what is nxivm group?

NXIVM (/ˈnɛksiəm/ NEK-see-əm) is the name commonly used to describe the personality cult of imprisoned racketeer and sex offender Keith Raniere. 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.

An investigative journalist from the Times Union of Albany first exposed the mysterious group known as “NXIVM” in a series of features in 2012 questioning its sex practices. However, authorities didn’t make any arrests until a 2017 exposé in The New York Times brought to light how members were allegedly enslaved, branded, and subjected to harsh corporal punishment.

Detailed information about the inner workings of NXIVM have continued to be revealed over the course of several years as federal prosecutors pursue cases against its highest-ranking members, including Keith Raniere.

One of the NXIVM’s most faithful former members, India Oxenberg, executive produced a series on Starz recounting the seven years she spent in NXIVM. In an exclusive interview with ELLE.com, found here, Oxenberg revealed that she was branded with Raniere’s initials, which she later had covered up with a tattoo. Other wild allegations against NXIVM are detailed in HBO’s docuseries The Vow and The Vow, Part Two. New episodes in Part Two focus on the trial and sentencing of NXIVM ring leader Keith Raniere.

In March 2018, Raniere—described by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanya Hajjar as a “crime boss” who used “shame and humiliation as ways to bring people down”—was arrested and charged with sex trafficking after a standoff with Mexican federal agents in Puerto Vallarta. In June 2019, he was found guilty of federal sex trafficking, extortion, obstruction, and racketeering charges. More than a year after the conviction, Raniere was sentenced to life in prison following a bizarre interview on NBC’s Dateline in which he maintained his claim of innocence. At the time, the judge also ordered him to pay a $1.75 million fine. He was reportedly later ordered to pay a total of $3.46 million to 21 victims. Raniere still faces a civil suit filed by NXIVM survivors, and is currently appealing his sentence.

HBO’s The Vow, Part Two also offers new information about Raniere’s supporters and enablers, including an heiress to the Seagram liquor fortune, Hollywood actress Allison Mack, and a former psychiatric nurse, who were also charged in connection to NXIVM.

Clare Bronfman, the Seagram’s heiress who was accused of recruiting individuals into NXIVM-affiliated groups and seeking visas for them based on false representations, was sentenced to 81 months in prison earlier this month for conspiracy to conceal and harbor aliens for financial gain and fraudulent use of personal identification information, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The court also imposed a fine of $500,000 and restitution to be paid to a victim in the amount of $96,605.

Prosecutors claim NXIVM was an illegal pyramid scheme, which Raniere used to recruit women and force them to have sex with him. At his trial in May 2019, jurors heard a seemingly endless slew of lurid testimony, including detailed descriptions of how he had sex with underaged girls and forced three women he impregnated to get abortions. It took just five hours of deliberation to find him guilty of sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy, racketeering, and conspiracy to commit forced labor.

Here are all of the harrowing, and at times disturbing, allegations that have emerged about NXIVM’s sinister sex practices.

According to court filings obtained by CBS, Raniere, who went by the codename “Vanguard,” created a sorority within NXIVM called “DOS,” an acronym for a Latin phrase meaning “Lord/Master of the Obedient Female Companions.” The DOS had female “slaves” owned by “masters,” according to the filings. Smallville actress Allison Mack was allegedly second in command of the group, following Raniere.

Intimate details about DOS surfaced in a 2018 New York Times Magazine article. As a process of initiation, female members were allegedly branded near their pelvic bone with Raniere and Mack’s initials. Surgical masks were reportedly distributed to help with the scent of burning flesh.

According to the piece, an estimated 150 women joined DOS. During Raniere’s trial, his lawyers called the DOS “strong medicine” that was not for everyone, according to The New York Times, but that it was helpful to certain people.

On April 8, 2019, Mack pleaded guilty to racketeering and racketeering conspiracy charges related to NXIVM. As part of her guilty plea, she admitted to state law extortion and forced labor. In a statement, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York Richard P. Donoghue said Mack recruited for NXIVM. “Ms. Mack was one of the top members of a highly organized scheme which was designed to provide sex to ,” assistant US attorney Moira Penza said in court, according to The Guardian. “Under the guise of female empowerment, she starved women until they fit her co-defendant’s sexual feminine ideal.”

Mack was sentenced to 3 years in prison in 2021, and is required to have several years of supervised release after serving her term and has to pay a $20,000 fine for her participation in NXIVM. According to CNN, Mack apologized to people she hurt in a letter that was submitted as part of the sentencing memorandum. “I am sorry to those of you that I brought into Nxivm,” Mack reportedly wrote. “I am sorry I ever exposed you to the nefarious and emotionally abusive schemes of a twisted man.”

A 29-year-old NXIVM member identified only as “Jay” during testimony at Federal District Court in Brooklyn at Raniere’s trial, said she joined the organization under the guise that it was a women’s empowerment group. According to Buzzfeed, Jay said Mack told her that she needed to seduce and have sex with Raniere to, “help you get rid of all your sexual abuse trauma.” Then, she was to let him to take a nude photo of her.

Jay, who said she was sexually abused by her uncle when she was 12 years old, was upset that Mack tried to use her trauma against her. “Internally, I was just like, You fucking bitch,” she testified, according to Buzzfeed. Then, she realized she “needed to get the fuck out of there.”

Raniere faced various charges related to his involvement with NXIVM, including conspiracy involving acts of child sexual exploitation and possession of child pornography. Federal prosecutors claimed to have evidence that Raniere engaged in a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl who went on to become his first slave. She allegedly sent images to him, “constituting child pornography.” In 2020, Raniere was found guilty on all charges, including racketeering, sexual exploitation of a child, possession of child pornography, identity theft, sex trafficking, forced labor, and wire fraud.

