Clare Bronfman

Bronfman is a daughter of Jewish{{cite web | last=Popper | first=Nathaniel | title=Keeping Alive a Philanthropic Family Tradition | website=The Forward | date=2005-04-15 | url=https://forward.com/israel/3284/keeping-alive-a-philanthropic-family-tradition/ | access-date=2025-04-29}} Canadian billionaire Edgar Bronfman Sr. and Rita Webb, the daughter of an English pub owner from Essex, England. Bronfman's parents met in Marbella, Spain.{{cite news| last=Andrews| first=Suzanna| title=The Heiresses and the Cult| url=http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2010/11/bronfman-201011| access-date=April 24, 2011| newspaper=Vanity Fair| date=November 2010}}{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/23/business/edgar-m-bronfman-who-brought-elegance-and-expansion-to-seagram-dies-at-84.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0| newspaper=The New York Times| title=Edgar M. Bronfman, Who Built a Bigger, More Elegant Seagram, Dies at 84| first=Jonathan| last=Kandell| date=December 22, 2013}} The couple married in 1975, two years after Edgar Bronfman's divorce from his first wife. Webb gave birth to Sara the following year, and had Clare two-and-a-half years later. Shortly after Clare's birth, Webb (who had renamed herself Georgiana) asked Edgar for a divorce. They remarried in 1983, but again divorced. After their parents' second divorce, the girls visited their father at his estates outside Charlottesville, Virginia, and in Westchester County; his home in Sun Valley; and his apartment on Fifth Avenue. However, they resided in England and in Kenya with their mother. Bronfman is of Jewish ancestry on her father's side.{{cite news| title=Jewish heiress Clare Bronfman arrested for involvement in alleged sex cult| url=https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/news/national_news/jewish-heiress-clare-bronfman-arrested-for-involvement-in-alleged-sex/article_19cbcc76-6596-59b7-ada8-82fdb5549fc7.html| date=July 18, 2018| newspaper=Cleveland Jewish News| access-date=April 20, 2019}}

In December 1999, Bronfman competed in the Millstreet Indoor International Horse Show.{{cite journal| last=Mulvihill| first=Frank| title=Millstreet Indoor International Horse Show| url=http://www.coolcorron.com/news_arch1.html| journal=Ireland's Horse Review| access-date=June 4, 2011| url-status=dead| date=December 1999| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324233233/http://www.coolcorron.com/news_arch1.html| archive-date=March 24, 2012}} In May 2001, Bronfman won the Grand Prix at CSI-A Eindhoven (NED).{{cite news| last=Parkes| first=Louise| title=Snowjumping - Lennon on Song| url=http://www.independent.ie/sport/bshowjumpingb-lennon-on-song-346762.html| access-date=November 29, 2011| newspaper=The Independent| location=London| date=May 28, 2001}} On September 23, 2001, Bronfman's team placed seventh in the World Final of the Samsung Nations Cup Series (Jumping).{{cite news| title=Warm Reception For U.S. Riders in Nations Cup Final| url=http://www.horseweb.com/articles/press/usae_010924_nations.htm| work=USA Equestrian| access-date=November 29, 2011| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://archive.today/20130125140901/http://www.horseweb.com/articles/press/usae_010924_nations.htm| archive-date=January 25, 2013}} On May 26, 2002, Bronfman won the Grand Prix in Rome (ITA); her team placed sixth in the competition.{{cite news |title=Clare Bronfman Wins The Grand Prix At CSIO Rome| url=http://www.equiworld.net/uk/ezine/0502/usaequestrian08.htm| access-date=November 29, 2011| newspaper=Equiworld Magazine| date=May 2002}} In October 2002, Bronfman placed 13th at the CSI-A competition in Bremen.{{cite news| title=US Show Jumping Riders Off to a Good Start in the European Indoor Circuit| url=http://www.equiworld.net/uk/ezine/1002/usaequestrian22.htm| access-date=November 29, 2011| newspaper=Equiworld Magazine| date=October 2002}}

