NXIVM

File:US v. Raniere GovtExhibit GX46.JPG]]

Before founding NXIVM, Raniere created Consumers Buyline, a business venture that the New York Attorney General accused of having been a pyramid scheme; Raniere signed a consent order in 1996 in which he denied any wrongdoing but agreed to pay a $40,000 fine and to be permanently banned from "promoting, offering or granting participation in a chain distribution scheme".{{cite news |first=James M. |last=Odato |title='Ample evidence' to justify investigation |date=February 20, 2012 |access-date=April 18, 2018 |location=Albany, New York |work=Times Union |url=https://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Ample-evidence-to-justify-investigation-3337402.php}}

In 1998, Raniere and Nancy Salzman founded NXIVM, a personal development company offering "Executive Success Programs" (ESP) and a range of techniques for self-improvement.{{cite web |url=https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/longform/the-making-of-the-vanguard |title=Escaping NXIVM: Inside the secretive world of leader Keith Raniere |first1=Josh |last1=Bloch |first2=Kathleen |last2=Goldhar |first3=Anita |last3=Elash |first4=Dave |last4=Pizer |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation}}{{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}}{{cite web |title=The 'Sex Cult' That Preached Empowerment |date=May 30, 2018 |access-date=May 30, 2018 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/30/magazine/sex-cult-empowerment-nxivm-keith-raniere.html}} Raniere claimed that its "main emphasis is to have people experience more joy in their lives".A&E Cults and Extreme Belief [https://www.aetv.com/shows/cults-and-extreme-belief/season-1/episode-1 S1E1], aired May 28, 2018. Retrieved May 30, 2018. In one account cited by former NXIVM member Sarah Edmondson, Raniere chose the name based on the ancient Roman system of debt bondage known as nexum.{{cite book |last=Edmonson |first=Sarah |author-link= |date=2019 |title=Scarred: The True Story of How I Escaped NXIVM, the Cult that Bound My Life |location=San Francisco |publisher=Chronicle Prism |page=25 |isbn=978-1-4521-8426-5}} The 2002 registration with United States Patent and Trademark Office for the NXIVM trademark states that "The foreign wording in the mark translates into English as 'the next millennium{{'"}}.{{Cite web |date=2002-02-19 |title=Mark: NXIVM, U.S. Serial Number: 78109670 |url=https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=78109670&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch |access-date=2022-12-11 |website=Trademark Status & Document Retrieval}}

During NXIVM seminars, students would call Raniere and Salzman "Vanguard" and "Prefect", respectively.{{cite news |last1=Odato |first1=James |last2=Gish |first2=Jennifer |date=February 11, 2012 |title=Secrets of NXIVM |url=https://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Secrets-of-NXIVM-2880885.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214211129/http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Secrets-of-NXIVM-2880885.php#media-23728 |archive-date=February 14, 2012 |access-date=February 10, 2018 |work=Albany Times Union}}{{cite magazine |last=Barcella |first=Laura |date=November 21, 2017 |url= https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/is-nxivm-a-cult-what-we-know-w512261 |title=Is NXIVM a Cult? What We Know |magazine= Rolling Stone |access-date=February 10, 2018}}{{cite web |last=Andrews |first=Suzanna |date=October 13, 2010 |url= https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2010/11/bronfman-201011 |title=The Heiresses and the Cult |work=Vanity Fair|access-date= February 10, 2018}} The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Raniere adopted the title from the 1981 video game Vanguard, "in which the destruction of one's enemies increased one's own power".{{cite magazine|title=Her Darkest Role: Actress Allison Mack's Descent From 'Smallville' to Sex Cult |access-date=May 18, 2018 |date=May 16, 2018 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/how-smallvilles-allison-mack-went-actress-sex-cult-slaver-1112107|magazine=Hollywood Reporter}} Within the organization, the reasoning for the titles was that Raniere was the leader of a philosophical movement and Salzman was his first student.

By 2003, 3,700 people had taken part in ESP classes. Reported participants included businesswoman Sheila Johnson, former Surgeon General Antonia Novello, Enron executive Stephen Cooper, Ana Cristina Fox (daughter of former Mexican president Vicente Fox),{{cite news |title=Cult of Personality |first=Michael |last= Freedman |url= https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2003/1013/088.html |work=Forbes |location=New York City |access-date=April 24, 2018 |date= October 13, 2003}} entrepreneur Richard Branson (who denied having taken the classes),{{cite magazine |title=This Keith Raniere Sex-Cult Story Is Much Deeper Than Allison Mack's Arrest |access-date=March 30, 2018 |date=April 20, 2018 |magazine=Vanity Fair |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2018/04/allison-mack-arrested-in-connection-to-keith-raniere}}{{cite web |title=A Top NXIVM Sex Cult Recruiter Comes Forward, Says Founder 'Messed With the Wrong Person' |access-date=March 30, 2018 |date=March 26, 2018 |work=The Daily Beast |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/a-top-nxivm-sex-cult-recruiter-comes-forward-he-messed-with-the-wrong-person}} businessman Edgar Bronfman Sr., and actresses Linda Evans, Grace Park, and Nicki Clyne.{{cite news |title=How to Lose $100 Million |first= Nicholas |last=Köhler |url= http://www.macleans.ca/2010/09/09/how-to-lose-100-million |newspaper= Maclean's |date=September 13, 2010 |access-date=March 22, 2011 }} In the early 2000s, Seagram heiresses Clare and Sara Bronfman, daughters of Edgar Bronfman Sr., became attached to the organization.

{{Main|NXIVM Corp. v. Ross Institute}}

NXIVM claimed its training was a trade secret, subject to non-disclosure agreements, but reportedly used a technique the organization called "rational inquiry" to facilitate personal and professional development. In 2003, NXIVM sued the Ross Institute in the case known as NXIVM Corp. v. Ross Institute, alleging copyright infringement for publishing excerpts of content from its manual in three critical articles commissioned by cult investigator Rick Alan Ross and posted on his website.{{citation |title=A Forensic Psychiatrist Evaluates ESP |date=February 2003 |publisher=Cult Education Institute |url=https://culteducation.com/group/907-nxivm/6047-a-forensic-psychiatrist-evaluates-esp.html}}{{citation |title=A Critical Analysis of the Executive Success Programs Inc. |date=February 2003 |publisher=Cult Education Institute |url=https://culteducation.com/group/907-nxivm/5969-a-critical-analysis-of-the-executive-success-programs-inc.html}}{{citation |title= Robert Jay Lifton's eight criteria of thought reform as applied to the Executive Success Programs |date=February 2003 |publisher=Cult Education Institute |url= https://culteducation.com/group/907-nxivm/5980-robert-jay-liftons-eight-criteria-of-thought-reform-as-applied-to-the-executive-success-programs.html}} Ross posted a psychiatrist's assessment of NXIVM's "secret" manual on his website that called the regimen "expensive brainwashing".{{cite web |title=NXIVM Corp. v. Ross |url=http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/nxivm-corp-v-ross |work=legal case |publisher=Citizen media law company |access-date=February 10, 2012}}

Ross obtained the manual from former member Stephanie Franco, a co-defendant in the trial, who had signed a non-disclosure agreement not to divulge information from the manual to others. NXIVM filed suits in New York and New Jersey, but both were dismissed. On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal, ruling that the defendant's critical analysis was fair use since the secondary use was transformative as criticism and was not a potential replacement for the original on the market.{{cite book|author=Aspen Publishers|title=Copyright. Keyed to Keyed to Course Using Gorman and Ginsburg's Copyright: Cases and Materials Seventh Edition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I6gWONBoXpIC&pg=PA95|year=2007|publisher=Wolters Kluwer|isbn=978-0735561762|pages=95–96|series=Casenote Legal Briefs}}{{cite book|author1=Roger E. Meiners|author2=Al H. Ringleb|author3=Frances L. Edwards|title=The legal environment of business|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8ZvaVXT1n3IC&pg=PA230|year=2006|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-0324204858|page=230}}{{cite court |litigants=NXIVM Corp. v. Ross Institute|reporter=F.3d |opinion=471 |court=2d Cir. |date=2004 |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/364/471/532988/ |access-date=February 24, 2018 }}

