What is NXIVM (pronounced nek-see-um)? NXIVM was started in 1998 in the upstate NY area by disgraced multi-level-marketer Keith Raniere and bills itself as an organization for personal development that trains people in "human empowerment". In March 2018, Raniere and five of his top inner-circle were indicted by Federal authorities on a variety of charges related to racketeering, conspiracy, money-laundering, sex offenses, human trafficking, and more. The five other women have all pleaded out around April, leaving Raniere as the only person at the jury trial that started on May 7th. Raniere and his top lieutenants have long, deep ties to many NY politicians including Clinton, Gillibrand, Cuomo, and others. The news media is barely reporting this story for obvious reasons. Previous NXIVM updates can be found on my homepage Here.
Nicole continued testifying all day Friday. The last update brought us to the afternoon, so we'll pick up there. She was having deep reservations about being in DOS, and had no interest sexually in Raniere. When she started making rumblings about not being happy, Raniere threatened to release her collateral. Previously, she testified to the same threat made by her slave-master, Allison Mack, but this was directly from Keith. He argued that he wouldn't have a choice, that it was part of the "code". Nicole also testified about her disturbing relationship with Mack. Little Allison is a real piece of garbage. [WARNING: graphic language and sexual descriptions at link]. Nicole also testified about Raniere assigning her to spy on another NXIVM member, Robbie. Dani's relationship with Robbie was what precipitated Raniere and Lauren Salzman to lock her in a room for almost two years. Robbie's parent were/are NXIVM members but clearly, jealous and petty little Vanguard Raniere was still on the outs with him. Nicole testified about her relationships with others in Allison's "slave pod" including Michelle Hatchett (still DOS), India Oxenberg (left DOS), and Jaye (left DOS). India is Catherine Oxenberg's daughter, and when Jaye left DOS she told Catherine about how she needed to get India out which eventually happened. The reason this background is important is because seeing others leave gave Nicole the strength needed to leave herself. Hatchett is allegedly still in DOS and still trying to recruit new slaves for Raniere while he is in prison.
Nicole finally left DOS around 2017, before all the arrests. But not before she got the Raniere brand below her bikini line. She testified about being branded and leaving the cult. Ultimately, Raniere did not release her collateral but some or all have almost certainly been entered into evidence for the trial. Nicole is expected to start cross-examination today, followed by the next witness for the prosecution. Some believe next will be Jaye, a slave of India Oxenberg.
In a fit of vindictive enjoyment, I decided to post this article on Raniere's ongoing experience at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. He is ridiculed by guards that have to transport him everyday to court and back. He is subjected to body cavity strip searches every time he leaves and returns to the jail. And faces two scoops of not-nice from fellow inmates who apparently haven't been convinced of his superiority.
Today is day 20 of the trial. Information from today will be forthcoming. Friday was Day 19. The prosecutors believe they'll wrap up sometime next week, or early the last week of June. The end of the trial though is totally dependent on whether the defense will present a case. At the beginning of the trial, Marc Agnifilo said he would not be calling any witnesses and Raniere wouldn't take the stand. He can change his mind after the prosecution rests. The ball will be in his court, no pun intended. The government's strategy so far has been to provide some background (witnesses Herbits and Vicente), some expert testimony (Dr. Dawn Hughes, FBI Special Agent Rees), and a number of former slaves (Lauren Salzman, Sylvie Lloyd, Dani, Nicole). On a number of levels, the prosecution has established that Raniere was the leader of a criminal enterprise. We suspect they'll wind up their case with evidence of financial crimes only because that hasn't really been addressed yet. No telling whether Agnifilo will decide to present a case for the defense. His strategy thus far has simply been to try and impeach the witnesses and paint them in the juror's minds as just as bad as Raniere. We don't imagine that's working very well. Agnifilo's cross-examinations have been tepid at best. We've said it before, it makes one wonder if his heart is really in this?
Gee, that's a shame.
In a fit of vindictive enjoyment, I decided to post this article on Raniere's ongoing experience at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn."
You definitely deserve a Schadenfreude Break😊❗ Thanks, Kit!!!
