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(#1) NVIXM Leader, Keith Raniere, Was Found Guilty Of Sex Trafficking
According to the Associated Press, Raniere was arrested in Mexico on March 26, 2018, and extradited to Texas to appear in court under charges of sex trafficking. In a federal arrest complaint, authorities said Raniere oversaw a "barbaric system" in which women were forced to become slaves as a means to move up within the group. If they tried to escape, Raniere would threaten them with extortion.
On Jun 19, 2019, just over a year after his arrest and following Allison Mack's guilty plea, Raniere was found guilty of sex trafficking. Court documents obtained by People allege the conviction includes the claims that both Mack and Raniere kept slaves and lied about the intentions of their organization.
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(#2) A Former Member Described Being Branded In Court
On Monday, May 20, 2019, former NXIVM member, Lauren Salzman, who plead guilty to charges of racketeering and holding a woman captive in April 2019, described her "branding ceremony" in Brooklyn federal court. Salzman recalled being held down by other women enslaved by NXIVM as she begged, "Master, please brand me. It would be an honor. An honor I want to wear for the rest of my life."
Salzman explained that the ceremony was conducted with a cauterizing pen and it was quite painful to have Keith Raniere's initials seared onto her. She went on to reveal that Renier also had plans for an S&M "dungeon," and that he had a system of "paddling" women with a leather strap when they transgressed against him.
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(#3) One Member Admitted To Holding A Woman Captive
In late March 2019, Lauren Salzman, daughter of NXIVM co-founder Nancy Salzman, plead guilty to racketeering conspiracy and "knowingly and intentionally harbored Jane Doe 4, a woman whose identity is known to [Salzman], in a room in the home in the Northern District of New York." According to court documents published by the New York Post, she confessed that she held the woman from March 2010 and April 2012 and "threatened to deport Jane Doe 4 back to Mexico if she did not complete labor requested by myself and others."
Salzman is looking at a sentence of at least 20 years unless she cooperates with authorities in taking down the organization all together.
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(#4) Two 'Smallville' Stars Got Involved, And One Ended Up Indicted
Smallville co-stars Kristin Kreuk and Allison Mack signed up for a seminar run by Raniere sometime in the early 2000s and ended up joining Nxivm. Raniere used the women's celebrity status to lure in victims. However, Kreuk left shortly after the allegations surfaced. Mack, on the other hand, remained heavily involved in Nxivm. According to early reports, the branding was actually Mack's idea and she was known as "Pimp Mack" amongst other members. In cellphone footage of cult rituals, Mack can be seen.
On April 20, 2018, Mack was officially indicted for sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy, and forced labor conspiracy. The Justice Department released a statement alleging Mack recruited victims and led the women's group within the cult.
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(#5) Several Women Have Came Forward Saying Raniere Raped Them When They Were Underage
As is the case with many cults, sex is typically used as a form of control. Nxivm is no exception. There are many claims of Raniere having sex with multiple women in his organization, usually telling them to keep the relationship secret and leading them to believe that they are the only ones he is intimate with, later to discover he's carrying on multiple affairs with many, many women. He's been known to have an insatiable sexual appetite, and if allegations are true, several of his intimate relationships were with minors.
When Raniere was 24, he met 15-year-old Gina Melita at a theater group they were both involved with. Raniere soon began courting Melita, telling her to keep the relationship secret. Melita was happy to oblige, as she thought it was cool to be in a relationship with the much older man. The couple eventually started having sex before Melita finally ended things. While still in communication though, Melita introduced Raniere to a 15-year old friend from school, Gina Hutchinson. Hutchinson began having a sexual relationship with Raniere, which her older sister Heidi found out about and confronted Raniere over. Raniere told Heidi that "she did not understand her sister's soul was much older than her biological age." Heidi revealed the story of her sister's relationship with Raniere after Gina committed suicide in 2002.
In addition to Melita and Hutchinson, a 12-year-old met Raniere in 1990 while her mother was working for his company as a saleswoman. Eventually, Raniere offered to tutor the young girl for free, which led to sex with the almost 30-year-old man. The relationship continued for months until the girl finally put a stop to it. Two years later while going to counseling for sex abuse, the girl filed a police report against Raniere.