In October 2003, Forbes published a critical article on NXIVM and Raniere. According to Vanity Fair, NXIVM leadership, who had spoken to Forbes, had expected a positive story. They were especially upset by remarks made by Bronfman, who told Forbes that he believed NXIVM was a cult and that he was troubled by his daughters' "emotional and financial investment" in it. In 2006, Forbes published an article about the Bronfman sisters, stating that they had taken out a line of credit to loan NXIVM $2 million, repayable through personal training sessions and phone consultations with Salzman.{{cite news |url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2006/0724/044a.html |title=The Bronfmans and the Cult |last1=Berman |first1=Phyllis |date=June 24, 2006 |work=Forbes |access-date=July 24, 2006 |last2=Gillies |first2=Andrew T. |last3=Novack |first3= Janet |last4=Egan |first4=Mary Ellen |last5=Blakeley |first5=Kiri}} Another Forbes article in 2010 discussed the failures of commodities and real estate deals by the Bronfmans made on Raniere's advice.{{cite web |url= https://www.forbes.com/sites/docket/2010/03/29/the-bronfmans-and-the-cult/ |title=The Bronfmans and The 'Cult' |last=Vardi |first=Nathan |date= March 29, 2010 |work=Forbes |access-date= February 11, 2018}}

After actress Kristin Kreuk became involved with NXIVM in 2006, Salzman and her daughter Lauren, a junior NXIVM leader, went to Vancouver to recruit Kreuk's Smallville co-star Allison Mack. Lauren bonded with Mack (the two women eventually became Raniere's inner circle and his sexual partners). Kreuk, however, left NXIVM in 2013.{{cite web |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/smallville-actress-kristin-kreuk-horrified-and-disgusted-by-nxivm-cult-she-left |title='Smallville' Actress Kristin Kreuk 'Horrified and Disgusted' by Nxivm Cult She Left |website=The Daily Beast |date=March 30, 2018 |access-date=May 18, 2018}} Mack became "an enthusiastic proselytizer" for NXIVM, persuading her parents to take courses, and after wrapping production of Smallville in 2011, moved to Clifton Park, New York, to be near NXIVM's home base in Albany.

In 2008, the Bronfman sisters allegedly pressured Stephen Herbits, a confidant of their father, to ask Albany County District Attorney David Soares, New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, and New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram to begin criminal investigations into NXIVM's critics. NXIVM reportedly kept dossiers on Soares, Spitzer, political consultants Roger Stone and Steve Pigeon, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, and Albany Times Union publisher George Randolph Hearst III in a box in the basement of Nancy Salzman's home.{{cite news |first=Robert |last=Gavin |title=NXIVM's files on 'enemies' debated in court

|url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/NXIVM-s-files-on-enemies-debated-in-court-13844301.php

|date=May 14, 2019|access-date=January 22, 2022|newspaper=Times Union}}Gavin, Robert (May 16, 2019). [https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/NXIVM-13851004.php "Witness: Bronfmans tried to apply political pressure"]. Times Union. According to the Times Union, NXIVM "developed a reputation for aggressively pursuing critics and defectors who broke from its ranks, including using litigation to punish critics of Raniere, the organization, or its training methods."{{cite news |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/FBI-shifts-mountain-of-data-in-NXIVM-s-seized-13254160.php |title=FBI shifts mountain of data in NXIVM's seized computers |first=Brendan J. |last=Lyons |date=September 24, 2018 |website=Times Union}}

The World Ethical Foundations Consortium, an organization co-founded by Raniere and the Bronfman sisters, sponsored a visit to Albany by the Dalai Lama in 2009. The visit was initially canceled by the Dalai Lama owing to negative press about NXIVM,{{cite news |last=Ettkin |first=Brian |date=April 6, 2009 |url=http://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Dalai-Lama-cancels-his-visit-to-Albany-118447.php |title=Dalai Lama Cancels His Visit to Albany |work=The News-Times |access-date=November 2, 2011}} but was rescheduled; the Dalai Lama spoke at Albany's Palace Theatre in May 2009.{{cite web |last=Caprood |first=Tom |date=May 7, 2009 |url=http://www.troyrecord.com/article/TR/20090507/NEWS/305079979 |title=Dalai Lama fills Palace with message of compassion |work=Troy Record |access-date=February 10, 2018}} In 2017, Lama Tenzin Dhonden, the self-styled "Personal Emissary for Peace for the Dalai Lama" who had arranged the appearance, was suspended from his position amid corruption charges; the investigation also revealed a personal relationship between Dhonden and Sara Bronfman, which began in 2009.{{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}}

NXIVM has been described as a pyramid scheme,{{cite web |last=Odato |first=James |title=Lawyer attacks NXIVM 'scheme' |url=http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Lawyer-attacks-NXIVM-scheme-1032548.php |website=TimesUnion.com |date=February 27, 2011 |publisher=The Hearst Corporation |access-date=November 13, 2017}}{{cite web |title=The Only (Alleged) Sex-Slave Cult Story You Need to Understand: Kirsten Gillibrand's Weakness as a 2020 Candidate |website=Slate |date=March 28, 2018 |access-date=May 18, 2018 |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/03/kirsten-gillibrand-alleged-sex-slavery-and-the-2020-primary.html}}{{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=The New York Times|date=October 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207013003/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/17/nyregion/nxivm-women-branded-albany.html?pagewanted=all|archive-date=December 7, 2022|url-status=live}} a sex-trafficking operation,{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47563045 |title=Associate pleads guilty in 'sex cult' case |date=March 13, 2019 |publisher=BBC}} a cult,{{Cite news |url=http://www.thenation.com/article/190881/how-strange-secretive-cult-company-waging-legal-war-against-journalists |title=How a Strange, Secretive, Cult-like Company Is Waging Legal War Against Journalists |last=Cohan |first=William D. |date=November 18, 2014 |work=The Nation |access-date=May 27, 2015}}{{cite web |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Bronfman-Russell-to-plead-guilty-in-NXIVM-case-13780718.php |title=Bronfman, Russell plead guilty in NXIVM case |date=April 19, 2019 |website=timesunion.com}}{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/members-alleged-sex-cult-nxivm-federal-court/story?id=60645426 |title=Members of alleged sex cult NXIVM appear in federal court |website=ABC News}} and a sex cult.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44946059 |title=Heiress among four arrested in 'sex cult' |date=July 25, 2018 |publisher=BBC |access-date=January 14, 2019}} In a 2010 Times Union article, former NXIVM coaches characterized students as "prey" for Raniere's sexual or gambling-related proclivities.{{cite web |last=Odato |first=James |title=Ex-NXIVM trainer: Students are prey |url=http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Ex-NXIVM-trainer-Students-are-prey-824046.php |newspaper=Times Union |date=November 22, 2010}} Kristin Keeffe, a longtime partner of Raniere and mother of his child, left the group in 2014 and called Raniere "dangerous", saying, "[a]ll the worst things you know about NXIVM are true."{{cite web |last=Odato |first=James |title=A split from NXIVM |url=http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/A-split-from-NXIVM-5468731.php |location=Albany, New York |newspaper=Times Union |date=May 12, 2014}}

NXIVM has been associated with several related organizations. Jness was a society aimed at women, while the Society of Protectors was aimed primarily at men. A third group was known by the acronym DOS, short for "Dominus Obsequious Sororium", which, according to one member, means "master over slave women".{{cite news |last=Bellamy-Walker |first=Tatyana |date=March 27, 2018 |title=Feds: 'Self-Help' Guru Kept Women as Sex 'Slaves,' Branded Them With His Initials |newspaper=The Daily Beast |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/feds-self-help-guru-kept-women-as-sex-slaves-branded-them-with-his-initials |access-date=June 20, 2019 |via=thedailybeast.com}} In 2006, Raniere founded Rainbow Cultural Garden, an international chain of childcare organizations in which children were to be exposed to seven different languages.{{cite web |last=Iannelli |first=Jerry |date=April 27, 2018 |title=State Closes Midtown Miami School Tied to NXIVM 'Sex Cult' Leader |url=https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/alejandro-sanzs-wifes-miami-school-closed-by-state-tied-to-nxivm-sex-cult-founder-10295903 |website=Miami New Times}}

