Nxivm, the cult-like organization in which a harem of sexual “slaves” were branded with the founder’s initials on their pelvises and forced to have sex with him, first caught the attention of the general public in 2017 when several former members shed light on the group’s practices. One of the victims was 15 years old when the abuse began.
In 2021, the organization’s founder, Keith Raniere, was sentenced to 120 years in prison for sex trafficking and other crimes.
Other top members of the group were also charged with various crimes and sentenced to prison. That included Smallville actress Allison Mack, who pleaded guilty to racketeering and conspiracy charges, and was released from federal prison in July 2023 after serving two years of a three-year sentence.
Here’s a timeline of some of the events leading up to Nxivm’s demise.
1998
Nxivm was founded.
Mr. Raniere and Nancy Salzman, a former psychiatric nurse, founded Nxivm (pronounced NEX-ee-um) as an alleged self-help organization near Albany, NY
Since then, an estimated 18,000 people have participated in the group’s workshops, including its Executive Success Programs. Most participants took only a few classes, but some members became ardent followers of Mr. Raniere, calling him “Vanguard” and considering him the most ethical man in the world.
2017
Former members sought an investigation into the group.
In 2017, several former members had asked New York State authorities to investigate Nxivm. The complaints targeted a secret subgroup within the organization called the Vow of DOS — an acronym for a Latin phrase that roughly translates to “Lord/Master of the Obedient Female Companions.” The members were branded and some were ordered to have sex with Mr. Raniere.
Billed as an empowerment group, the sisterhood consisted of circles, each led by a “master” who recruited “slaves.” In time, the subordinates also recruited their own “slaves.”
The women were required to hand over “collateral” – embarrassing and incriminating information, including nude photos – that would be publicly released if they revealed the existence of DOS
After a report on the branding appeared in DailyExpertNews in late 2017, authorities launched a criminal investigation and Mr. Raniere took up residence in a villa near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
March 26, 2018
Keith Raniere was charged.
At the request of US officials, Mr. Raniere arrested in Mexico, where he had been living for five months. At a hearing in Texas, he was sent to Brooklyn to face charges of forcing women to have sex.
In an affidavit filed as part of the criminal indictment, an FBI agent stated that Mr. Raniere maintained a “rotating group” of 15 to 20 women with whom he engaged in sexual relations.
In an eight-page letter, prosecutors said Mr. Raniere “has spent his entire life profiting from pyramid schemes and otherwise receiving financial support from independently wealthy women” such as Clare and Sara Bronfman, heirs to Seagram’s liquor fortune.
July 24, 2018
The case against Nxivm became broader.
An alternate indictment charged Mr Raniere and five women associated with Nxivm, including Ms Salzman, Clare Bronfman and Ms Mack, with racketeering conspiracy involving a range of crimes including identity theft, extortion, forced labour, sex trafficking, money laundering, wire fraud and obstruction of the course of justice.
March 12, 2019
Nancy Salzman, the co-founder of Nxivm, pleaded guilty.
Ms. Salzman, known as “Prefect” to the group’s followers, was charged with identity theft and altering data to influence the outcome of a lawsuit against Nxivm.
In Federal District Court in Brooklyn, Ms. Salzman admitted she plotted “invasions of privacy” involving email accounts and altering recordings “edited to remove sections we didn’t want to transfer” to detractors in a lawsuit.
Later in March, her daughter, Lauren Salzman, pleaded guilty to racketeering and conspiracy charges.
In 2021, Nancy Salzman was sentenced to 42 months in prison. Lauren Salzman, whose testimony helped convict Mr. Raniere, was also sentenced that year to five years of probation and 300 hours of community service.
April 8, 2019
Allison Mack, an actress in “Smallville,” pleaded guilty.
Ms. Mack, whose involvement with Nxivm boosted the case’s profile, pleaded guilty to racketeering and conspiracy charges related to her role in the organization. Prosecutors dropped the sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and forced labor charges.
In federal district court, Ms. Mack sobbed when she admitted she lured women into DOS by saying they would be part of a women’s mentorship program. Instead, officials said, she had recruited them into society as “slaves” and forced some of the women to have sex with Mr. Raniere.
She faced up to 20 years in prison for each charge she pleaded guilty to. She was originally scheduled to be sentenced on September 11, 2019, but the date was postponed twice.
April 19, 2019
Clare Bronfman, the heiress to a Seagram, pleaded guilty.
Ms. Bronfman pleaded guilty to two counts of identity theft and immigration fraud. The youngest daughter of Edgar Bronfman, the former chairman of Seagram Company, was known as Mr. Raniere’s law enforcement officer, but was not a member of DOS
On that same day, Nxivm’s bookkeeper, Kathy Russell, pleaded guilty to one count of visa fraud.
May 7, 2019
Mr. Raniere’s trial began in Brooklyn.
In a six-week trial, prosecutors presented a damning case against Mr Raniere.
Former members said that as Nxivm’s curriculum progressed, Mr. Raniere used psychological manipulation to indoctrinate his followers into obedience. Critics faced retaliation and lawsuits, creating an internal culture with no tolerance for dissent.
But much of the trial has focused on DOS, which prosecutors said Mr Raniere created in 2015 as part of a plan to get him a stream of submissive women.
A former member, identified only as Nicole, described how Mr. Raniere took her to a house one day, told her to undress, blindfolded her, and tied her to a table. He then questioned her about her sexual history while another person was performing oral sex on her, she said.
Lauren Salzman testified that the women in DOS were punished, including being whipped with a leather belt or being asked to stand barefoot in the snow.
June 19, 2019
Mr Raniere was convicted.
Jurors deliberated less than half a day before Mr. Raniere was found guilty of all seven charges, including racketeering, sex trafficking, conspiracy, forced labor, identity theft, sexual exploitation of a child and possession of child pornography.
September 30, 2020
Mrs. Bronfman was sentenced to 81 months in prison.
Nine of Nxivm’s victims spoke at the sentencing hearing for Ms. Bronfman in Federal District Court in Brooklyn, where Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis handed her a longer sentence than prosecutors had asked for.
At the time, Ronald Sullivan, a lawyer for Ms Bronfman, said he would appeal the verdict, calling it an “abomination”.
Ms. Bronfman had apparently not wavered in her loyalty to Mr. Raniere, writing in an August letter to Judge Garaufis that “Nxivm and Keith have changed my life immensely for the better.”
October 27, 2020
Mr Raniere is sentenced to life in prison.
Mr. Raniere’s sentencing was the culmination of his fall from grace and included hours of testimony from more than a dozen victims. He was sentenced to 120 years, effectively life imprisonment.
Mr Raniere has accused Judge Garaufis of corruption and has demanded a new trial, which the judge has twice refused.
“He has no regrets about his behavior or his choices,” Mr Raniere’s lawyers wrote in a September lawsuit.
June 30, 2021
Mrs. Mack is sentenced to three years in prison.
In handing down the verdict, Judge Garaufis said Ms Mack had used her celebrity status to “recruit and groom” women as sexual partners for Mr Raniere.
Ms. Mack remains under house arrest until September, when she is scheduled to begin serving her sentence.
In a letter to the court, Ms. Mack apologized to the people she brought into DOS
“I’m sorry I ever exposed you to the nefarious and emotionally abusive schemes of a deranged man,” she wrote, adding, “I feel heavy guilt for having betrayed your trust.”
Ms Mack was released from prison in July 2023 after serving two years of her three-year sentence.
Nicole Hong, Barry Meier, Colin Moynihan, Claire Moses And Erin Nolan reporting contributed.