His lawyers tried to have the evidence barred from the trial, but a judge ruled that, “the images are ‘evidence regarding the formation and structure of DOS,’ which makes them evidence of Subject Offenses (sex trafficking, forced labor, and extortion) occurring in 2015 or later,” according to The New York Post. According to the Albany Times Union, jurors at Raniere’s trial were shown sexually explicit images of the 15-year-old girl he allegedly had a relationship with.

According to NXIVM senior member Lauren Salzman, at the start of NXIVM meetings, the women described as “slaves” offered a tribute to Raniere. During her testimony at Raniere’s trial, she reportedly said they stripped naked and sat on the floor in front of him, while he spoke to them about philosophy. If he couldn’t make a meeting, they took a group photo and sent it to him. According to The New York Times, Raniere’s lawyers argued that people who claim they were coerced by NXIVM were actually making “adult choices.”

“I knowingly and intentionally harbored Jane Doe 4, a woman whose identity is known to me, in a room in the home in the Northern District of New York,” Lauren Salzman told a judge, according to court transcripts obtained by The New York Post. The woman was reportedly kept in the home from March 2010 until April 2012 and Salzman threatened to deport her back to Mexico if “she did not complete labor requested by and others,” the outlet reports. On April 2, 2019, she pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy. The woman, identified only as “Daniela,” testified in the trial against Raniere that he groomed her while she was still underage, and they had sex shortly after her 18th birthday. Daniela claims Raniere also had sex with both of her sisters, according to CNN. All three sisters reportedly got pregnant at separate times, and had abortions at the suggestion of Raniere. When Daniela told Raniere that she was interested in another man, he “assigned” Salzman to help her “learn from her mistakes,” in solitary confinement, Salzman testified, according to The Daily Beast.

“Of all the things that I did in this case and all the crimes that I admitted to, this was the worst thing I did,” she reportedly said. “What can I say? I kept her in a room for two years and I didn’t go visit her. And when I did, I wasn’t even kind.”

Nancy Salzman was NXIVM’s co-founder and the first person in connection to the group to plead guilty. She confessed to a single charge of racketeering conspiracy, and admitted to hacking the emails of members suspected to be moles. The former psychiatric nurse was known as “Prefect” in the group. She also confessed to “having others destroy video tapes” memorializing Raniere’s teachings. “I want you to know I am pleading guilty because I am, in fact, guilty,” she said at court. “I accept that some of the things I did were not just wrong, but sometimes criminal.” More information on Nancy and her involvement with NXIVM can be found in this ELLE article.

Seagram heiress Clare Bronfman, a loyal NXIVM follower since the early 2000s, used her wealth to bankroll the group’s activities and acted as its legal enforcer. In April 2019, she pleaded guilty to conspiring to conceal and harbor an undocumented immigrant for financial gain, and fraudulent use of identification, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Prosecutors said Bronfman recruited a woman from Mexico to work for a fitness NXIVM-affiliated company, submitting documents purporting to hire her as a management consultant with a salary of $3,600 per month in order to secure a work visa for her. In reality, Bronfman paid the woman $4,000 over the course of more than a year. In response to the woman's request to be paid a living wage, prosecutors say Bronfman told the woman that she would have to “earn” her visa by doing additional uncompensated work.

Bronfman admitted to the crimes, and, per her plea agreement, forfeited $6 million. The plea meant she avoided having to go to trial with Raniere. “I am truly remorseful,” she reportedly said. “I endeavored to do good in the world and help people. However, I have made mistakes.” Prosecutors also say she used the credit card of a dead woman to keep money and assets out of Raniere’s name to evade paying income tax and his creditors or their judgments against him.

“Defendant Bronfman twisted our immigration system to serve a reprehensible agenda, and engaged in flagrant fraud to the detriment of her victims and in the service of a corrupt endeavor,” Seth D. DuCharme, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement. “With today’s sentence, she has been held accountable for her crimes.”

In a letter filed to the court before Mack was sentenced, she apologised for exposing her victims to the “nefarious and emotionally abusive schemes of a twisted man” in what was the “biggest mistake and regret of my life”.

Raniere, now 60, was born in Brooklyn and attended the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. A former multivitamin salesman, he founded his Nxivm self-help group and multi-level marketing organisation in 1998.

In October 2003, Forbes ran a cover story on Raniere that was headlined: “The world’s strangest executive coach.” The magazine described how his devoted followers described Raniere as a “soft-spoken, humble genius” whose empowering programme could cure ailments including diabetes and scoliosis.

But his detractors “say he runs a cult-like programme aimed at breaking down his subjects psychologically, separating them from their families and inducting them into a bizarre world of messianic pretensions, idiosyncratic language and ritualistic practices”, Forbes reported.

By 2017, following years of growing controversy, former members had asked New York State authorities to investigate Raniere, who fled to Mexico before being arrested and sent back to the US in March 2018. Two years later, he was sentenced to 120 years in prison and also fined $1.75m (£1.25m) after being convicted of charges including racketeering, forced labour, sex trafficking and child abuse images.

An estimated 16,000 people enrolled in courses offered by Nxivm, but few were aware that the organisation concealed “an internal, cult-like sub-group dedicated to serving the carnal - and now criminal - demands of its founder”, The Guardian reported during Raniere’s trial.

His self-improvement workshops were popular in “Hollywood and business circles”, says The New York Times, but prosecutors revealed that behind the scenes, he was a “puppet master” controlling a “criminal enterprise”. The jury heard how some women were sexually abused and even branded with his initials during bizarre ceremonies, while others were forced to have abortions after being made pregnant by him.

Raniere exerted power over women by demanding that they give him a folder of compromising material - often sexually explicit photographs or detailed written accounts of their sexual fantasies. Victims were then coerced into doing Raniere’s bidding through threats to make this material public.

Following his conviction by a jury in 2019, district attorney Richard Donoghue said that Raniere had “ruined marriages, fortunes, careers and lives”. The housing development where group members lived with the “modern-day Svengali” was like the set of a “horror movie”, Donoghue added.