On October 1, 2018, after her involvement with the NXIVM group came to light, Bronfman was permanently banned by the United States Center for SafeSport, which investigates and issues sanctions to members of Olympic sports accused of sexual misconduct. This rendered her ineligible for any involvement with the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), which governs horse sports in the United States.{{Cite web|title=US Equestrian: Safe Sport|url=https://www.usef.org/safe-sport/sanction-list|access-date=2021-06-04|website=US Equestrian}}

File:Nxivm-Indictment-S-1.pdf

Through her sister Sara, Clare Bronfman became involved in 2002{{Cite web|last=Kranc|first=Lauren|date=2020-09-30|title=Seagrams Heiresses Clare and Sara Bronfman Funded NXIVM For Years. Here's Where They Are Now.|url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a34063784/clare-sara-bronfman-nxivm-the-vow-today/|access-date=2021-09-09|website=Esquire|language=en-US}} in NXIVM's personal advancement program and "Executive Success Program" ("ESP") workshops.{{cite news| last=Tkacik| first=Maureen| title=Poor Little Rich Girls: The Ballad of Sara and Clare Bronfman| url=http://www.observer.com/2010/daily-transom/poor-little-rich-girls?page=all| access-date=April 24, 2011| newspaper=The New York Observer| date=August 10, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118105840/http://www.observer.com/2010/daily-transom/poor-little-rich-girls|archive-date=18 January 2012}} The sisters became committed followers and financial backers of NXIVM founder Keith Raniere, relocating to upstate New York to work as NXIVM trainers.{{cite news| last=Köhler| first=Nicholas| title=How to lose $100 million| url=http://www.macleans.ca/2010/09/09/how-to-lose-100-million/| access-date=April 24, 2011| magazine=Maclean's| date=September 9, 2011| pages=58–63| archive-date=February 1, 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201184159/http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/09/09/how-to-lose-100-million/| url-status=dead}}{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2006/0724/044a.html| title=The Bronfmans And the Cult| author=Berman| first1=Phyllis| date=June 24, 2006| magazine=Forbes| access-date=July 24, 2006| last2=Gillies| first2=Andrew T.| last3=Novack| first3=Janet| last4=Egan| first4=Mary Ellen| last5=Blakeley| first5=Kiri}} Clare Bronfman also served as event coordinator for "Vanguard Week," an annual festival celebrating Raniere's birthday, stating that "the purpose of 'V Week' is to get the chance to experience a civilized world... [and] craft for ourselves a more fulfilling, purposeful life."

Clare and her sister introduced their father, billionaire Edgar Bronfman, Sr., to NXIVM. Edgar broke with the group after learning that Clare had given Raniere and Salzman a $2{{nbsp}}million "loan" at 2.5% interest. In October 2003, Forbes magazine featured Raniere on its cover along with the title "The World's Strangest Executive Coach". The article quoted Edgar Bronfman, Sr. as stating that he thought NXIVM was "a cult".{{cite news| last=Freedman| first=Michael| title=Cult of Personality| url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2003/1013/088.html#2d0f43511853Cult| access-date=July 25, 2018| newspaper=Forbes| date=October 13, 2003}} Clare Bronfman eventually became "NXIVM's operations director and one of its largest financial contributors".{{cite news| title=Bronfman, Russell plead guilty in NXIVM case| url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Bronfman-Russell-to-plead-guilty-in-NXIVM-case-13780718.php| last=Lyons| first=Brendan J.| date=April 20, 2019| newspaper=Times Union}} Raniere reportedly blamed Clare Bronfman for the bad publicity, faulting her for telling her father about the $2{{nbsp}}million loan. Ultimately, Clare Bronfman would spend $150{{nbsp}}million on NXIVM.{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/willyakowicz/2019/05/31/from-heiress-to-felon-how-clare-bronfman-wound-up-in-cult-like-group-nxivm/#14566fb63ecf|title=From Heiress To Felon: How Clare Bronfman Wound Up In 'Cult-Like' Group Nxivm|website=Forbes|last=Yakowicz|first=Will|date=31 May 2019|access-date=2 October 2020}}