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(#6) Members Have To Submit Nude Photos Of Themselves In Order To Join The Faction
Upon joining the secret faction, members are required to do a number of things to prove their allegiance. One of those things is submitting naked photos of yourself. Another form of proof members must give includes revealing private secrets or things a person may be ashamed about and have never admitted to anyone before. Members are warned that this material can and will be released to the public if they talk about the secret faction with outsiders. Members of Nxivm are not allowed to discuss any of the group's activities or beliefs to anyone, and the existence of the secret faction within Nxivm is even more mysterious. As if that's not enough, members are required to continue to give the sect private photos or secret information about themselves to their masters on a monthly basis.
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(#7) NXIVM Suspended Operations After Allison Mack's Arrest
NXIVM made an official announcement that the group was suspending operations due to "extraordinary circumstances." The statement was made sometime in April after Allison Mack's sex trafficking arrest, although it is not clear when.
The group's website has the following message on its landing page:
It is with deep sadness that we inform you we are suspending all NXIVM/ESP enrollment, curriculum and events until further notice.
We will be in touch with more information for anyone currently enrolled in upcoming events/programs.
While we are disappointed by the interruption of our operations, we believe it is warranted by the extraordinary circumstances facing the company at this time. We continue to believe in the value and importance of our work and look forward to resuming our efforts when these allegations are resolved.
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(#8) The Members Are Branded
After the probationary period ends for the slaves, the women are asked to sign agreements promising to follow Raniere and his teachings for the rest of their lives. They are also required to develop a strict vegetarian diet, both because Raniere thinks the special diet helps the women gain a better understanding of his teachings and also because he prefers women to be very skinny. Former members have said it isn't a unique vegetarian diet - rather, it is starvation. But the most horrific thing the women are forced to do is receive a branding from a hot iron. Former member Sarah Edmondson explained that she was under the impression that she would be getting a small tattoo, but what she got was something else entirely. She explained she went into a room and was told to undress and lay down on a table. Once on the table, several other women held down her arms and legs. She was told to repeat, “Master, please brand me, it would be an honor.” The painful process takes about 20 minutes, and Edmondson claims several other women received brandings the same night she did. The brand consists of a shape which creates Raniere's initials and is placed on the woman's hip. Edmondson went to the police about her alleged forced branding.
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(#9) It Began With A Pyramid Scheme
Nxivm began in 1998 and advertised as a "self-help" group. According to the official website:
"Nxivm is a new ethical understanding that allows us to build an internal civilization and have it manifest in the external world. It allows us to explore our most fundamental nature and to begin to redirect our power of creation, a power that we all possess in a very human sense. It is a place where humanity can rise to its noble possibility."
Nxivm offers workshop-style classes. A 16-day course is $7,500; a three-day course is $1,200. After joining the group, there are monthly fees and an opportunity to earn money by bringing in potential members. Former members claim the group is actually a cult and the classes are often led by Nxivm co-founder Nancy Salzman, a hypnotist who many say is responsible for brainwashing students during classes. Whatever the case may be, Nxivm is a pyramid scheme organization and has had upwards of 12,000 people taking courses offered.
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(#10) Raniere Has Been Under Criminal Investigation Before For His Other Companies
Raniere is the group's leader who most describe as charismatic and inviting. Raniere is no stranger to businesses that appear to be pyramid schemes. In fact, one of the first jobs he had out of school was a salesman for Amway. Upon leaving Amway, Raniere would start his own company, Consumers' Buyline, a members-only buying club. Raniere was successful, but it was short-lived after being under investigation by the New York attorney general, who accused Raniere of running a pyramid scheme. It wasn't long before Raniere began Nxivm.
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(#11) When An Expose Came Out About Nxivm, Raniere Fled To Mexico And Had A Car Chase With Cops
In October 2017, The New York Times ran an investigation looking at the organization. In it, it detailed the criminal allegations against Raniere and Nxivm. According to court documents released in March 2018, Raniere fled to Mexico, covering his tracks by using encrypted emails and getting rid of his cellphone. He stayed at a luxury gated community in Puerta Vallarta with "several women," according to the Associated Press.
When U.S. Marshal's tracked him down at the Mexican compound, investigators said the women at the house got into a high-speed car chase with police. There is a Nvixm branch in Mexico, which is headed up by the country's former president Carlos Salinas de Gortari.