• Allison Mack. Mack was known to be Raniere's second-in-command.
• Kristin Kreuk.
• Sarah Edmondson.
• Nicki Clyne.
• Catherine Oxenberg.
• Grace Park.

NXIVM (/ˈnɛksiəm/ NEK-see-əm) is the name commonly used to describe the personality cult of imprisoned racketeer and sex offender Keith Raniere. 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. The United States seized ownership of NXIVM related entities and their intellectual property through asset forfeiture following Raniere's conviction.

The NXIVM Corporation was based in the New York Capital District and had centers throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. 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". Courses attracted a variety of notable students including actors as well as the children of the rich and powerful. At its height, NXIVM had 700 active members.

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". 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. 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.

Following 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. The U.S. 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. 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. All defendants except for Raniere pled guilty.

Raniere chose to go to trial in 2019. 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. Raniere was convicted on the top charge of racketeering and racketeering conspiracy as well as several other charges. Judge Nicholas Garaufis sentenced Raniere to 120 years imprisonment. Co-conspirators Clare Bronfman, Nancy Salzman, and Allison Mack were given lesser prison sentences. Lauren Salzman and Kathy Russell were each given non-prison sentences.

Following Raniere's conviction, he continues to direct a small set of loyal members from his prison cell, encouraging continued recruitment. At his direction, members of the group danced outside Raniere's jail and staged protests against individual prosecutors. Based on statements of support, it was estimated that about 50 to 60 persons remain loyal to Raniere.

Before founding NXIVM, Raniere created Consumers Buyline, a business venture that the 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".

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. Raniere claimed that its "main emphasis is to have people experience more joy in their lives". 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. 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'".

During NXIVM seminars, students would call Raniere and Salzman "Vanguard" and "Prefect", respectively. The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Raniere adopted the title from the 1981 video game Vanguard, "in which the destruction of one's enemies increased one's own power". Within the organization, the reasoning for the titles was that Raniere was the leader of a philosophical movement and Salzman was his first student.

By 2003, 3,700 people had taken part in ESP classes. Reported participants included businesswoman Sheila Johnson, former Surgeon General Antonia Novello, Enron executive Stephen Cooper, Ana Cristina Fox (daughter of former Mexican president Vicente Fox), entrepreneur Richard Branson (who denied having taken the classes), businessman Edgar Bronfman Sr., and actresses Linda Evans, Grace Park, and Nicki Clyne. In the early 2000s, Seagram heiresses Clare and Sara Bronfman, daughters of Edgar Bronfman Sr., became attached to the organization.

NXIVM claimed its training is a trade secret, subject to non-disclosure agreements, but reportedly uses a technique the organization calls "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. Ross posted a psychiatrist's assessment of NXIVM's "secret" manual on his website that called the regimen "expensive brainwashing".

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. On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal, ruling that the defendant's critical analysis of material obtained in bad faith (i.e. in violation of a non-disclosure agreement) was fair use since the secondary use was transformative as criticism and was not a potential replacement for the original on the market.

In October 2003, Forbes published a critical article on NXIVM and Raniere. According to 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. In 2006, Forbes published an article about the Bronfman sisters, stating that they had taken out a line of credit to loan NXIVM $2 million, repayable through personal training sessions and phone consultations with Salzman. Another Forbes article in 2010 discussed the failures of commodities and real estate deals by the Bronfmans made on Raniere's advice.

After actress Kristin Kreuk became involved with NXIVM in 2006, Salzman and her daughter Lauren, a junior NXIVM leader, went to Vancouver to recruit Kreuk's Smallville co-star Allison Mack. Lauren bonded with Mack (the two women eventually became Raniere's inner circle and his sexual partners). Kreuk, however, left NXIVM in 2013. 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.

In 2008, the Bronfman sisters allegedly pressured Stephen Herbits, a confidant of their father, to ask Albany County District Attorney David Soares, New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, and 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 publisher George Randolph Hearst III in a box in the basement of Nancy Salzman's home. 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."

The World Ethical Foundations Consortium, an organization co-founded by Raniere and the Bronfman sisters, sponsored a visit to Albany by the Dalai Lama in 2009. The visit was initially canceled by the Dalai Lama owing to negative press about NXIVM, but was rescheduled; the Dalai Lama spoke at Albany's Palace Theatre in May 2009. 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.

NXIVM has been described as a pyramid scheme, a sex-trafficking operation, a cult, and a sex cult. In a 2010 Times Union article, former NXIVM coaches characterized students as "prey" for Raniere's sexual or gambling-related proclivities. Kristin Keeffe, a longtime partner of Raniere and mother of his child, left the group in 2014 and called Raniere "dangerous", saying, "ll the worst things you know about NXIVM are true."

In 2014, Raniere founded the NXIVM-affiliated news organization The Knife of Aristotle, later known as The Knife and The Knife Media. The Knife of Aristotle was subsequently described as a fake news website and a cult. The organization also reportedly hired journalists in an attempt to gain media support and solicit new members to NXIVM, as well as fabricating staff members.

Starting with reports by Frank Parlato in June 2017 and bolstered by an October 2017 article in The New York Times, details began to emerge about "DOS", a secret society of women that started in 2015 within NXIVM in which female members were allegedly called slaves, 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". Law enforcement representatives have alleged that DOS members were forced into sexual slavery.

Sarah Edmondson, a Canadian actress who had been an ESP participant since 2005, said that she left NXIVM after Mack inducted her into DOS the previous March at her Albany home. 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. 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 victims—for example, collateralizing small amounts of money that one might forfeit if one did not go to the gym one day. The New York Times later reported that hundreds of members left NXIVM after Edmondson went public about her experience.

On December 15, 2017, the ABC newsmagazine 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. Edmondson further appeared in "Escaping NXIVM", during the first season of the CBC podcast Uncover.

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, Camila, and Mónica Durán, have been accused of involvement.

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. He was arrested in Mexico and held in custody in New York after appearing in federal court in Fort Worth, Texas. 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. 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".

