A rich benefactor of Keith Raniere, the disgraced chief of a self-improvement group in upstate New York convicted of turning girls into intercourse slaves who have been branded together with his initials, was sentenced Wednesday to nearly seven years in jail within the federal conspiracy case.
Seagram’s liquor fortune inheritor Clare Bronfman was taken into custody to start her 81-month sentence instantly after her look in federal courtroom in Brooklyn.
Bronfman, 41, admitted in a responsible plea final yr that she harbored somebody who was residing within the U.S. illegally for unpaid “labor and companies” and that she dedicated bank card fraud on behalf of Raniere, chief of the group referred to as NXIVM.
In a letter to the courtroom final month, Bronfman wrote that she “by no means meant to harm anybody, nonetheless I’ve and for this I’m deeply sorry.” Nonetheless, she stated that she couldn’t disavow Raniere as a result of “NXIVM and Keith tremendously modified my life for the higher.”
At trial, prosecutors informed jurors the 60-year-old Raniere’s group, NXIVM — pronounced NEHK-see-uhm — operated like a cult whose members referred to as him “Vanguard.” To honor him, the group fashioned a secret sorority comprised of brainwashed feminine “slaves” who have been branded together with his initials and compelled to have intercourse with him, the prosecutors stated.
Bronfman’s legal professionals argued she deserved leniency as a result of she had no direct involvement in probably the most disturbing allegations and has a well being situation that would put her at larger danger for a coronavirus an infection if incarcerated. However in courtroom papers, prosecutors argued she deserved a critical punishment since, “There may be little doubt that Raniere wouldn’t have been in a position to commit the crimes with which he was convicted have been it not for highly effective allies like Bronfman.”
The defendant had lengthy been affiliated with NXIVM, giving freely tens of million of {dollars} to bankroll Raniere and his program of intense self-improvement courses. She additionally paid for legal professionals to defend the group towards a lawsuit introduced by its critics.
Together with Bronfman, Raniere’s teachings received him the devotion of Hollywood actresses like Allison Mack of TV’s “Smallville.” Mack additionally has pleaded responsible and is awaiting sentencing.
As a part of a plea settlement, Bronfman agreed to forfeit $6 million from a fortune prosecutors have stated is price $200 million. Additionally they are looking for a $500,000 fantastic.
© 2020 The Canadian Press