Clare Bronfman installed keylogger software on her father's computer, allowing NXIVM members to access his email for years thereafter. From 2007 to 2009, Clare Bronfman, allegedly at the direction of Raniere, employed private firms to investigate perceived enemies of the group, including six American federal judges.{{cite news|url=https://www.timesunion.com/tuplus-local/article/Legal-papers-NXIVM-officials-probed-finances-of-6516856.php|title=Legal papers: NXIVM officials probed finances of 6 federal judges, Senator Schumer, others|last=Lyons|first=Brendan J.|website=Times Union|date=19 September 2015|access-date=2 October 2020}}

Eager to distance themselves from cult allegations in the press, NXIVM members sought the endorsement of the Dalai Lama, spending $2{{nbsp}}million on the project. Clare, along with her sister Sara, and NXIVM founder Keith Raniere formed an organization called the World Ethical Foundations Consortium.{{cite news|last=Odato|first=James|title=Papers reveal NXIVM secrets|url=http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Papers-reveal-NXIVM-secrets-985662.php#page-2|access-date=28 April 2011|newspaper=Times Union|date=31 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110302205150/http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Papers-reveal-NXIVM-secrets-985662.php#page-2|archive-date=2 March 2011|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Ethical Humanitarian Foundation - Keith Raniere, Founder|url=http://www.ethicalhumanitarian.com/keith_raniere.php|work=Ethical Humanitarian Foundation|access-date=28 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125232126/http://www.ethicalhumanitarian.com/keith_raniere.php|archive-date=25 January 2012|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Ethical Humanitarian Foundation - Mission|url=http://www.ethicalhumanitarian.com/mission.php|access-date=25 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111117123101/http://www.ethicalhumanitarian.com/mission.php|archive-date=17 November 2011|url-status=live}}

Clare and Sara were credited with being able to bring the Dalai Lama to Albany to participate in the World Ethical Foundations Consortium's inaugural event on May 6, 2009.{{cite web|last=DeMare|first=Carol|title=Canada Tibet Committee|url=http://www.tibet.ca/en/newsroom/wtn/5271|access-date=8 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324205320/http://www.tibet.ca/en/newsroom/wtn/5271|archive-date=24 March 2012|url-status=live}} On May 6, 2009, the Dalai Lama traveled to Albany, NXIVM's hometown, to give a talk; during the event, he presented Raniere with a khatag (the ceremonial white scarf with the symbolic meaning of "purity" in Tibetan Buddhism) onstage.

The Dalai Lama additionally wrote already in April 2009, the foreword to Ranieri's occult book entitled The Sphinx & Thelxiepeia.{{cite web|url=https://frankreport.com/2018/02/11/keith-raniere-revamps-website-keithraniere-com/|title=Keith Raniere revamps website, keithraniere.com|website=FrankReport.com|last=Parlato|first=Frank|date=February 11, 2018}}{{cite web|title='The Vow' Episode 6: Bronfman sisters got Dalai Lama to endorse Keith Raniere and NXIVM amid allegations|url=https://meaww.com/the-vow-hbo-episode-6-dalai-lama-visit-keith-raniere-nxivm-clare-sara-bronfman-seagram|website=meaww.com|first=Neetha|last=Kurup|date=27 September 2020|access-date=2 October 2020}} Eight years later, it would be revealed Clare's sister Sara had a 2009 sexual relationship with Lama Tenzin Dhonden, the Dalai Lama's gatekeeper who arranged the appearance, who as a monk had taken a vow of celibacy.{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pcVUDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT264 |title = Captive: A Mother's Crusade to Save Her Daughter from a Terrifying Cult|isbn = 9781982100674|last1 = Oxenberg|first1 = Catherine|date = August 7, 2018| publisher=Simon and Schuster }} Amid accusations of corruption, Dhonden was replaced.{{cite news |author= |title=Suspended Lama Tenzin Dhonden Had A Lover Too!|url=http://www.tibetanjournal.com/suspended-lama-tenzin-lover/ |work=Tibetan Journal|date=November 1, 2017 |access-date=August 13, 2018}}{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/29/tenzin-dhonden-dalai-lama-corruption-celebrity-investigation |title=Controversial monk and Dalai Lama aide replaced amid corruption accusations |last=Carroll |first=Rory |date= November 29, 2017 |work=The Guardian |access-date=April 27, 2020 }}