On April 20, 2018, Mack was arrested and indicted on similar charges to Raniere's. According to prosecutors, after she recruited women into first NXIVM and then DOS, Mack coerced them into engaging in sexual activity with Raniere and performing menial tasks, for which Raniere allegedly paid her. Mack was further alleged to be DOS's second-in-command after Raniere. On April 24, Mack was released on $5 million bond pending trial and held under house arrest with her parents in California. On May 4, Raniere pleaded not guilty.

Salzman's home was raided shortly after Raniere's arrest, and prosecutors stated during his arraignment that further arrests and a superseding indictment for Raniere and Mack should be expected. In late May, authorities moved to seize two NXIVM-owned properties near Albany.

In April 2018, the New York Post reported that NXIVM had moved to Brooklyn, New York, and was being led by Clare Bronfman. On June 12, 2018, the Times Union reported that NXIVM had suspended its operations owing to "extraordinary circumstances facing the company". 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.

On March 13, 2019, Nancy Salzman pleaded guilty to a charge of racketeering criminal conspiracy. 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.

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.

Later in March 2019, Lauren Salzman pleaded guilty to racketeering and racketeering conspiracy; she later testified against Raniere and received leniency.

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."

On April 19, 2019, Bronfman pleaded guilty to charges of harboring an alien and identity fraud; bookkeeper Kathy Russell pleaded guilty to visa fraud.

The federal trial of Keith Raniere began on May 7, 2019. On June 19, 2019, the jury convicted him of all counts.

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.

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. Attorneys for Raniere submitted letters from 56 supporters requesting leniency for Raniere.

In January 2020, Sarah Edmondson became lead plaintiff in a 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.

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. 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" for support of Raniere.

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.

Ahead of his sentencing, prosecutors submitted a number of Raniere's communications and disciplinary issues in prison as evidence of remorselessness 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. Prosecutors also submitted documentation that Raniere and his follower Chakravorty used a false name and "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".

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. The sentence was more severe than 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."

Ronald S. Sullivan Jr., attorney for Bronfman, called the sentence "an abomination." Sullivan filed notice of appeal on October 7, 2020. Bronfman may only appeal the sentence, as she has forfeited the right to appeal her conviction as part of her plea.

Bronfman initially served her sentence in Federal Detention Center, Philadelphia. She is presently imprisoned at Federal Correctional Institution, Danbury.

On October 27, 2020, federal judge Nicholas Garaufis sentenced Raniere to a prison term of 120 years (effectively a life sentence) in prison and fined him $1.75 million. Attorneys for Keith Raniere gave notice of appeal of both his conviction and sentence on November 4, 2020.

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 system that is both specially-designated for sex offenders and also at maximum-security level.

In a hearing on restitution claims against Raniere, criminal defense attorney Marc Fernich represented Keith Raniere and stated that Bronfman had paid his fee.

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. On December 9, 2022, the federal appeals court upheld the convictions and sentences for Keith Raniere and Clare Bronfman.

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. Joseph Tully, the attorney who represented Elliot, also represented Raniere in his appeals. The court dismissed the lawsuit and ordered the Plaintiff to pay Lions Gate Entertainment's attorneys' fees and costs, find that the documentary did "imply 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."

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. Raniere sought an injunction allowing visitation and phone calls from follower Suneel Chakravorty, who he claims is a paralegal working on his appeals. The Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons and authorities at USP Tucson moved to deny the injunction, on grounds that Chakravorty is not a paralegal but merely "an ardent former ESP and NXIVM coach with whom is banned from associating."

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.

NXIVM has been described as a cult and Raniere a cult leader by anti-cult activists such as Rick Alan Ross and Steven Hassan, as well as the billionaire businessman Edgar Bronfman Sr. Stephen A. Kent, a sociologist who studies new religious movements, in an article that compares NXIVM with Scientology, noted that NXIVM operated mainly as a business and never incorporated as a religious organization. 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. You're not expected to worship the living being in front of you or the writings of some living being." Characteristics associated with cults include: the group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader, and its members (e.g. the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar—or the group and the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).

Over the decades, NXIVM emphasized Raniere's specialness through hagiography. A complaint from a 2020 lawsuit by former members of NXIVM recapitulated several fantastical claims made in marketing materials about Raniere. These claims, the complaint states, were all false.

Every August, NXIVM members would gather in Silver Bay, New York, to celebrate Raniere's birthday, known as "Vanguard Week", which began as a single day and eventually expanded to 11 days. The event included "tribute ceremonies" to Raniere by NXIVM members.

As established by prosecutors, according to several sources, including former high-ranking members of NXIVM, Raniere's word is final within NXIVM, and nothing of import happens within NXIVM without Raniere's approval. NXIVM students are taught that Raniere is the smartest and most ethical man in the world. Raniere frequently cited having earned three degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. A review of his transcript shows that he graduated with a 2.26 GPA, having failed or barely passed many of the upper-level math and science classes he bragged about taking.

Well before co-founding NXIVM, Keith Raniere made fantastical claims about his intelligence. 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. Although the MEGA test has been widely criticized as not having been properly validated, the 1989 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records (the last to include a category for highest IQ) described the Hoeflin Research Group as "the most exclusive ultrahigh IQ society", and the 1989 Australian edition identified Raniere, Marilyn vos Savant, and Eric Hart as the highest-scoring members of the group.

The 2003 Forbes exposé 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." By the time of a 2012 Times Union article, these claims had extended to Raniere convincing some in NXIVM that "his intellectual energy sets off radar detectors."

At Raniere's trial, testimony revealed that Raniere had convinced several girls and women that sex with him could heal their purported "disintegrations," and that his semen had supernatural qualities. Raniere instructed one sexual partner to seek out a virgin because he needed a "pure vessel" for reasons "energy-related and DNA-wise."

In a 2003 mission statement on the NXIVM website:

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.