In 2014, Raniere founded the NXIVM-affiliated news organization The Knife of Aristotle, to identify and measure media bias.{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/29/nyregion/nxivm-lawsuit-keith-raniere.html |title=Nxivm 'Sex Cult' Was Also a Huge Pyramid Scheme, Lawsuit Says |last=Hong |first=Nicole |date= January 29, 2020 |work=The New York Times|access-date=April 27, 2020 }}

Starting with reports by Frank Parlato in June 2017{{cite web|date=June 13, 2017|title=Part 1 The Slave Women of DOS – Revealed|url=https://frankreport.com/2017/06/13/part-1-the-slave-women-of-dos-revealed/ |access-date=July 27, 2020|website= Frank Report |language=en-US}} and bolstered by an October 2017

article in The New York Times, details began to emerge about "DOS", a secret society of women that started in 2015 within NXIVM in which female members were allegedly called slaves, branded with the initials of Raniere and Mack, subjected to corporal punishment from their "masters", and required to provide nude photos or other potentially damaging information about themselves as "collateral".{{cite web|date=March 26, 2018|title=The Founder of "Nxivm', a Purported Self-Help Organization Based in Albany, N.Y., Arrested for Sex Trafficking and Forced Labor Conspiracy |url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/founder-nxivm-purported-self-help-organization-based-albany-ny-arrested-sex-trafficking|access-date=February 6, 2021|publisher=Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of New York|language=en}}{{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 | work =ABC News |access-date=February 10, 2018}}{{cite magazine |title=NXIVM: What We Know About Alleged Sex Trafficking, Forced Labor |last=Barcella |first=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}} Law enforcement representatives have alleged that DOS members were forced into sexual slavery.{{cite news |title=What is Nxivm? |date=March 27, 2018 |access-date=April 18, 2018 |url=http://www.newsweek.com/nxivm-keith-raniere-sex-trafficking-self-help-vow-dos-slaves-multi-level-861293}}

Sarah Edmondson, a Canadian actress who had been an ESP participant since 2005, said that she left NXIVM after Mack inducted her into DOS at her Albany home. Edmondson alleged that DOS participants were blindfolded naked, held down by Mack and three other women, and branded on the lower abdomen with a cauterizing pen by NXIVM-affiliated doctor Danielle Roberts.{{cite news |title=Vancouver woman says scars from ritual 'branding' fuel her fight against 'cultish' group |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/sarah-edmondson-executive-success-programs-esp-nxivm-branding-1.4374048 |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |date=October 27, 2017}} Appearing on an A&E television program about cults, Edmondson provided additional context for the use of the "collateral" concept, saying that it was used in innocuous forms from the earliest, outermost stages of NXIVM in order to acclimate victims—for example, collateralizing small amounts of money that one might forfeit if one did not go to the gym one day. The New York Times later reported that hundreds of members left NXIVM after Edmondson went public about her experience.

On December 15, 2017, the ABC newsmagazine 20/20 aired an exposé including interviews with many former NXIVM adherents, including Edmondson and Catherine Oxenberg, who alleged that her daughter, India Oxenberg, was in danger from the group. Several former members reported financial and sexual predation by NXIVM leaders. Edmondson further appeared in "Escaping NXIVM", during the first season of the CBC podcast Uncover.

Seven socially prominent Mexican citizens, including Emiliano Salinas (son of former president Carlos Salinas de Gortari) and Ana Cristina Fox (daughter of former president Vicente Fox), Rosa Laura Junco, Loreta Garza Dávila (a business leader from Nuevo Leon), Daniela Padilla, and Mónica Durán, have been accused of involvement.{{citation |url=https://www.elsoldemexico.com.mx/mexico/sociedad/quienes-son-los-mexicanos-involucrados-con-la-secta-nxivm-3674611.html |title=¿Quiénes son los mexicanos involucrados con la secta NXIVM? |newspaper=El Sol de Mexico |access-date=May 26, 2019 |language=es |date=May 26, 2019|trans-title=Who are the Mexicans involved with the NXIVM sect?}}{{citation |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFmoaSvOP1c |title=Revelan video de Emiliano Salinas bailando en celebración a Keith Raniere |work=Proceso Magazine|date=June 18, 2019 }}

File:Nxivm-Indictment-S-1.pdf

In March 2018, Raniere was arrested and indicted on charges related to DOS, including sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy, and conspiracy to commit forced labor.{{cite web |date=March 26, 2018 |title=Leader of NY Group Branded Women, Made Them Sex Slaves: Feds |url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Leader-of-Secret-Upstate-New-York-Group-Charged-with-Sex-Trafficking-477966643.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019081848/https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/leader-of-secret-upstate-new-york-group-charged-with-sex-trafficking/450418/ |archive-date=October 19, 2020 |access-date=April 21, 2018 |website=NBC 4 New York |publisher=Associated Press}}{{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 16, 2018 |language=en-US}} He was arrested in Mexico and held in custody in New York after appearing in federal court in Fort Worth, Texas.{{Cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/leader-of-alleged-cult-that-ensnared-vancouver-woman-appears-in-court-1.4595940 |title=Leader of alleged cult that ensnared Vancouver woman appears in court |date=March 27, 2018 |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation}} The indictment alleged that at least one woman was coerced into sex with Raniere, who forced DOS members to undergo the branding ritual alleged by Edmondson and others.{{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 |date=March 27, 2018|last=Swenson|first=Kyle}}{{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 |agency=Associated Press |date=March 27, 2018}} United States Attorney Richard Donoghue stated that Raniere "created a secret society of women whom he had sex with and branded with his initials, coercing them with the threat of releasing their highly personal information and taking their assets".

On April 20, 2018, Mack was arrested and indicted on similar charges to Raniere's.{{cite magazine |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=April 20, 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}} According to prosecutors, after she recruited women into first NXIVM and then DOS, Mack was allegedly paid by Raniere to coerce them into engaging in sexual activity with Raniere. Mack was further alleged to be DOS's second-in-command after Raniere.{{cite web |url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/founder-nxivm-purported-self-help-organization-and-actor-indicted-sex-trafficking-and |title=Founder of 'NXIVM', a Purported Self-Help Organization, and Actor Indicted for Sex Trafficking and Forced Labor Conspiracy |website=justice.gov |date=April 20, 2018 |access-date=April 23, 2018}}{{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}} On April 24, Mack was released on $5 million bond pending trial and held under house arrest with her parents in California.{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/allison-mack-smallville-actress-granted-bail-sex-cult-case-2018-04-24/|title=Allison Mack of 'Smallville' granted bail in sex cult case|website=CBS News|date=April 24, 2018 }}{{cite web |last=Gonzalez |first=Sandra |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/24/entertainment/allison-mack/index.html |title=Allison Mack granted bail in sex trafficking case |work=CNN|date=April 24, 2018 |access-date=May 3, 2018}} On May 4, Raniere pleaded not guilty.