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(#12) There Is A Secret Faction Within Nxivm
Within Nxivm, there is another secret faction. Select women in the group are asked to join the secret sorority, known as ‘DOS.' There is speculation DOS stands for Dominant Over Submissive, which would make sense considering the group has master and slave roles. Typically in DOS, there are around six slaves for every master. The DOS is designed to have female participants only - the only exception to the rule is Raniere, the slave master over all. The women who are asked to join are already members of Nxivm, but leaders or "masters" make the offer enticing by explaining that Raniere's teachings are fully revealed in the secret faction. Once women join, they are required to recruit additional "slaves" with the goal of one day reaching the "master" level themselves. The women are forced to wear a collar at all times and are told when they can sleep and eat. They also must respond to text messages from their masters within 60 seconds, or they receive corporal punishment.
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(#13) Nxivm Has All The Makings Of A Cult
Former members and cult experts alike are adamant that Nxivm is a cult and Raniere a cult leader. In fact, a lot of Raniere's qualities and belief system have led people to compare him to David Koresh, the notorious leader of the Branch Davidians. Taking advantage of students by having secret sexual trysts is common among cult leaders and something practiced by both Koresh and Raniere. Raniere has revealed to his followers his desire to create his own country with its own currency, much like Jim Jones creating Jonestown in Guyana. Raniere has been accused of separating members from their families in order to keep his teachings a secret and, as most cult experts would agree, alienate them, so the leader has complete control over their lives.
Other strange, cult-like activities within the group include brain activity experiments and forcing members to watch graphic and violent films portraying gang rape, murder, and dismemberment.
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(#14) Raniere Makes Excessively Grand Claims About Himself
Raniere claims to have been a child prodigy and considers himself to be a genius. On his website, he boasts that he was speaking full sentences by the time he was one year old. At the age of 12, he taught himself high school mathematics in 19 hours. A year later, he excelled in college-level math. He also claims to have started college at the age of 16. Raniere brags that he was in the Guinness World Records in 1989 for having the highest IQ. Records indicate that Marilyn Vos Savant actually held that title until 1989, when Guinness discontinued the category.
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(#15) Prominent People Are Associated With The Group
There are quite a few well-known members and associates of Nxivm. The most active of those include Sara and Clare Bronfman, heiresses of the Seagram liquor fortune. In fact, it is public knowledge that most of the money used for Raniere's many lawsuits and failed investments come from the Bronfman's trust funds. Public documents reveal the women have funded over $100 million to Nxivm and Raniere.
Other notable associates of the group include English business magnate Richard Branson, the Dalai Lama, actress Linda Evans, BET co-founder Sheila Johnson, and Ana Cristina Fox, daughter of the former Mexican president.
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(#16) Lawsuits Are Always Filed When People Speak Badly About Nxivm
With a secretive group such as Nxivm, it's no surprise that people are skeptical about the organization. And with some of the activities being known to the public, it's also no surprise that people have wanted to investigate what exactly is going on with Nxivm and whether or not it is a cult. Many journalists, news companies, and bloggers have run stories about the group over the years, and when anything negative has been said, lawsuits are filed. Most of the time these suits end up being dismissed by the courts, but Raniere has discovered people aren't as willing to speak about something when they know there will be legal repercussions. Even if the case ends with a dismissal, people have to retain lawyers and miss work, and some would rather avoid all the hassle.
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(#17) Vulture Published A Woman's Account Of Almost Being Recruited
On May 14, 2018, Vulture published an account of a woman, Rachel Goldberg, who was almost recruited into NXIVM. She recounts being lured in with the promise of self-improvement and how she listened to a speech about the guaranteed benefits of using technology known as Executive Success Programs (ESP). While the speaker refused to go into specifics, he made all kinds of promises of success for those who tried ESP and then offered intensive workshops for prices ranging between $3,000 and $7,500. Later, the woman was shocked and sickened to learn the seminar was associated with NXIVM.
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About This Tool
Many people like stylish and unique tattoos, but they should be vigilant before designing tattoos. Over the years, many women have joined a secret organization called Nxivm, which is headquartered in Albany, New York, and has chapters throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. These women were told to get a tattoo before joining the conference. A woman shared that the whole process takes 20-30 minutes, and the room is full of burnt human flesh.
Since the end of the 1990s, an estimated 16,000 people have participated in this organization. The organization claims that its goal is to help people eliminate psychological and emotional barriers and achieve a better self. However, the organization has been controversial these years. The random tool introduced stories about 17 women from the cult Nxivm.
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