The oldest program of NXIVM, Executive Success Programs, had students recite a "Twelve-point Mission Statement", pledging to "purge" themselves "of all parasite and envy-based habits", to enroll others, and to "ethically control as much of the money, wealth and resources of the world as possible within my success plan." The Mission Statement also labeled students who shared Executive Success Programs materials as "breaking a promise and breaching my contract", and compromising "inner honesty and integrity."

The doctrine of the NXIVM organization, "Rational Inquiry method", was treated as Raniere's scientific invention by and submitted to multiple patent offices.

NXIVM taught that some people, called "Suppressives", try to impede progress within NXIVM. People who irrevocably turned against Raniere were said to have undergone "The Fall" and were labeled, in the words of a former member, as "Luciferians, lost people for whom bad feels good, and good feels bad." Some members of NXIVM's inner circle were reportedly taught that, in past lives, they were high-ranking Nazis.

NXIVM conducted "Intensives," classes conducted for 12 hours daily for 16 days. One cited price was $7,500. Classes were divided into modules. In one module, "Relationship Sourcing", students were instructed to explore the benefits they would receive in the event of a partner's sudden death. Another module, "Dracula and his ghouls", reportedly discussed psychopaths and their followers. Other module titles included "Best People; Perfect World" and "The Heroic Struggle".

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. A third group was known by the acronym DOS, short for "Dominus Obsequious Sororium", which, according to one member, means "master over slave women". In 2006, Raniere founded Rainbow Cultural Garden, an international chain of childcare organizations in which children were to be exposed to seven different languages.

Classes by NXIVM had a number of idiosyncratic practices, described within the Rational Inquiry patent as "rules and rituals" and third-party sources as including:

A 2018 documentary film directed by Alessandro Molatore showcases a purported study of the use of NXIVM's exploration of meaning technique to treat Tourette syndrome. The film is executive produced by Clare Bronfman. 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.

In the sentencing of Clare Bronfman, prosecutors from the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York wrote, "the participants in this 'study' have expressed significant distress at their involvement" and offered one victim impact statement from a Tourette's study's participant said that the study "did nothing for me except ruin my self-esteem, ruin my mental health, and made me hate myself. It did not cure my Tourette’s in any way."

The purported treatment for Tourette syndrome was noted by one reporter as not having been tested in a scientific peer-reviewed setting. Another reporter reached out to NXIVM member Marc Elliot, who promotes both the purported treatment and film, and did not receive a reply. Dr. Alan Jern, Associate Professor of Psychology at Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology, wrote in Psychology Today that "espite NXIVM’s obsession with being taken seriously by influential people and mainstream institutions, their penchant for secrecy and refusal to follow the norms of science means that their research was scientifically pretty worthless."

Another purported study Porter conducted within the NXIVM community was described as watching disturbing footage, including video of people being murdered, while their brainwaves, physiological activity, facial and auditory responses and was recorded through electroencephalography, galvanic skin response. and video recording.

The purported study is similar to a patent Raniere filed, "Determination of whether a luciferian can be rehabilitated":

Several subjects complained to the New York State Board of the Office of Professional Medical Conduct about the experiments. Porter faced 24 professional conduct charges, including "moral unfitness to practice medicine". In August 2019, the New York State Department of Health suspended Porter's license to practice medicine in the state, finding that he conducted studies without an appropriate human research review committee.

Edgar Boone, the scion of a wealthy family, introduced NXIVM to numerous affluent Mexicans, becoming head of NXIVM-Mexico and rising to third in the NXIVM organization.

Clare Bronfman, daughter of billionaire Seagrams chairman Edgar Bronfman Sr., was introduced to NXIVM by her sister Sara. Clare Bronfman was arrested by federal agents on July 24, 2018, in New York City and charged with money laundering and identity theft in connection with NXIVM activities. She pleaded not guilty in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn. She was released on $100 million bond and placed on house arrest with electronic monitoring. On April 19, 2019, Clare Bronfman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conceal and harbor illegal aliens for financial gain and fraudulent use of identification; she faced 21 to 27 months in prison and has agreed to forfeit $6 million. On September 30, 2020, she was sentenced to six years, nine months in prison by a federal judge.

Sara Bronfman, daughter of Edgar Bronfman Sr., was introduced to NXIVM by a family friend in 2002.

Pam Cafritz, daughter of Washington, D.C., socialites Buffy and William Cafritz. Cafritz was a founder of JNESS, a Raniere-affiliated women's group. Cafritz was reported to be Raniere's "most important long-term girlfriend". On November 7, 2016, Pam Cafritz died. After her death, her credit card was charged for over $300,000.

Suneel Chakravorty, a software developer, remained among Raniere's post-conviction followers, dancing outside the jail where Raniere is confined.

Nicki Clyne is a Canadian actress known for her role on the series Battlestar Galactica. According to reports, in 2006, Clyne became involved with NXIVM. She married fellow senior member Allison Mack in 2017; the marriage was alleged to have been a sham to evade United States immigration laws. After Raniere's conviction, Clyne and others began dancing nightly outside the detention center containing Raniere.

Marc Elliot, an author, claims taking courses through NXIVM and working with Keith Raniere and Nancy Salzman have helped him overcome his Tourette syndrome. He is among the NXIVM members who remain loyal to Raniere.

Allison Mack is an American actress known for her role on the series Smallville. Mack was reportedly recruited to the Vancouver chapter of NXIVM, along with her Smallville co-star Kristin Kreuk. Mack was reportedly a founder of DOS, a Raniere-affiliated Master/Slave group. Mack was arrested on April 20, 2018, on charges of sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy, and forced labor conspiracy. Mack pleaded guilty to racketeering and racketeering conspiracy charges in April 2019, and was to be sentenced in September 2019. However, on July 15, 2019, the Senior U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis postponed the sentencing until further notice to allow federal probation officials to conduct presentencing investigations. On June 30, 2021, Mack was sentenced to three years in prison.