Salzman's home was raided shortly after Raniere's arrest, and prosecutors stated during his arraignment that further arrests and a superseding indictment for Raniere and Mack should be expected.{{cite web |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Keith-Raniere-Allison-Mack-head-to-court-in-12887478.php |title=Raniere, Mack appear in court on sex-slavery charges |work=Albany Times Union |date=May 4, 2018 |access-date=May 4, 2018}}{{cite web |url=http://www.news10.com/news/local-news/trial-date-set-for-keith-raniere-and-allison-mack/1159493630 |title=Trial date set for Keith Raniere and Allison Mack |work=Albany News 10 |date=May 4, 2018 |access-date=May 4, 2018}} In late May, authorities moved to seize two NXIVM-owned properties near Albany.{{cite web |title=Foreclosure Complaint Reveals NXIVM Sex Cult Rituals In Upstate New York |date=May 24, 2018|access-date=May 29, 2018 |url=http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2018/05/24/nxivm-sex-cult-foreclose-halfmoon}}

In April 2018, the New York Post reported that NXIVM had moved to Brooklyn, New York, and was being led by Clare Bronfman.{{cite web |url=https://nypost.com/2018/04/21/sex-cult-moves-to-brooklyn-and-is-ready-for-war/ |title='Sex cult' moves to Brooklyn – and is ready for 'war' |first=Laura |last=Italiano |date=April 21, 2018 |access-date=April 9, 2019}} On June 12, 2018, the Times Union reported that NXIVM had suspended its operations owing to "extraordinary circumstances facing the company".{{cite web |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/NXIVM-suspends-all-operations-12987928.php |title=NXIVM suspends all operations; founder's bail denied |first1=Steve |last1=Hughes |agency=Associated Press |date=June 12, 2018 |website=Times Union}} Bronfman was arrested on July 24 and charged with racketeering. She was released to house arrest after signing a $100 million bail bond. Also arrested and charged with the same crime were NXIVM President Nancy Salzman; her daughter, Lauren Salzman; and another NXIVM employee, Kathy Russell.{{cite web |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/4350140/clare-bronfman-seagrams-arrested-nxivm-sex-cult/ |title=Clare Bronfman, Seagram's heiress, arrested in Nxivm sex-trafficking case |website=Global News |access-date=July 24, 2018}}{{cite web |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/nxivm-bronfman-sex-cult-racketeering-1.4759640 |title=Seagram's heiress Clare Bronfman charged in connection with alleged sex cult NXIVM Bronfman and five others accused of racketeering related to operations of a cult-like pyramid group |last=Proctor |first=Jason |date=July 24, 2018 |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=July 24, 2018}}

{{Wikisource|Superseding Indictment, United States of America v. Keith Raniere, et al.|Superseding indictment #2, USA v. Keith Raniere, et al. from March 2019.}}

On March 13, 2019, Nancy Salzman pleaded guilty to a charge of racketeering criminal conspiracy.{{Cite news |last=Brendan |first=Pierson |date=March 13, 2019 |title=Self-help guru Raniere faces U.S. child porn charges; associate pleads guilty |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-crime-cult-idUSKCN1QU2Z2 |access-date=March 14, 2019}}{{cite web |last=Saul |first=Emily |date=March 13, 2019 |title=Nxivm co-founder Nancy Salzman pleads guilty in sex cult case |url=https://nypost.com/2019/03/13/nxivm-co-founder-nancy-salzman-pleads-guilty-in-sex-cult-case/ |access-date=March 14, 2019 |website=New York Post}}{{cite web |title=Leader of alleged NXIVM sex cult pleads not guilty to child porn charges |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/allison-mack-nxivm-case-smallville-actress-possible-plea-negotiations-keith-raniere-pleads-not-guilty-in-sex-cult-case/ |access-date=April 9, 2019 |website=CBS News|date=March 18, 2019 }} She agreed, as nominal owner, not to contest forfeiture of NXIVM-related assets including real estate as well as corporations that owned Keith Raniere and NXIVM's trademark and patent portfolio.{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=United States of America|defendant=Keith Raniere|title=Final Order of Forfeiture|doc-number=1108|att-number=1|date=September 7, 2021|pacer-number=420065|use-recap=yes|case-state=NY|case-district=ED|case-division=1|case-year=2018|case-type=cr|case-sequence=00204|access-date=May 18, 2022}}

The same day as Nancy Salzman's plea, the court unsealed a second (and final) superseding indictment against Raniere and his codefendants, adding the charge that Raniere produced and kept child sexual abuse material of a girl who was 15 at the time.{{Cite web |title=Spiritual leader of alleged NY sex cult hit with child porn charges |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/crime-courts/new-york-woman-pleads-guilty-alleged-sex-cult-case-n982901 |access-date=May 18, 2022 |website=NBC News |date=March 13, 2019 |language=en}}

Later in March 2019, Lauren Salzman pleaded guilty to racketeering and racketeering conspiracy; she later testified against Raniere and received leniency.{{cite web |url= https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Daughter-of-NXIVM-leader-pleads-guilty-13725939.php |title=Daughter of NXIVM leader pleads guilty |first1=Brendan J. |last1=Lyons |first2=Mike |last2=Goodwin |date=March 29, 2019 |website=Times Union}}{{Cite web |last=Dickson |first=E. J. |date=May 21, 2019 |title='I Was in One Mode: Protect Keith': NXIVM Member Testifies About Naked Meetings, Group Sex, Dungeon Paddlings |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/lauren-salzman-nxivm-sex-slave-keith-raniere-testimony-trial-836547/ |access-date=May 18, 2022 |website=Rolling Stone Magazine |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=July 19, 2021 |title=Federal prosecutors recommend leniency in high-ranking NXIVM sentencing |url=https://wnyt.com/news/lauren-salzman-nxivm-sentencing/6176704/ |access-date=May 18, 2022 |website=WNYT NewsChannel 13 |language=en}}

Sentencing documents for Allison Mack state that she entered proffer sessions on April 2, 2019. The government credited her for providing relevant emails, documents and recordings later used to convict Raniere. On April 8, 2019, Mack pleaded guilty to racketeering and racketeering conspiracy. Though not called to testify against Keith Raniere, prosecutors said that Mack, "was available to testify at Raniere’s trial if requested to do so."{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/apr/08/allison-mack-nxivm-pleads-guilty-racketeering-charges |title= Smallville star Allison Mack pleads guilty to racketeering in Nxivm case |newspaper= The Guardian |date=April 8, 2019 |access-date= April 21, 2019}}{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=United States of America|defendant=Keith Raniere|title=SENTENCING MEMORANDUM by USA as to Allison Mack|doc-number=1045|date=June 21, 2021|pacer-number=416188|use-recap=yes|case-state=NY|case-district=ED|case-division=1|case-year=2018|case-type=cr|case-sequence=00204|access-date=May 18, 2022}}

On April 19, 2019, Bronfman pleaded guilty to charges of harboring an illegal immigrant and identity fraud; bookkeeper Kathy Russell pleaded guilty to visa fraud.{{Cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/19/nyregion/nxivm-clare-bronfman.html |title=Clare Bronfman Pleads Guilty in Nxivm 'Sex Cult' Case, Leaving Leader to Stand Trial Alone |last1=Meier |first1=Barry |date=April 19, 2019 |work=The New York Times |access-date=April 20, 2019 |last2= Moynihan |first2=Colin |language= en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

The federal trial of Keith Raniere began on May 7, 2019.{{cite web |url= https://www.news10.com/video/nxivm-trial-prosecution-s-opening-statements-lasted-90-minutes_20190507163116/1986277706/ |title= NXIVM trial prosecution's opening statements lasted ninety minutes |website= News 10 ABC|date= July 17, 2023 }} On June 19, 2019, the jury convicted him of all counts.

The assets of NXIVM were held by Nancy Salzman, including several corporate entities and titles to intellectual property. As part of her plea agreement with the government, Salzman did not contest asset forfeiture.

