite news |last1=Hong |first1=Nicole |last2=Piccoli |first2=Sean |date=October 27, 2020 |title=Keith Raniere, Leader of Nxivm Sex Cult, Is Sentenced to 120 Years in Prison |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/27/nyregion/keith-raniere-nxivm.html |access-date=October 27, 2020 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name = ":7"/> Attorneys for Keith Raniere gave notice of appeal of both his conviction and sentence on November 4, 2020.<ref>{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=United States of America|defendant=Keith Raniere|title=Notice of Appeal - Final Judgment|doc-number=972|date=November 4, 2020|pacer-number=416187|use-recap=yes|case-state=NY|case-district=ED|case-division=1|case-year=2018|case-type=cr|case-sequence=00204|access-date=June 12, 2022}}</ref>

In January 2021, Raniere was transferred from [[Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn]] to begin serving his 120-year sentence. The [[Federal Bureau of Prisons]] first transferred him temporarily to [[United States Penitentiary, Lewisburg]], a medium-security penitentiary, followed by a transfer to his permanent prison at [[United States Penitentiary, Tucson]]. The facility in [[Tucson, Arizona]], is noted as the sole facility in the [[Federal prison|federal prison system]] that is both specially designated for sex offenders and also at [[Incarceration in the United States#Security levels|maximum-security]] level.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 10, 2021 |title=Raniere in Quarantine in USP Lewisburg PA; Likely Headed for Sex Offender Prison in Tucson Next |url=https://frankreport.com/2021/01/10/raniere-in-quarantine-in-usp-lewisburg-pa-likely-headed-for-sex-offender-prison-in-tucson-next/ |access-date=June 12, 2022 |website=Frank Report |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Brean |first=Henry |title=Leader of New York sex cult transferred to federal prison in Tucson |url=https://tucson.com/news/local/leader-of-new-york-sex-cult-transferred-to-federal-prison-in-tucson/article_ea983276-d0b1-5c00-ae1d-f138866e1d11.html |access-date=June 12, 2022 |website=Arizona Daily Star |date=February 3, 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kozlowski |first=Kim |title=Larry Nassar now housed in Arizona prison |url=https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2018/02/09/larry-nassar-milan/110251634/ |access-date=June 12, 2022 |website=The Detroit News |language=en-US}}</ref>

In a hearing on restitution claims against Raniere, criminal defense attorney Marc Fernich represented Keith Raniere and stated that Bronfman had paid his fee.<ref name=":4" />

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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Oral Argument for United States v. Raniere (Bronfman) – CourtListener.com |url=https://www.courtlistener.com/audio/80967/united-states-v-raniere-bronfman/ |access-date=June 12, 2022 |website=CourtListener |language=en-us}}</ref> On December 9, 2022, the federal appeals court upheld the convictions and sentences for Keith Raniere and Clare Bronfman.<ref>{{Cite web |last=KLASFELD|first=ADAM|date=December 9, 2022|title=NXIVM 'Cult' Founder Keith Raniere Loses Appeal of 120-Year Sentence Following Sex Trafficking Convictions|url=https://lawandcrime.com/crime/nxivm-cult-founder-keith-raniere-loses-appeal-of-120-year-sentence-following-sex-trafficking-convictions/|work=Law & Crime}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Feuerherd|first= Ben|date=December 9, 2022|title=Appeals court upholds sentences for NXIVM sex cult leaders Keith Raniere, Clare Bronfman|url=https://nypost.com/2022/12/09/appeals-court-upholds-sentences-for-nxivm-sex-cult-leader-keith-raniere/|work=New York Post}}</ref>

==== ''Marc Elliot v. Lions Gate Entertainment'' libel case ====
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 he was libelled and defamed by the [[Starz]] network documentary ''[[Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gavin |first=Robert |date=October 20, 2021 |title=NXIVM loyalist files $12 million suit against Starz network |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/NXIVM-loyalist-files-12-million-suit-against-16546392.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020172434/https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/NXIVM-loyalist-files-12-million-suit-against-16546392.php |archive-date=October 20, 2021 |access-date=June 14, 2022 |website=Times Union |language=en-US}}</ref> Joseph Tully, the attorney who represented Elliot, also represented Raniere in his appeals.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gavin |first=Robert |date=November 11, 2021 |title=Former Epstein lawyer drops out of appeal for NXIVM leader Raniere |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Former-Epstein-lawyer-Fernich-drops-out-of-appeal-16612655.php |access-date=June 14, 2022 |website=Times Union |language=en-US}}</ref> The court dismissed the lawsuit and ordered Elliot to pay Lions Gate Entertainment's attorneys' fees and costs, finding that the documentary "impl[ied] that Plaintiff was a devoted member of an organization whose leader has been implicated in a range of serious sexual crimes, but this assertion – however unflattering – is substantially true."<ref>{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=Marc Elliot|defendant=Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation|title=Order Granting Defendants' Motion to Strike Pursuant to C.C.P. § 425.16|doc-number=49|date=November 8, 2022|pacer-number=834220|use-recap=yes|case-state=CA|case-district=CD|case-division=2|case-year=2021|case-type=cv|case-sequence=08206|access-date=November 12, 2022}}</ref>

==== ''Raniere v. Garland'' prison case ====
In May 2022, Keith Raniere sued the U.S. Department of Justice and Bureau of Prisons, alleging violation of his civil rights. Raniere sought an injunction allowing visitation and phone calls from follower Suneel Chakravorty, who he claims is a [[paralegal]] working on his appeals.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gavin |first=Robert |date=2022-05-17 |title=NXIVM leader Raniere suing Arizona federal prison |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/NXIVM-leader-Raniere-suing-Arizona-federal-prison-17178449.php |access-date=2022-06-15 |website=Times Union |language=en-US}}</ref> The Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons and authorities at USP Tucson argued the injunction should be denied because Chakravorty was not a paralegal but merely "an ardent former ESP and NXIVM coach with whom [Raniere] is banned from associating."<ref>{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=Keith Raniere|defendant=Merrick Garland|title=DEFENDANTS' RESPONSE TO MOTION FOR PRELIMARY INJUNCTION|doc-number=14|att-number=0|date=2022-06-09|pacer-number=1295745|use-recap=yes|case-state=AZ|case-division=4|case-year=2022|case-type=cv|case-sequence=00212|access-date=2022-06-12}}</ref>

Judge [[Raner Collins]] granted the Department of Justice's motion to dismiss the suit on grounds that Raniere failed to exhaust administrative remedies (in line with the [[Prison Litigation Reform Act]]), and his lawyer's insufficient service of process.<ref>{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=Keith Raniere|defendant=Merrick Garland|title=Order on Motion for Summary Judgment and Order on Motion to Dismiss|doc-number=52|date=2022-12-05|pacer-number=1295745|case-state=AZ|case-district=D|case-division=4|case-year=2022|case-type=cv|case-sequence=00212|access-date=2022-12-02}}</ref>