Brandon Porter, a medical doctor, conducted unlicensed human-subjects research on 200 people for NXIVM. During a "fright study", Porter exposed subjects to disturbing videos, including actual footage of a decapitation. In 2016, Porter was present at a NXIVM retreat ("V-Week") where 300 to 400 individuals were struck by an unidentified disease; Porter failed to report the outbreak, in violation of his duties as a licensed medical doctor. Porter was stripped of his medical license in 2020.

Keith Raniere, founder of NXIVM, arrested and indicted on a variety of charges related to DOS (a "secret sisterhood" within NXIVM), including sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy, and conspiracy to commit forced labor in March 2018. He was found guilty of all charges at trial. On October 27, 2020, Raniere was sentenced to 120 years in prison.

Danielle Roberts, an osteopathic physician, gained notoriety for having used a cauterizing pen to brand 17 women in connection with the group known as DOS. In 2020, New York Board of Medical Conduct began an investigation into Roberts; a year later it brought charges against her with the possibility of the revocation of her license. After Raniere's conviction, Roberts was among the dancers outside the jail in which he was incarcerated. Roberts' medical license was revoked in October 2021.

Emiliano Salinas is a venture capitalist and businessman. He is the son of former Mexican president Carlos Salinas de Gortari. Salinas served as vice president of Prorsus Capital, a financial consortium with ties to Raniere and NXIVM.

Nancy Salzman, a psychiatric nurse and trained practitioner of hypnotism and neuro-linguistic programming, met Raniere in 1998. The two founded Executive Success Programs, a personal development company offering a range of techniques aimed at self-improvement. In March 2019, Salzman pleaded guilty to racketeering. In September 2021, Salzman was sentenced to 42 months in prison and a $150,000 fine for racketeering conspiracy.

Karen A. Unterreiner is a member who became Raniere's live-in partner beginning in the 1980s and an early employee of his company Consumers' Buyline.

Barbara Bouchey was a client of Nancy Salzman, having been referred to her in 1988. Beginning in 2000, Bouchey dated Raniere. In 2009, Bouchey and eight other women ("The NXIVM Nine") confronted Raniere with concerns about abuse within the organization. That year, Bouchey left the group and later went to law enforcement.

Sarah Edmondson is a Canadian actress. After leaving NXIVM in early 2017, she publicly denounced the organization, claiming that she was invited into DOS, a substructure within NXIVM operated by Keith Raniere and Allison Mack, and was branded with a combination of Raniere's and Mack's initials at Mack's Albany home. Edmondson showed the brand in a New York Times exposé of NXIVM.

Kristin Keeffe became Raniere's partner in the early 1990s. In 2013, Keeffe gave birth to Raniere's son Gaelyn. In February 2014, Keeffe broke with Raniere and his group. Fleeing the region with her son, an email bearing Keeffe's name explained: "I have full sole legal custody of Gaelyn. Keith was experimenting on him. I had to get Gaelyn away." Keeffe publicly described Raniere as "dangerous". 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.

Toni Natalie met Raniere in 1991 when he was pitching his business Consumer's Buyline. Natalie and her then-husband became top sellers for the organization. Natalie recalled that she was able to stop smoking after a two-hour session with Raniere. Natalie and her son later moved to be near Raniere; her marriage ended shortly thereafter. Natalie and Raniere dated for the next eight years. In the mid-90s, Raniere and Natalie operated a health-food store in Clifton Park, NY. In 1999, Raniere's eight-year relationship with Natalie ended. Natalie would subsequently claim to have been the victim of harassment. In a January 2003 ruling, federal judge Robert Littlefield implied Raniere was using a legal suit to harass Natalie. Wrote Littlefield: "This matter smacks of a jilted fellow's attempt at revenge or retaliation against his former girlfriend, with many attempts at tripping her up along the way." In 2011, Natalie filed documents in federal court alleging that she had been repeatedly raped by Raniere.

Joseph J. O'Hara was an attorney who departed NXIVM in 2005 after accusing the group of misdeeds. In 2007, O'Hara was indicted by Albany County. It was later revealed that the District Attorney had allowed Raniere's girlfriend Kristin Keeffe to operate within its office as a sort of victims' advocate. Charges were ultimately dismissed.

India Oxenberg, daughter of actress Catherine Oxenberg, was introduced to the group in 2011. At Raniere's trial, a witness testified that India had spent a year on a 500-calorie-per-day diet. In May 2017, India admitted to her mother that she was among those who had been branded. India left the group in June 2018, after Raniere's arrest. In August 2018, Catherine Oxenberg's book Captive: A Mother's Crusade to Save Her Daughter from a Terrifying Cult was published.

Mark Vicente, a filmmaker known for the 2004 film What the Bleep Do We Know!?, began involvement with the group in 2005. Vicente testified against Raniere at his 2019 trial.

James Odato is an investigative reporter who wrote for the Albany Times Union. In 2012, Odato reported Raniere's history of pedophilia. In October 2013, Odato was named in a lawsuit filed by NXIVM, along with Suzanna Andrews of Vanity Fair and blogger John J. Tighe; all had written critically of the group. The suit alleged that NXIVM computers had been illegally accessed. Shortly thereafter, Odato was described as being "on leave" from the Times Union. Following Keith Raniere's sentencing in 2020, the editorial board of the New York Daily News praised Odato's work exposing NXIVM for its prescience, taking the unusual step of commending the work published by a competitor.

Frank Parlato was hired by NXIVM in 2007 to help with publicity. 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.

Rick Alan Ross is the executive director of the Ross Institute, which specializes in studying cults. Ross received a copy of a NXIVM training manual and published portions of it on his website. In NXIVM Corp. v. Ross Institute, NXIVM sued to try to block further publications. Courts ruled in favor of Ross.

John Tighe wrote about NXIVM on a blog. In 2013, NXIVM accused Tighe of illegally accessing NXIVM servers using a former member's login information. Tighe's home was raided by the New York State Police, and his computer was seized.