Following the conviction of Keith Raniere, members of the defunct organization split, with many speaking out against Raniere and the organization. A small number of NXIVM members continue to support Raniere and protest his innocence.{{Cite web |last=Gavin |first=Robert |date=March 28, 2021 |title=3 years after Raniere's arrest, NXIVM divides into victims, loyalists, guilty |url=https://www.timesunion.com/nxivm/article/Three-years-after-Keith-Raniere-s-arrest-NXIVM-16009952.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614174408/https://www.timesunion.com/nxivm/article/Three-years-after-Keith-Raniere-s-arrest-NXIVM-16009952.php |archive-date=June 14, 2021 |access-date=June 12, 2022 |website=Times Union |language=en-US}} Attorneys for Raniere submitted letters from 56 supporters requesting leniency for Raniere.{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=United States of America|defendant=Keith Raniere|title=LETTERS OF SUPPORT ACCOMPANYING SENTENCING MEMORANDUM ON BEHALF OF KEITH RANIERE|doc-number=950|date=October 9, 2020|pacer-number=416187|use-recap=yes|case-state=NY|case-district=ED|case-division=1|case-year=2018|case-type=cr|case-sequence=00204|access-date=June 12, 2022}}

In January 2020, Sarah Edmondson became lead plaintiff in a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act civil suit filed in United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York accusing Raniere and 14 associates (including Nancy Salzman, Clare Bronfman, Sara Bronfman, Lauren Salzman, Allison Mack, Kathy Russell, Karen Unterreiner, Brandon Porter, Danielle Roberts, and Nicki Clyne) of conducting illegal psychological experiments on members of the company and abusing them physically, emotionally and financially.{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/29/us/nxivm-lawsuit-experiments-abuse/ |title= Nxivm leadership accused of illegal psychological experiments and systematic abuse in federal lawsuit| first1 =Giulia McDonnell Nieto | last1 = del Rio | first2 = Madeline | last2 = Holcombe | first3 = Rob | last3 = Frehse|date= January 30, 2020|publisher=CNN|access-date= February 21, 2020}}{{Cite web |title=Docket for Edmondson v. Raniere, 1:20-cv-00485 - CourtListener.com |url=https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/16772334/edmondson-v-raniere/ |access-date=June 12, 2022 |website=CourtListener |language=en-us}}

In summer 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic preventing in-person visitation to the Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn, Raniere's remaining followers, including actress Nicki Clyne, began assembling to dance near the jail. Though they initially claimed to be entertaining all of the detainees, they were seen with a sign addressed to "Kay Rose," a name sharing Raniere's initials.{{Cite web |date=July 17, 2020 |title=Podcast: NXIVM members dance outside federal lockup for Keith Raniere |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Podcast-NXIVM-members-dance-outside-federal-15415507.php |access-date=June 12, 2022 |website=Times Union |language=en-US}} The group began calling itself "The Forgotten Ones" and "We Are As You." Former NXIVM member turned prosecution witness Mark Vicente dismissed the group as a "cover movement" to support Raniere.{{Cite web |last1=Beeferman |first1=Jason |last2=Lapin |first2=Tamar |date=July 15, 2020 |title=Dancers outside Brooklyn jail are 'cover movement' for Nxivm sex cult |url=https://nypost.com/2020/07/15/dancers-outside-brooklyn-jail-are-cover-movement-for-nxivm-sex-cult/ |access-date=June 12, 2022 |website=New York Post |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=July 23, 2020 |title=Brooklyn Prison Dancers Linked to 'Sex Cult' NXIVM Start Social Justice Organization |url=https://bkreader.com/2020/07/23/nxivm-group-holds-nightly-dances-outside-of-brooklyn-prison-despite-its-controversial-ties/ |access-date=June 12, 2022 |website=BK Reader |language=en-US}}

While incarcerated, Raniere has maintained his leadership role over NXIVM, regularly communicating with his followers by phone and through TRULINCS email. A July 16, 2020, intelligence analysis memorandum from the Federal Bureau of Prisons' Counter Terrorism Unit states that Raniere instructed his follower Suneel Chakravorty to get more women to dance "erotically" outside of the MDC. In response, authorities at the MDC moved Raniere to another unit to keep the dancers out of his line of sight. A frustrated Raniere instructed his followers to help get him moved back by ingratiating themselves to prison staff, including offering coffee and donuts as they left their shifts.{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=Keith Raniere|defendant=Merrick Garland|title=Exhibit D, Response in Opposition re: 7 First Motion for Preliminary Injunction|doc-number=14|att-number=5|date=June 9, 2022|pacer-number=1295745|use-recap=yes|case-state=AZ|case-division=4|case-year=2022|case-type=cv|case-sequence=00212|access-date=June 12, 2022}}

Ahead of his sentencing, prosecutors submitted a number of Raniere's communications and disciplinary issues in prison as evidence of remorselessness and that he continues to control his followers. The communications included Raniere instructing his followers to have Alan Dershowitz, the attorney who successfully negotiated a non-prosecution agreement of the late Jeffrey Epstein, speak on his behalf; Dershowitz did not comment on the matter.{{cite news |last=Melendez |first=Pilar |date=August 28, 2020 |title=NXIVM Cult Leader's Jailhouse Call to Disciples: 'The Judge Needs to Know He's Being Watched' |newspaper=The Daily Beast |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-judge-needs-to-know-hes-being-watched-nxivm-leader-keith-raniere-says-in-jailhouse-call}} Prosecutors also submitted documentation that Raniere and his follower Chakravorty used a false name and "burner phone" to evade detection, with Raniere instructing Chakravorty to "get scrutiny" on Judge Nicholas Garaufis, explaining that "the judge needs to know he's being watched".{{cite web |last=Gavin |first=Robert |date=August 28, 2020 |title=Raniere, facing possible life sentence, wants judge to know 'he's being watched' |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Raniere-facing-possible-life-sentence-wants-15521201.php |website=Times Union}}{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=United States of America|defendant=Keith Raniere|title=Government's Sentencing Memorandum as to Defendant Keith Raniere|doc-number=914|date=August 27, 2020|pacer-number=416187|use-recap=yes|case-state=NY|case-district=ED|case-division=1|case-year=2018|case-type=cr|case-sequence=00204|access-date=June 12, 2022}}{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=United States of America|defendant=Keith Raniere|title=Exhibit D, Sentencing Memorandum by USA as to Keith Raniere|doc-number=914|att-number=3|date=August 27, 2020|pacer-number=416187|use-recap=yes|case-state=NY|case-district=ED|case-division=1|case-year=2018|case-type=cr|case-sequence=00204|access-date=June 12, 2022}}

On September 30, 2020, Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York sentenced Clare Bronfman to six years and nine months in federal prison. The sentence was more severe than those recommended by guidelines, with Garaufis stating that, "Raniere and his adherents appear to understand Ms. Bronfman’s continued loyalty—even after his trial and conviction, during which all the details of his sexual abuse and exploitation became known to the world."{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=United States of America|defendant=Keith Raniere|title=Sentencing Memorandum as to Clare Bronfman|doc-number=936|date=September 30, 2020|pacer-number=420062|use-recap=yes|case-state=NY|case-district=ED|case-division=1|case-year=2018|case-type=cr|case-sequence=00204|access-date=June 12, 2022}}

Ronald S. Sullivan Jr., attorney for Bronfman, called the sentence "an abomination." Sullivan filed notice of appeal on October 7, 2020. Bronfman only could appeal the sentence, as she forfeited the right to appeal her conviction as part of her plea.{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=United States of America|defendant=Keith Raniere|title=Notice of Appeal|doc-number=948|date=October 9, 2020|pacer-number=420062|use-recap=yes|case-state=NY|case-district=ED|case-division=1|case-year=2018|case-type=cr|case-sequence=00204|access-date=June 12, 2022}}

Bronfman initially served her sentence in Federal Detention Center, Philadelphia.{{Cite web |last=Gavin |first=Robert |date=July 13, 2021 |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=June 12, 2022 |website=Times Union |language=en-US}} She is presently imprisoned at Federal Correctional Institution, Danbury.{{Cite web |title=Search for "Clare Bronfman" |url=https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/ |access-date=June 12, 2022 |website=Inmate Locator}}