In June 2017, NXIVM member Sarah Edmondson revealed the existence of a "secret sisterhood" within NXIVM to Frank Parlato, who published the story on the Frank Report.{{cite web |last1=Parlato |first1=Frank |title=Part 1: Branded Slaves and Master Raniere; Sources: Human branding part of Raniere-inspired women's group |url=https://frankreport.com/2017/06/05/part-1-branded-slaves-and-master-raniere-sources-human-branding-part-of-raniere-inspired-womens-group/ |website=Frank Report |date=5 June 2017}} Edmondson revealed that within the secret group, female members were allegedly referred to as "slaves," branded with the initials of Raniere, subjected to corporal punishment from their "masters", and required to provide nude photos or other potentially damaging information about themselves as "collateral".{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/17/nyregion/nxivm-women-branded-albany.html?pagewanted=all |title=Inside a Secretive Group Where Women Are Branded |last=Meier |first=Barry |work=NY Times|date=October 17, 2017 |access-date=October 18, 2017 |quote=In a letter, the agency said it would not look into Dr. Roberts because she was not acting as Ms. Edmondson’s doctor when the branding is said to have happened.}}A&E Cults and Extreme Belief S1E1, aired May 28, 2018, last accessed May 30, 2018, https://www.aetv.com/shows/cults-and-extreme-belief/season-1/episode-1.{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/nxivm-member-invited-secret-sorority-branded/story?id=51617201 |title=Former NXIVM member says she was invited into a secret sorority, then branded |date=December 16, 2017 |website=ABC News |access-date=February 10, 2018}}{{cite magazine |title=NXIVM: What We Know About Alleged Sex Trafficking, Forced Labor |author=Barcella, Laura |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=March 28, 2018 |access-date=April 20, 2018 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/nxivm-what-we-know-about-alleged-sex-trafficking-forced-labor-w518483}}{{cite news |url=http://www.newsweek.com/who-keith-raniere-self-help-guru-accused-sex-trafficking-and-branding-slave-863816 |title=Who is Keith Raniere? Self-help guru accused of sex trafficking |date=March 28, 2018 |work=Newsweek |access-date=April 22, 2018}}

In July and September 2017, Clare Bronfman was contacted by multiple women who were part of DOS, demanding return or destruction of their collateral, but she failed to respond.{{cite court|url=https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nyed.420062/gov.uscourts.nyed.420062.922.0.pdf|litigants=U.S. v. Bronfman|vol=18|court=E.D.N.Y|date=2020-09-14|}} In July 2017, she contacted the New York City Police Department and the Vancouver Police Department, attempting to have criminal charges filed against DOS whistleblower Sarah Edmondson. In September, she and Raniere drafted letters which were ultimately sent by attorneys in Mexico to DOS whistleblowers, threatening them with criminal prosecution.