What is NXIVM (pronounced nek-see-um)? NXIVM was started in 1998 in the upstate NY area by disgraced multi-level-marketer Keith Raniere and bills itself as an organization for personal development that trains people in "human empowerment". In March 2018, Raniere and five of his top inner-circle were indicted by Federal authorities on a variety of charges related to racketeering, conspiracy, money-laundering, sex offenses, human trafficking, and more. The five other women have all pleaded out around April, leaving Raniere as the only person at the jury trial that started on May 7th. Raniere and his top lieutenants have long, deep ties to many NY politicians including Clinton, Gillibrand, Cuomo, and others. The news media is barely reporting this story for obvious reasons. Previous NXIVM updates can be found on my homepage Here.
Both the prosecution and defense have submitted proposed jury instructions. These are instructions that the judge will provide to the jury before they go into deliberations. Judge Garaufis has final say on the instructions. Based on what the defense submitted, it seems Raniere's defense is going to be based on good faith. Which, roughly translated, means to us the jury will be asked to consider if Keith intended to do harm, and if not then he's not guilty. Paper thin defense. The other unknown remains whether Raniere will take the stand in his defense. That's discussed in the linked article.
Nicole finished her testimony yesterday (Monday). It ended with a cross-examination by Marc Agnifilo and very short re-direct from AUSA Moira Penza. What should be clear to all observers is that Raniere most certainly did things with bad intent. Even criminal intent. Under direct examination, Nicole explained a contract that Allison Mack wanted her slaves to sign which included indemnity for NXIVM against slaves' financial losses, physical injury and even psychological trauma. The contract went unsigned as Mack got distracted with other things and it was pretty much forgotten. Nicole also discussed girls from Mexico, aged 15-17, who were brought to Albany for 'schooling' under the tutelage of Rosa Laura Junco, one of Raniere's top slaves. The age of consent in NY is 17. On cross, Agnifilo pressed Nicole to admit she really liked being NXIVM, had good times, met new friends, and respected Keith Raniere. Nicole rebuffed most of that and insisted she was only doing what she felt she had to to survive. Good job, Nicole!
There was brief testimony yesterday from an FBI agent who had secured Raniere's hard drive from his 'love nest'. We'll probably hear more on that later in the prosecution case. This was the drive that had Raniere's child porn on it that the defense tried to have thrown out on a technicality. Next up this morning was yet another slave named Jaye who was in NXIVM/DOS from late 2016 to mid-2017. She is now 29, and described the same recruitment process by Allison Mack that Mack had used on others. Basically identifying and preying on her weaknesses and promising to 'fix' everything through NXIVM and, ultimately, DOS. Once in DOS, Jaye felt trapped because Mack (and Raniere) had her collateral as others have testified. Eventually, Allison assigned her the task to 'seduce' Keith which is the same as other slaves' experience. This was especially revolting for Jaye since she had been sexually abused at a young age by her uncle. Keith of course was probably late 40s-early 50s when Jaye was probably young 20s. When Mack assigned this 'task', she told Jaye that she had Mack's "permission to enjoy it". Jaye did not. Mack assured her that having sex with Keith would "heal" the sexual trauma from her childhood. Not long after this, she did a web search on Raniere and found Frank Parlato's page at frankreport.com and was sickened. She spent some time extricating herself from the cult ties, worried about the release of her collateral. She got mixed messages about whether it would be released, returned, or ignored. Before she left she managed to get to Allison Mack's dropbox account (where Mack kept her slaves' collateral) and screen-shotted almost everything. She made a copy which she provided later to a friend for safekeeping, got herself a lawyer, and spoke with Law Enforcement.
The links above have many more details on the testimony. We try to capture the highlights and provide links to the detailed info. Jaye was India Oxenberg's slave, and recruited another slave named Val. Oxenberg was Mack's slave. Nicole helped Catherine Oxenberg, India's actress mom, get India out of NXIVM. Catherine helped Nicole leave. Bonnie Vicente, Mark Vicente's wife, helped Nicole and Val leave. These departures seem to be mostly around 2017. Back in 2009, a group of women left NXIVM called the "NXIVM 9". Raniere, the Bronfmans, Salzmans and others painted them as traitors and extortionists. It was the first exodus from the cult. In 2012, the Albany Times-Union published a series of articles raising questions about Raniere. Even earlier in 2003, Forbes published an article raising questions on NXIVM and Raniere. So it's not like this is new news, but we're sure glad the Trump DOJ has brought these crimes into the open.