On October 27, 2020, federal judge Nicholas Garaufis sentenced Raniere to a prison term of 120 years in prison and fined him $1.75 million.{{Cite news |last1=Hong |first1=Nicole |last2=Piccoli |first2=Sean |date=October 27, 2020 |title=Keith Raniere, Leader of Nxivm Sex Cult, Is Sentenced to 120 Years in Prison |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/27/nyregion/keith-raniere-nxivm.html |access-date=October 27, 2020 |issn=0362-4331}} Attorneys for Keith Raniere gave notice of appeal of both his conviction and sentence on November 4, 2020.{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=United States of America|defendant=Keith Raniere|title=Notice of Appeal - Final Judgment|doc-number=972|date=November 4, 2020|pacer-number=416187|use-recap=yes|case-state=NY|case-district=ED|case-division=1|case-year=2018|case-type=cr|case-sequence=00204|access-date=June 12, 2022}}

In January 2021, Raniere was transferred from Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn to begin serving his 120-year sentence. The Federal Bureau of Prisons first transferred him temporarily to United States Penitentiary, Lewisburg, a medium-security penitentiary, followed by a transfer to his permanent prison at United States Penitentiary, Tucson. The facility in Tucson, Arizona, is noted as the sole facility in the federal prison system that is both specially-designated for sex offenders and also at maximum-security level.{{Cite web |date=January 10, 2021 |title=Raniere in Quarantine in USP Lewisburg PA; Likely Headed for Sex Offender Prison in Tucson Next |url=https://frankreport.com/2021/01/10/raniere-in-quarantine-in-usp-lewisburg-pa-likely-headed-for-sex-offender-prison-in-tucson-next/ |access-date=June 12, 2022 |website=Frank Report |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Brean |first=Henry |title=Leader of New York sex cult transferred to federal prison in Tucson |url=https://tucson.com/news/local/leader-of-new-york-sex-cult-transferred-to-federal-prison-in-tucson/article_ea983276-d0b1-5c00-ae1d-f138866e1d11.html |access-date=June 12, 2022 |website=Arizona Daily Star |date=February 3, 2021 |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Kozlowski |first=Kim |title=Larry Nassar now housed in Arizona prison |url=https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2018/02/09/larry-nassar-milan/110251634/ |access-date=June 12, 2022 |website=The Detroit News |language=en-US}}

In a hearing on restitution claims against Raniere, criminal defense attorney Marc Fernich represented Keith Raniere and stated that Bronfman had paid his fee.

Oral arguments on both Raniere and Bronfman's appeals were heard before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on May 3, 2022.{{Cite web |title=Oral Argument for United States v. Raniere (Bronfman) – CourtListener.com |url=https://www.courtlistener.com/audio/80967/united-states-v-raniere-bronfman/ |access-date=June 12, 2022 |website=CourtListener |language=en-us}} On December 9, 2022, the federal appeals court upheld the convictions and sentences for Keith Raniere and Clare Bronfman.{{Cite web |last=KLASFELD|first=ADAM|date=December 9, 2022|title=NXIVM 'Cult' Founder Keith Raniere Loses Appeal of 120-Year Sentence Following Sex Trafficking Convictions|url=https://lawandcrime.com/crime/nxivm-cult-founder-keith-raniere-loses-appeal-of-120-year-sentence-following-sex-trafficking-convictions/|work=Law & Crime}}{{Cite web |last=Feuerherd|first= Ben|date=December 9, 2022|title=Appeals court upholds sentences for NXIVM sex cult leaders Keith Raniere, Clare Bronfman|url=https://nypost.com/2022/12/09/appeals-court-upholds-sentences-for-nxivm-sex-cult-leader-keith-raniere/|work=New York Post}}

In 2021, Raniere supporter Marc Elliot filed a lawsuit against Lions Gate Entertainment in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, alleging that he was libelled and defamed by the Starz network documentary Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult.{{Cite web |last=Gavin |first=Robert |date=October 20, 2021 |title=NXIVM loyalist files $12 million suit against Starz network |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/NXIVM-loyalist-files-12-million-suit-against-16546392.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020172434/https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/NXIVM-loyalist-files-12-million-suit-against-16546392.php |archive-date=October 20, 2021 |access-date=June 14, 2022 |website=Times Union |language=en-US}} Joseph Tully, the attorney who represented Elliot, also represented Raniere in his appeals.{{Cite web |last=Gavin |first=Robert |date=November 11, 2021 |title=Former Epstein lawyer drops out of appeal for NXIVM leader Raniere |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Former-Epstein-lawyer-Fernich-drops-out-of-appeal-16612655.php |access-date=June 14, 2022 |website=Times Union |language=en-US}} The court dismissed the lawsuit and ordered Elliot to pay Lions Gate Entertainment's attorneys' fees and costs, finding that the documentary "impl[ied] that Plaintiff was a devoted member of an organization whose leader has been implicated in a range of serious sexual crimes, but this assertion – however unflattering – is substantially true."{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=Marc Elliot|defendant=Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation|title=Order Granting Defendants' Motion to Strike Pursuant to C.C.P. § 425.16|doc-number=49|date=November 8, 2022|pacer-number=834220|use-recap=yes|case-state=CA|case-district=CD|case-division=2|case-year=2021|case-type=cv|case-sequence=08206|access-date=November 12, 2022}}

In May 2022, Keith Raniere sued the U.S. Department of Justice and Bureau of Prisons, alleging violation of his civil rights. Raniere sought an injunction allowing visitation and phone calls from follower Suneel Chakravorty, who he claims is a paralegal working on his appeals.{{Cite web |last=Gavin |first=Robert |date=2022-05-17 |title=NXIVM leader Raniere suing Arizona federal prison |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/NXIVM-leader-Raniere-suing-Arizona-federal-prison-17178449.php |access-date=2022-06-15 |website=Times Union |language=en-US}} The Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons and authorities at USP Tucson argued the injunction should be denied because Chakravorty was not a paralegal but merely "an ardent former ESP and NXIVM coach with whom [Raniere] is banned from associating."{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=Keith Raniere|defendant=Merrick Garland|title=DEFENDANTS' RESPONSE TO MOTION FOR PRELIMARY INJUNCTION|doc-number=14|att-number=0|date=2022-06-09|pacer-number=1295745|use-recap=yes|case-state=AZ|case-division=4|case-year=2022|case-type=cv|case-sequence=00212|access-date=2022-06-12}}

Judge Raner Collins granted the Department of Justice's motion to dismiss the suit on grounds that Raniere failed to exhaust administrative remedies (in line with the Prison Litigation Reform Act), and his lawyer's insufficient service of process.{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=Keith Raniere|defendant=Merrick Garland|title=Order on Motion for Summary Judgment and Order on Motion to Dismiss|doc-number=52|date=2022-12-05|pacer-number=1295745|case-state=AZ|case-district=D|case-division=4|case-year=2022|case-type=cv|case-sequence=00212|access-date=2022-12-02}}

NXIVM has been described as a cult and Raniere a cult leader by anti-cult activists such as Rick Alan Ross and Steven Hassan, as well as the billionaire businessman Edgar Bronfman Sr.{{Cite web |title=A Cult Expert Tells Us Why the NXIVM Story Is Far from Over |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/ywepkk/a-cult-expert-tells-us-why-the-nxivm-story-is-far-from-over |access-date=June 16, 2022 |website=www.vice.com |date=May 23, 2018 |language=en}}{{Cite web |title="At This Point We Are In Despair": One Woman's Quest To Bring Her Brother Home From NXIVM|url=https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2018/06/201748/nxivm-cult-members-brother-executive-success-program|date=June 30, 2018 |work=Refinery29|first=AMELIA|last=HARNISH}} Stephen A. Kent, a sociologist who studies new religious movements, in an article comparing NXIVM to Scientology, noted NXIVM operated mainly as a business and never incorporated as a religious organization.{{Cite journal |title=IJCAM - Introduction - Comparative Reflections on Scientology and NXIVM |url=https://www.ijcam.org/articles/introduction-comparative-reflections-on-scientology-and-nxivm |access-date=June 16, 2022 |journal=International Journal of Coercion, Abuse, and Manipulation |date=2021 |volume=2 |language=en-US |doi=10.54208/0002/002|s2cid=246927361 |last1=Kent |first1=Stephen }}

Over the decades, NXIVM emphasized Raniere's specialness through hagiography. A complaint from a 2020 lawsuit by former members of NXIVM mentioned several fantastical claims made about Raniere in NXIVM marketing materials,{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=Sarah Edmondson|defendant=Keith Raniere|title=Complaint|doc-number=1|date=January 28, 2020|pacer-number=444408|use-recap=yes|case-state=NY|case-district=ED|case-division=1|case-year=2020|case-type=cv|case-sequence=00485|access-date=June 16, 2022}} including claims that Raniere spoke in complete sentences as a one-year-old, mastered college-level mathematics in grade school, and was an elite athlete who won judo and track tournaments.