{{quote box

| align = right | width = 33% | border = 2px | fontsize = 90% | bgcolor = #CCDDFF

| quote = I am troubled by evidence suggesting that Ms. Bronfman repeatedly and consistently leveraged her wealth and social status as a means of intimidating, controlling, and punishing...I don't know how many other multimillionaires are out there, ready to devote the limitless resources at their disposal to supporting pyramid schemes run by dangerous criminals.

| source = Federal judge Nicholas G. Garaufis when sentencing Bronfman in September 2020}}

In 2018, Raniere and associate Allison Mack were arrested and indicted on several federal charges involving a cult alleged to operate within NXIVM; the charges included sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy, and conspiracy to commit forced labor.{{cite news| url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/self-help-guru-denies-enslaving-branding-women-sex-cult-n871441| title=Self-help guru denies enslaving, branding women in Nxivm sex cult| last=Siemaszko| first=Corky| date=May 4, 2018| work=NBC News| access-date=May 15, 2018}}{{cite news| title=Feds say self-help guru coerced followers into sex, had them branded with a cauterizing pen| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/03/27/feds-say-self-help-guru-coerced-followers-into-sex-had-them-branded-with-a-cauterizing-pen/?noredirect=on| newspaper=The Washington Post| last=Swenson| first=Kyle| date=March 3, 2018}}{{cite news| title=NXIVM female sex "slaves" allegedly branded with secretive group leader's initials| url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nxivm-leader-keith-raniere-charged-sex-trafficking| work=CBS News| agency=Associated Press| date=March 27, 2018}}{{cite news| title=Smallville Actress Arrested for Role in Alleged Sex Cult that Branded and Enslaved Women| url=http://time.com/5248810/allison-mack-keith-raniere-nxivm-sex-cult| magazine=Time| date=April 20, 2018| access-date=May 19, 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180422083052/http://time.com/5248810/allison-mack-keith-raniere-nxivm-sex-cult/| archive-date=April 22, 2018| url-status=dead| df=dmy-all|last1=Long|first1=Colleen|last2=Hajela|first2=Deepti}}{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/apr/22/smallville-actor-was-allegedly-a-top-member-of-cult-that-abused-women| title=Smallville's Allison Mack was allegedly a 'top member' of cult that abused women| first=Edward| last=Helmore| date=April 22, 2018| work=The Guardian| access-date=April 24, 2018| location=London}} Bronfman was arrested by federal agents on July 24, 2018, in New York City, and charged with money laundering and identity theft in connection with NXIVM activities. She pleaded not guilty in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn. She was released on $100{{nbsp}}million bond and placed on house arrest with electronic monitoring. Also charged were Bronfman's long-time mentor and NXIVM president Nancy Salzman; Salzman's daughter, NXIVM executive board member Lauren Salzman; and former NXIVM bookkeeper Kathy Russell.{{cite news| url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/crime-courts/feds-arrest-seagram-heiress-bronfman-nxivm-sex-slave-case-n894136| title=Seagram heiress Bronfman pleads not guilty in NXIVM 'sex slave' case| work=NBC News| access-date=April 20, 2019| date=July 24, 2018}}

On April 19, 2019, Bronfman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conceal and harbor illegal aliens for financial gain and fraudulent use of identification. The prosecution asked for five years in prison, and she agreed to forfeit $6{{nbsp}}million. On September 30, 2020, she was sentenced to six years, nine months in prison by a federal judge. In addition, she was fined $500,000 and was ordered to pay restitution to victim "Jane Doe 12" in the amount of $96,605.{{Cite web|title=Seagram's Heiress Clare Bronfman Sentenced to 81 Months in Prison in NXIVM Case|url=https://people.com/crime/seagrams-heiress-clare-bronfman-sentenced-81-months-nxivm-case/|access-date=2020-10-01|website=People|language=EN|last=Chung|first=Gabrielle|date=30 September 2020}}

