On Tuesday, Clare Bronfman, heiress to the Seagram’s liquor fortune, came before a judge in Brooklyn. She’s facing multiple charges related to her involvement in NXIVM.

BROOKLYN, New York
The other shoe has finally dropped for Clare Bronfman, the heiress behind the alleged cult leader. Bronfman, who’s an heiress to the Seagram’s liquor fortune, was long ago outed as a major bankroller of Keith Raniere, the empowerment guru turned master manipulator who’s been charged with sex trafficking conspiracy, sex trafficking, and conspiracy to commit forced labor.
Months ago, Raniere and his second-in-command, Smallville actress Allison Mack, were arrested for their respective roles in DOS, an offshoot of Executive Success Programs (aka NXIVM). The secret sorority, which was billed as an exclusive opportunity for female acolytes, operated on a system of “slaves” and “masters.” According to court documents, masters recruited slaves and initiated them, in part, by demanding collateral—“naked photographs, assets, criminal confessions, and other damaging information.”
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Bronfman’s role as alleged cult benefactress—lending her wealth and
influence to NXIVM, and even covering Raniere’s personal debts—has been
well documented for years. In 2010, Vanity Fair
published an eye-opening piece entitled “The Heiresses and the Cult,”
which detailed Bronfman and her sister Sara’s journey from aimless
heiresses to dedicated and powerful acolytes. The article
raised questions about NXIVM’s tactics and true nature: “What seems
clear, from court documents and interviews with ex–nxivm members—and
those who have come into conflict with the group and its mysterious
guru—is that Sara and Clare Bronfman could be in serious trouble.”The indictment specifically names Bronfman in counts of racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to commit identity theft, encouraging and inducing illegal entry, and money laundering.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Moira Penza summarized the government’s position—namely, that the defendant presented a significant flight risk as well as risk of obstruction. In court documents detailing the government’s stance with respect to bail, the prosecution claimed that, “evidence obtained during the investigation has demonstrated that Bronfman went to significant lengths to compile information and threaten litigation against those she considered to be an enemy or critic of Raniere.” Penza proposed home detention and a substantial bond; Necheles pushed back against the flight risk argument, insisting that Bronfman’s legal team had been in constant contact with the prosecution and that Bronfman, having been made aware that she was a target in the case, moved from Albany to New York City in order to be available for future proceedings.
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The defense emphasized that the charges against
Bronfman did not include violent crimes—“there is no sex trafficking, no
forced labor charged against the defendant.” Necheles continued, “there
are no allegations that Clare Bronfman had anything to do with DOS.”
The indictment specifically names Bronfman in counts of racketeering
conspiracy, conspiracy to commit identity theft, encouraging and
inducing illegal entry, and money laundering. According to the
prosecution, “Bronfman encouraged and induced the illegal entry of an
alien for Bronfman’s financial gain” and “engaged in the monthly
practice of facilitating Raniere’s use of a dead person’s credit card
account,” among other allegations. Necheles categorized the charges as
“not the kind of charges which would normally call for a large bail
package or home detention.”
A large portion of the proceedings was dedicated to dissecting
Bronfman’s assets. Her wealth includes two trusts in her name that hold
approximately $100 million in assets, as well as roughly $98 million
outside of trusts—a total of approximately $200 million. Judge Garaufis
expressed concern over the defendant’s ability to flee to a country
where she could not be extradited, remarking, “You don’t need a passport
to get on a plane at Teterboro.” The defense’s rebuttal, that Clare
Bronfman does not personally own a plane, did not appear to convince the
judge; neither did the defense’s invocation of the relatively short
maximum sentence—five years—that Bronfman would face if convicted. Judge
Garaufis countered that a wealthy person “might find a five-year
sentence to be a substantial incentive to flee.”
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© Provided by The Daily Beast Allison Mack, top lieutenant of the sex cult NXIVM |
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Necheles proceeded to point to the bails that had been set earlier that
day for Bronfman’s co-defendants—$25,000 and $5 million,
respectively—Judge Garaufis stated that the defendant’s significant
wealth put her in “a different category.” The defense’s initial proposal
of a $25 million bond, secured by various properties as well as $2
million in cash, co-signed by Bronfman’s sister and brother-in-law, was
deemed “woefully insufficient” by the prosecution. Penza questioned the
accuracy of the list of Bronfman’s assets that had been provided, which
detailed over $70 million in real estate assets, including a $47 million
Fiji property, saying that, “the government is asking for more
information.” Penza also accused the defense’s statements of
“minimizing” Bronfman’s conduct and “her role in operating this
enterprise.”
The back and forth continued, with Necheles
insisting that “a twenty-five million bail bond fully secured” is
“enormous” for a possible five-year sentence.
Judge Garaufis
explained that he had no desire to keep the defendant in jail, but
expressed that he would “much rather have the assets of the trust” made
available to secure the bond. The defense explained that the trustees,
Goldman Sachs, did not want to “deal” with this, saying at one point
that “Goldman Sachs will not assist a fugitive.”
Ultimately,
Judge Garaufis outlined the terms of Bronfman’s release to home
detention: a $100 million bond, secured by $50 million in assets, and
two sureties not affiliated with NXIVM. He proposed a Friday meeting at
which the sureties would be present and the assets detailed and made
available, adding, “some of it has to be in cash.” Until Friday,
Bronfman will be released to house arrest and electronic monitoring, and
is to have no contact with current or former NXIVM members. When the
defense attempted to argue that that would include some of her closest
friends, Judge Garaufis offered, “let her watch Netflix between now and
Friday.”
Clare Bronfman then approached to sign the significant
bond. Tomorrow, she will be back in court for a status conference on the
case, appearing alongside a growing list of co-defendants.
See more at: The Daily Beast
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