Raniere frequently cited having three degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. However, he graduated with a 2.26 GPA, having failed or barely passed many of the upper-level math and science classes he bragged about.{{cite web |date=March 26, 2018 |title=United States v. Keith Raniere - Detention Memo|url=https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Raniere-Detention-Memo.pdf|work=United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York}}

Every August, NXIVM members would gather in Silver Bay, New York, to celebrate Raniere's birthday. Raniere's annual birthday gathering was known as "Vanguard Week", which began as a single day and eventually expanded to 11 days. The event included "tribute ceremonies" to Raniere by NXIVM members.{{cite web |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/NXIVM-turned-Lake-George-resort-into-annual-13836853.php |title=NXIVM turned Lake George resort into annual Raniere birthday jamboree |date=May 10, 2019 |website=timesunion.com |access-date=June 20, 2019}}

According to former high-ranking members of NXIVM, Raniere's word was final within NXIVM, and nothing of import happened within NXIVM without Raniere's approval. NXIVM students were taught that Raniere was the smartest and most ethical man in the world.

Well before co-founding NXIVM, Keith Raniere made fantastical claims about his intelligence. In June 1988, the Times Union profiled Raniere, reporting on his membership in the Mega Society after he achieved a high score on founder Ronald K. Hoeflin's MEGA test, an unsupervised, 48-question test published in the April 1985 issue of Omni magazine.Morris, Scot (April 1985). "The one-in-a-million I.Q. test". Omni, pp 128–132.{{cite web |date=July 2, 2017 |title=Blast from the past: Complete text from 1988 Times Union article about Raniere – and his take-home IQ test |url=https://frankreport.com/2017/07/02/blast-from-the-past-complete-text-from-1988-tu-article-about-raniere-take-home-iq-test/ |website=Frank Report}} Although the MEGA test has been widely criticized as not having been properly validated, the 1989 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records (the last to include a category for highest IQ{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Robert |title=The 18 Smartest People In The World |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/the-smartest-people-in-the-world-2011-3 |access-date=December 30, 2019 |website=Business Insider}}) described the Hoeflin Research Group as "the most exclusive ultrahigh IQ society", and the 1989 Australian edition identified Raniere, Marilyn vos Savant, and Eric Hart as the highest-scoring members of the group.{{Cite book |last1=McWhirter |first1=Norris |url=https://archive.org/details/guinnessbookofre00dona |title=The Guinness book of records : 1989 |last2=McFarlan |first2=Donald |date=1988 |publisher=Enfield, Middlesex : Guinness Pub. |isbn=978-0851128788 |page=[https://archive.org/details/guinnessbookofre00dona/page/16 16] |url-access=registration |via=Internet Archive}}{{cite book |author=Roger D. Carlson |title=Test Critique: The Mega Test |publisher=PRO-ED |year=1991 |isbn=0890792542 |editor=Daniel J. Keyser |edition=Volume VIII |pages=431–435 |editor2=Richard C. Sweetland}}{{Cite book |last=Castles |first=Elaine E. |url=http://www.abc-clio.com/product.aspx?id=2147510780 |title=Inventing Intelligence |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2012 |isbn=978-1440803383 |page=22 |quote=And what is that makes Marilyn vos Savant so uniquely qualified to answer such questions? There is only one reason: she is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as having the highest IQ ever recorded. Never mind that this record is based on a nonstandardized test put out by an obscure group known as Mega, supposedly the world's most selective organization of geniuses. Ignore the fact that test scores at the extreme ends of any distribution are notoriously unreliable. |access-date=August 31, 2013 |archive-date=September 26, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130926024412/http://www.abc-clio.com/product.aspx?id=2147510780 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |last=Parlato |first=Frank |date=July 13, 2018 |title=Univision's timeline of Keith Raniere's life |url=https://frankreport.com/2018/07/13/univisions-timeline-of-keith-ranieres-life/ |website=FrankReport.com}}

The 2003 Forbes exposé of NXIVM and Raniere showed that Raniere continued to make the claim of being the world's most intelligent man, with the addition of being "the most ethical." By the time of a 2012 Times Union article, these claims had extended to Raniere convincing some in NXIVM that "his intellectual energy sets off radar detectors."{{cite web |last1=Odato |first1=James M. |last2=Gish |first2=Jennifer |date=February 11, 2012 |title=Secrets of NXIVM |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Secrets-of-NXIVM-2880885.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214211129/http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Secrets-of-NXIVM-2880885.php |archive-date=February 14, 2012 |access-date=June 16, 2022 |website=Times Union}}

At Raniere's trial, testimony revealed that Raniere had convinced several girls and women that sex with him could heal their purported "disintegrations," and that his semen had supernatural qualities.{{Cite web |title=NXIVM: Keith Raniere said swallowing his semen made women see blue lights {{!}} The Underground Bunker |url=https://tonyortega.org/2019/05/24/nxivm-keith-raniere-said-swallowing-his-semen-made-women-see-blue-lights/ |access-date=June 16, 2022 |website=tonyortega.org |language=en-US}} Raniere instructed one sexual partner to seek out a virgin because he needed a "pure vessel" for reasons "energy-related and DNA-wise."{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=United States of America|defendant=Keith Raniere|title=Transcript of Trial|doc-number=779|date=2019-07-26|pacer-number=416187|case-state=NY|case-district=ED|case-division=1|case-year=2018|case-type=cr|case-sequence=00204|access-date=2022-12-11}}

File:NXIVM influences.png ("parasites"), L. Ron Hubbard ("suppressives"), Milton Erickson's hypnosis, Isaac Asimov's science fiction, Rudolf Steiner, Tony Robbins, and neuro-linguistic programming.{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/willyakowicz/2019/05/15/keith-raniere-the-leader-of-the-nxivm-sex-cult/|title=When We Exposed Keith Raniere, The Leader Of The Nxivm 'Sex Cult' |first=Will|last=Yakowicz|website=Forbes}}{{cite web|url=https://frankreport.com/2015/12/24/did-asimov-inspire-raniere-to-be-the-mule/|title=Did Asimov inspire Raniere to be 'the mule'?|date=December 24, 2015|website=Frank Report}}{{cite web|url=https://www.thecut.com/2019/11/what-it-was-like-to-date-a-cult-leader.html|title=What It Was Like to Date a Cult Leader|first=Katie|last=Heaney|date=November 7, 2019|website=The Cut}} NXIVM incorporated elements of multi-level marketing and practices from judo, with colored cloth for rank and bowing.{{cite web|url=https://artvoice.com/2019/07/07/did-isaac-asimov-inspire-keith-raniere-to-be-the-mule/|title=Did Isaac Asimov Inspire Keith Raniere to be 'the Mule'?|first=Frank|last=Parlato |date=July 7, 2019|website=Artvoice}}{{cite book |title=The Program: Inside the Mind of Keith Raniere and the Rise and Fall of NXIVM |first1=Toni|last1=Natalie|first2=Chet|last2=Hardin|date=September 24, 2019 |publisher=Grand Central |url=https://www.amazon.com/Program-Inside-Keith-Raniere-NXIVM-ebook/dp/B07PCHJK2M|via=Amazon}}]]

A 2003 mission statement on the NXIVM website read as follows:

