What a collection of possibilities!!!
The NXIVM possibility fit more of what I found myself thinking... in that it is something unspeakable and evil. Is it possible they were all part of that?
Whatever it was, it seems to me that it had to strike fear. Whether corporately or individually tailored.
OTH, why tip them off with such precision?
Hmmm... follow the wives. Follow the money. Well, we know the CF is where some pocket change can be found.
Maybe the objective was to wind them up and see what spilled out.