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.
By Amy Zimmerman, The Daily Beast
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.
On Tuesday, Clare Bronfman was taken into custody in New York City. A superseding indictment
charged Bronfman alongside several other top NXIVM members: Kathy
Russell, Lauren Salzman and Nancy Salzman. The six defendants stand
accused of running an organized criminal enterprise. Crimes alleged
within the indictment include identity theft, harboring of aliens for
financial gain, extortion, forced labor, sex trafficking, money
laundering, wire fraud and obstruction of justice. It describes Bronfman
as “a member of the Enterprise and a high-ranking member of Nxivm” who
served as an executive board member from approximately 2009 to 2018.
The
indictment describes the “principal purpose” of the Enterprise as
obtaining financial and personal benefits for the members “by promoting
the defendant Keith Raniere, also known as ‘Vanguard,’ and by recruiting
new members into the Pyramid Organizations.”
It further accuses
the defendants of “promoting, enhancing, and protecting the Enterprise
by committing, attempting and conspiring to commit crimes…demanding
absolute commitment to Raniere, including by exalting Raniere’s
teachings and ideology, and not tolerating dissent,” as well as
“recruiting and grooming sexual partners for Raniere” and “using
harassment, coercion and abusive litigation to intimidate and attack
perceived enemies and critics of Raniere.”
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.”
Legal documents submitted on the subject of Mack’s bail further allege,
“DOS masters, including defendant, groomed DOS slaves for sex with
Raniere by requiring DOS slaves to adhere to extremely restrictive diets
and not remove their pubic hair (in accordance with Raniere’s sexual
preferences) and by requiring them to remain celibate and not to
masturbate. DOS masters, including the defendant, who directed their
slaves to have sex with Raniere, received financial benefits in the form
of continued status and participation in DOS, as well as financial
opportunities from Raniere.”
But while Raniere and Mack are
currently facing sentences of 15 years to life if convicted, the
still-emerging details of their case appear to implicate other core
NXIVM members. A May court filing
repeatedly refers to an “heiress” who fled the country with Raniere—“a
member of Nxivm’s Executive Board” who the documents accuse of
orchestrating a series of cease-and-desist letters to reveal DOS
victims. As recently as late May, Bronfman was still listed as an “executive board member” on the Executive Success Programs website. “Additionally,” the filing continues,
“the Heiress has made multiple attempts to have criminal charges
brought against a former DOS slave who has discussed her experience in
the media.”
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.”
In
a late-afternoon arraignment on Tuesday at the Brooklyn Federal
Courthouse, Bronfman entered the room in a T-shirt and flip-flops. She
proceeded to speak only rarely during a lively discussion between the
prosecution, defense, and U.S. District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis over
Bronfman’s various assets and the conditions of her release. Having
confirmed that she had reviewed the indictment with her client,
Bronfman’s lawyer Susan Necheles entered a plea of not guilty.
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.
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.”
“Even wealthy people are entitled to
get bail,” Necheles proclaimed, arguing that her client shouldn’t be
denied release just because she’s a multi-millionaire.
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.”
While
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.
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