Update: On September 30 2020, Clare Bronfman was sentenced to six years and nine months in prison. Nine former members of NXIVM testified against her, detailing her role in the organization's unabated, years-long legal pursuit of them. On October 27 2020, “Vanguard” Keith Raniere was sentenced to 120 years, after many hours of victim statements from fifteen former NXIVM members and victims of his abuse. On June 30 2021, Allison Mack received a sentence of three years in prison, three years of supervised release after serving her prison term, plus a fine of $20,000 dollars. On September 8 2021, NXIVM's co-founder Nancy Salzman was sentenced to three and a half years in prison.

In 2017, a New York Times report inspired a justice department investigation that took down an American multi-level marketing scheme turned 'sex cult' known as NXIVM. The organization had been operating for nearly two decades under the guise of offering self-help deprogramming to heiresses, Hollywood actors and powerful CEOs. But, after one survivor came forward to the New York Times, NXIVM had finally been exposed for what it was—a barbaric organization that abused its members emotionally and physically.

On October 17, Season Two of The Vow premieres on HBO. While Season One dove deep into the origin and downfall of the cult founded by Keith Raniere, Season Two will follow the arrests and trials of its leadership. Raniere, who was known as “Vanguard” within the organization, founded NXIVM in Albany in 1998 along with Nancy Salzman, known as the organization’s “Prefect.”

HBO’s documentary series is guided by interview footage from many once high-ranking, inner-circle members of NXIVM. The first season ventured into the world of the organization, giving an overview of the Executive Success Programs (ESPs) within NXIVM, which people first entered the organization through. The ESPs were marketed as a set of personal and professional development courses which taught strategies for participants to overcome their “limiting beliefs,” fears, and anxieties, and hence realize their full potential in life. If that sounds jargon-fueled and cryptic to you, that's because it is.

But rewiring your brain to learn Raniere’s “ethical framework of human experience” came at a steep price. The cost for the first course, a 5-day intensive, was $2700, and from 1998 through to 2018, over 16,000 people completed ESP courses at centers across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The “scientific” technique taught in the Executive Success Programs, trademarked as "Rational Inquiry" by Raniere, was called a form of expensive mind-control “aimed at breaking down his subjects psychologically” by forensic psychiatrist John Hochman in his 2003 evaluation of the organization.

Raniere was hailed as an elusive, god-like savant within the company. The Vow’s ex-NXIVM interview subjects recount overcoming anxieties, phobias, and even witnessing peers have medical conditions such as obsessive-compulsive disorder and Tourettes cured by Raniere’s method in Episode One. The Dalai Lama even visited Albany to commend Raniere’s ethical work in May of 2009 (after an initial cancelation of the visit due to concerns surrounding the group).

The Executive Success Program had a 12-point mission statement that was read aloud before each session began. One such point purports that "There are no ultimate victims; therefore, I will not choose to be a victim." In light of Raniere's present day conviction, this deep psychological manipulation of ESP students from Day One of their enrollment feels glaring. But the indoctrination was subtle, too: students signed NDAs on the ESP session material before they began. In classes, they were acclimatized to ritualistic practices like removing their shoes, wearing different colored sashes to denote their ranking in the ESP multi-level universe, and standing when a higher ranking member entered the room. All greetings with “Vanguard” Keith Raniere included a kiss on the mouth. Incredibly draining, 17-hour days alienated participants from the outside world. And ESP was just the entry point into the world of NXIVM. High-ranking members of the organization would live together in commune-like housing, instructing classes and sessions (usually without pay, according to the HBO testimonials of former members) at the organization’s spin-off spider-like web of cash-grabbing enterprises, such as a women’s only program entitled Jness, a men’s only program called Society of Protectors (SOP), and a fitness-focused program called Exo/Eso. Celebrities, CEOs, and affluent figures including Smallville’s Allison Mack and Seagram heiresses Sara and Clare Bronfman are among the notable former members of the cult.

In 2003, Forbes published a harsh profile of the Jesus-like figure that was Raniere, sowing the first seeds of the cult allegations and dark undercurrents coursing through the organization. Per Forbes:

Edgar Bronfman Sr., father of high-ranking NXIVM members Sara and Clare, is quoted in the story, stating simply that he “think it’s a cult.” The piece detailed Raniere’s history of multi-level marketing fraud in the early ‘90s before he founded NXIVM, as well as testimonials from participants who had suffered hallucinations and psychotic episodes following grueling ESP sessions. But the damning profile didn’t stop the organization from continuing to prosper until nearly two decades later.

In 2017, an exclusive, highly secret women’s society within the organization, called Dominus Obsequious Sororium (DOS), which stands for a Latin phrase roughly translated as “lord over the obedient female companions,” is what finally sparked the downfall of NXIVM. Sarah Edmondson, an actress and decades-long devoted NXIVM member, filed a complaint to the N.Y. State Department of Health after her initiation into DOS. Per the New York Times’ account of her experience, the initiation required Sarah to send naked photos of herself as collateral to her “master,” whom she was recruited by to be a “slave,” and was completed with Sarah being blindfolded, held down naked on a massage table, and instructed to say: “Master, please brand me, it would be an honor.” Edmondson was then branded by a cauterizing device with a small symbol featuring Keith Raniere’s initials near her pelvis. The women in DOS were also required to be on call 24 hours a day—they would be punished with starvation if they did not respond to a text from their master within 60 seconds—and several were assigned to have sex with Raniere, as well. The 2017 media buzz surrounding the DOS ritual is what finally woke many members up to the evils at the core of their organization, prompting many departures and denouncements of NXIVM. Raniere fled to Mexico. But in February of 2018, a complaint was issued in federal court requesting an arrest warrant. Mexican authorities arrested Raniere in March and deported him back to New York.