A week after her sentencing, her lawyers asked that she be freed from the Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn, while she appealed her sentence. Her lawyers called it "disparate with the sentences received by other individuals who pleaded or were found guilty of similar non-violent crimes", particularly since the prosecution had asked for only five years. Bronfman also had a liver condition that made her a higher risk for contracting COVID-19 in prison, they said.{{cite news|last=Goldberg|first=Noah|title=NXIVM sex cult funder Clare Bronfman wants to be released after only a week behind bars|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-nxivm-clare-bronfman-requests-jail-release-20201015-zcqhp6jruzfgxn5iw5zlqij3mi-story.html|newspaper=New York Daily News|date=October 15, 2020|access-date=December 18, 2020}} Her lawyers and the judge had already agreed that she could serve her sentence at a minimum security facility near the New York area.{{cite news|last=Gavin|first=Robert|title=Judge, NXIVM's Clare Bronfman agree on minimum-security Connecticut 'camp'|url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Judge-Clare-Bronfman-agree-on-minimum-security-15625094.php|newspaper=Albany Times-Union|date=October 6, 2020|access-date=December 18, 2020}} She spent the early part of her sentence at FDC Philadelphia, a temporary/in-transit federal prison facility normally used to house inmates prior to or during court proceedings.{{Cite news |last=Gavin |first=Robert |date=2021-07-13 |title=Seagrams heiress keeps paying as NXIVM's Keith Raniere adds big-name lawyers |url=https://www.timesunion.com/nxivm/article/Seagrams-heiress-keeps-paying-as-NXIVM-s-Keith-16311046.php |access-date=2022-05-31 |website=Times Union |language=en-US}} Bronfman was then transferred to Federal Correctional Institution, Danbury. She was then transferred back to FDC Philadelphia.{{cite web |last=Luthmann |first=Richard |date=2023-04-01|title=Clare Bronfman Transferred Back to Philadelphia FDC|url=https://frankreport.com/2023/04/01/clare-bronfman-transferred-back-to-philadelphia-fdc/|access-date=2023-11-25 |website=Frank Report}}

Bronfman was released to a halfway house in the Bronx on May 4, 2024.{{Cite news |last=Gavin |first=Robert |date=2024-05-06 |title=NXIVM's Bronfman released to halfway house in NYC |url=https://www.timesunion.com/nxivm/article/nxivm-s-bronfman-released-halfway-house-nyc-19442124.php |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=Times Union |language=en-US}}

In January 2020, several NXIVM individuals, including Clare and her sister Sara, were named defendants in a civil lawsuit filed in federal court by 80 former NXIVM members. The lawsuit details allegations of fraud and abuse and charging the NXIVM organization of being a pyramid scheme, exploitation of its recruits and conducting illegal human experiments and making it "physically and psychologically difficult, and in some cases impossible, to leave the coercive community."{{Cite news|url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Federal-lawsuit-accuses-Raniere-and-his-NXIVM-15007930.php|title=Lawsuit targets Keith Raniere and NXIVM associates|first=Brendan J.|last=Lyons|date=January 27, 2020|work=Times Union|access-date=August 20, 2021}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.insider.com/80-people-sue-nxivm-cult-conducting-illegal-human-medical-experiments-2020-1|title=80 people have signed onto a lawsuit claiming NXIVM cult leaders exposed them to 'human fright' experiments, forced labor, and human trafficking|first=Paulina|last=Cachero|date=January 30, 2020|work=Insider|access-date= August 20, 2021}}{{cite web|title=Nxivm 'Sex Cult' Was Also a Huge Pyramid Scheme, Lawsuit Says|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/29/nyregion/nxivm-lawsuit-keith-raniere.html|first=Nicole|last=Hong|date=January 29, 2020|website=The New York Times|access-date=August 20, 2021}}

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Category:1979 births

Category:Living people

Category:21st-century American criminals

Category:American female criminals

Category:American female equestrians

Category:American people of English descent

Category:Place of birth missing (living people)

Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent

Clare

Category:Family of Carl M. Loeb

Category:Criminals from New York City

Category:NXIVM people

Category:People charged with sex trafficking

Category:21st-century American women