“Vanguard” Keith Raniere was charged with various crimes including sex trafficking and forced labor and pleaded not guilty. Several other notable NXIVM figures including Allison Mack and Clare Bronfman were indicted as well for an array of crimes including "identity theft, extortion, forced labor, sex trafficking, money laundering, wire fraud and obstruction of justice." But Raniere's co-defendants—the women who had followed and served him faithfully for the past two decades—all pled guilty to certain lesser charges (Mack to racketeering; Clare Bronfman to visa fraud) in lieu of standing trial, and Raniere stood trial alone. In June of 2019, Raniere was convicted by a Brooklyn jury of racketeering, sex trafficking, forced labor conspiracy, and wire fraud conspiracy in less than five hours. On October 27, 2021, he was sentenced to 120 years in prison, and is currently serving his sentence in an Arizona prison.

Season Two of HBO's The Vow will air on Monday nights through the end of November, and dive deep into the criminal proceedings of the NXIVM cases.

NXIVM, an organization that allegedly brainwashed and blackmailed women into being “sex slaves,” has crumbled in the past year. In March 2018, its founder, Keith Raniere, was arrested and charged with sex trafficking for his role in the group, which then set off a domino effect: In the ensuing months, federal prosecutors would go on to charge more and more people for their alleged involvement, some of whom have now begun to plead guilty. The picture painted of NXIVM in media reports is disturbing, to say the least: that the purported “self-help organization” was instead a front for a sex cult that branded numerous female members with Raniere’s initials and coerced them into “master-slave” relationships.

The past few months have seen the emergence of some truly abhorrent details pertaining to the case, relating to everything from enslavement to child pornography. The five women who were Raniere’s co-defendants have pleaded guilty to various charges over the past few weeks; as part of their plea deal, they all may be called to testify against him. On Tuesday, May 7, Raniere’s long-awaited trial started.

“He claimed to be a leader, but he was a conman,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanya Hajjar told the jury. “He claimed to be a mentor, but he just exploited it… NXIVM was a crime organization and Keith Raniere was a crime boss.”

Here’s everything we know so far.

Co-founder Nancy Salzman admitted in court that she tracked and monitored women within NXIVM.Nancy Salzman, who was the first person involved in the case to plead guilty to her single charge of racketeering conspiracy, tearfully confessed in court on March 13 that she tracked and monitored the usernames and passwords of suspected moles in the group to ensure they weren’t leaking details about the group’s inner workings. She also admitted that she ordered others to “destroy video tapes” that documented Raniere’s “teachings.”

“I want you to know I am pleading guilty because I am, in fact, guilty,” she said through sobs. “I accept that some of the things I did were not just wrong, but sometimes criminal.”

Prosecutors believe that founder Keith Raniere had sex with a 15-year-old girl, who later became his first “slave.”At a Brooklyn courthouse on March 14, Raniere — who was already facing forced labor, wire fraud conspiracy, human trafficking, and sex trafficking charges — was hit with additional charges of child pornography. According to prosecutors, Raniere documented himself engaging in sexual conduct with a 15-year-old girl, who would go on to become his first “slave.” While these charge were thrown out in early April, on May 7, prosecutors announced that they intend to show explicit photos of the girl in Raniere’s bed during the trial. Prosecutors also accused Raniere of having had a sexual relationship with at least one other child, and of possessing child pornography between 2005 and 2018.

And, per court papers, the New York Post reports that multiple people testified that Raniere had a den in Salzman’s house in upstate New York, where he had sex with some of his “slaves” in an oddly-arranged room. “The bed was elevated, and a hot tub was underneath the bed,” former NXIVM member Mark Vicente testified, per the documents.

Nancy Salzman’s daughter Lauren admitted to keeping a woman as a slave.On April 2, Lauren Salzman pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy, revealing that she had “knowingly and intentionally harbored” an unnamed woman in a locked room from March 2010 to April 2012; when the woman “did not complete labor,” Salzman confessed that she threatened to deport her back to Mexico. (Per prosecutors, a Mexican woman named Daniela – whose story lines up with that of the unnamed woman – is scheduled to testify during Raniere’s trial. As of May 7, though, news outlets have not confirmed whether the two women are in fact the same.)

Salzman also admitted to being a member of DOS, the internal sorority within NXIVM which prosecutors say was a “master-slave” sex ring. (The group also allegedly branded women with Raniere’s initials.)

Actress Allison Mack “took full responsibility” for her involvement in NXIVM, and notably DOS.The highest-profile person involved in the case, Smallville actress Allison Mack, pleaded guilty on April 8 to one count of racketeering conspiracy and one count of racketeering. “I have come to the conclusion that I must take full responsibility for my conduct, and that’s why I am pleading guilty today,” she said through tears. She went on to admit that she was a member of DOS, and said she had attempted to recruit other women into the group. She also said that she coerced women into giving her embarrassing information and photographs, known within the group as “collateral,” in order to blackmail them into going along with NXIVM and Raniere’s demands.

“I’m very sorry for the victims of this case,” she said in court. “I’m very sorry for who I’ve hurt through my misguided adherence to Keith Raniere’s teachings.”

Seagram heiress Clare Bronfman admitted to harboring an undocumented individual and helping Raniere use a deceased woman’s credit card.On April 19, Claire Bronfman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conceal and harbor an illegal alien for financial gain, as well as fraudulent use of identification, the Guardian reports. (According to prosecutors, Bronfman used her immense wealth to bankroll NXIVM’s activities.)

“I am truly remorseful,” she said in court. “I endeavored to do good in the world and help people. However, I have made mistakes.”

And it’s likely we’ll hear from some of the five women. Things don’t look so great for Raniere, who is pleading not guilty. Per the Albany Times-Union, Mack and both Salzmans have all signed cooperation agreements against Raniere, meaning there’s a decent chance they’ll be called to the stand to testify against him; and Kristen Keeffe, the mother of Raniere’s child, might testify as well. As Frank Parlato, a former NXIVM member whose dogged independent reporting on the organization helped bring its alleged criminal activity to light, told Rolling Stone, the likelihood of Raniere’s defense working is “very small.”