NXIVM embodies a set of consistent and universal principles in which all humans can participate. These principles - apart from any mystical or religious notions - allow for life to persist and uphold a diversity of beliefs. By creating a new understanding, we can actualize our potential to live and work together and consequently bring human existence to a whole new level. Yet this cannot be done without first raising human awareness, fostering an ethical humanitarianism, and celebrating what it truly means to be human - and this is our mission.{{Cite web |date=October 2, 2003 |title=NXIVM |url=http://www.nxivm.com/mission_1024.php |access-date=June 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031002084336/http://www.nxivm.com/mission_1024.php |archive-date=October 2, 2003 |url-status=dead}}

In a transcript and audio of Clare Bronfman's testimony in a bankruptcy proceeding, Bronfman described the organization as a part of the Human Potential Movement.{{Citation |title=NXIVM: 'He's the Vanguard' | date=April 16, 2019 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBddZeP_6Ws |language=en |access-date=June 16, 2022}}

The oldest program of NXIVM, Executive Success Programs, had students recite a "Twelve-point Mission Statement", pledging to "purge" themselves "of all parasite and envy-based habits", to enroll others, and to "ethically control as much of the money, wealth and resources of the world as possible within my success plan." The Mission Statement also labeled students who shared Executive Success Programs materials as "breaking a promise and breaching my contract" and compromising "inner honesty and integrity."{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/09/nyregion/nxivm-cult-trial.html |title=Former Sex Cult Official Describes Its 'Evil' Inner Workings |first=Colin |last=Moynihan |date=May 9, 2019 |access-date=June 20, 2019 |work=The New York Times}}{{Cite news |last=Raniere |first=Keith |date=1998 |title=Twelve-point Mission Statement |url=https://int.nyt.com/data/documenthelper/852-keith-raniere-s-twelve-point-m/14c1838fee817b774dfc/optimized/full.pdf |work=The New York Times}}

The doctrine of the NXIVM organization, "Rational Inquiry method", was treated as Raniere's scientific invention and submitted to multiple patent offices.{{Cite patent|number=EP1320843A1|title=Rational inquiry method|gdate=2003-06-25|invent1=Raniere|inventor1-first=Keith|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/EP1320843A1/en/}}

NXIVM taught that some people, called "Suppressives", try to impede progress within NXIVM.{{cite web |last=Gavin |first=Robert |date=May 13, 2019 |title=Witness: Raniere bragged of wanting to 'break' follower Allison Mack |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Witness-After-leaving-NXIVM-women-became-targets-13841142.php |access-date=June 20, 2019 |website=Times Union}} People who irrevocably turned against Raniere were said to have undergone "The Fall" and were labeled, in the words of a former member, as "Luciferians, lost people for whom bad feels good, and good feels bad."{{cite magazine |last=Bryant |first=Kenzie |date=June 27, 2018 |title=How NXIVM Used a Simple Tool to Build Its 'Sex Cult' |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2018/06/keith-raniere-nxivm-patents-luciferian |magazine=Vanity Fair}} Some members of NXIVM's inner circle were reportedly taught that, in past lives, they were high-ranking Nazis.

NXIVM conducted "Intensives," classes conducted for 12 hours daily for 16 days. One cited price was $7,500.{{cite news |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/nxivm-trial-founder-keith-raniere-was-crime-boss-posing-as-guru-feds-say |title=NXIVM Trial Opens: Feds Say Founder Keith Raniere Was 'Crime Boss,' Not Guru |first=Pilar |last=Melendez |newspaper=The Daily Beast |date=May 7, 2019 |access-date=June 20, 2019 |via=thedailybeast.com}} Classes were divided into modules. In one module, "Relationship Sourcing", students were instructed to explore the benefits they would receive in the event of a partner's sudden death. Another module, "Dracula and his ghouls", reportedly discussed psychopaths and their followers. Other module titles included "Best People; Perfect World" and "The Heroic Struggle".{{cite web |url=https://frankreport.com/2017/06/15/part-1-master-ranieres-secret-teachings-what-students-learn-in-esp-intensives/ |title=Part 1: Master Raniere's secret teachings: What students learn in ESP 'Intensives'! |date=June 15, 2017 |website=Frank Report|access-date=June 20, 2019}}{{better source needed|date=November 2020}}

Classes by NXIVM had a number of idiosyncratic practices, described within the Rational Inquiry patent as "rules and rituals" and third-party sources as including:

• Rules and rituals: Rational Inquiry prescribes students to perform a number of gestures including a handshake, bowing, and handclap. Greetings included both a common handshake and an "ESP" or "NXIVM" handshake. In the second episode of The Vow Raniere suggests these elements are intentionally strange, telling his students, "We put rules and rituals up front to be the guardian at the gate. We want some people to say 'I don't want anything to do with this.{{'"}}{{Cite video |url=https://play.hbomax.com/page/urn:hbo:page:GXzPz7QUcmCB5uwEAAAAN:type:episode |title=Viscera |type=Television production |language=en-US |publisher=HBO |series=The Vow}}
• Stripe path: Sashes or scarves were implemented in a ranking system similar to colored belts in martial arts.{{cite web |date=June 8, 2018 |title=The stripe path: How to make your way up in NXIVM |url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/uncover/the-stripe-path-how-to-make-your-way-up-in-nxivm-1.4674369 |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation}} The sashes or scarves came in different colors and patterns symbolizing contribution to the Executive Success mission.
• Tribute: The Rational Inquiry patent indicates that "pictures of the founders may be displayed to show respect and to give tribute." Classes ended with students expressing gratitude to Keith Raniere (as "Vanguard") and Nancy Salzman (as "Prefect").
• Exploration of Meaning (EM's): Described as "therapy by number", the "exploration of meaning" involved a senior member questioning participants as they delved into their childhood memories.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/nxivm-8-things-we-learned-from-sex-cult-expose-630616/ |title=Nxivm: 8 Things We Learned from 'Sex-Cult' Exposé |magazine=Rolling Stone |first1=Elisabeth |last1=Garber-Paul |date=May 30, 2018 |access-date=June 20, 2019}}

A 2018 documentary film directed by Alessandro Molatore showcases a purported study of the use of NXIVM's exploration of meaning technique to treat Tourette syndrome. The film is executive produced by Clare Bronfman. The film identifies the Tourette's study's "lead researcher" as Dr. Brandon Porter, at the time a hospitalist at St. Peter's Hospital in Albany.{{cite web |last=Berman |first=Sarah |date=May 1, 2018 |title=I Tried to Make Sense of the Alleged Sex Cult NXIVM's Bizarre Health Claims |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/i-tried-to-make-sense-of-an-alleged-sex-cults-bizarre-health-claims/|website=Vice |access-date=April 15, 2024}}{{Citation |last=Molatore |first=Alessandro |title=My Tourette's |date=March 4, 2018 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6096256/ |type=Documentary |publisher=Truth Films |access-date=June 7, 2022}}{{Cite web |date=August 20, 2019 |title=RE: In the Matter of Brandon Porter, M.D. |url=https://apps.health.ny.gov/pubdoh/professionals/doctors/conduct/factions/FileDownloadAction.action?finalActionId=12236&fileName=HRG+253486.pdf&fileSeqNum=2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190823141840/https://apps.health.ny.gov/pubdoh/professionals/doctors/conduct/factions/FileDownloadAction.action?finalActionId=12236&fileName=HRG+253486.pdf&fileSeqNum=2 |archive-date=August 23, 2019 |access-date=June 7, 2022 |website=New York State Department of Health}}{{Cite web |last=Lyons |first=Brendan J. |date=August 22, 2019 |title=NXIVM doctor who conducted brain studies loses license |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/NXIVM-doctor-who-conducted-brain-studies-loses-14370824.php |access-date=June 7, 2022 |website=Times Union |language=en-US}}

In the sentencing of Clare Bronfman, prosecutors from the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York wrote, "the participants in this 'study' have expressed significant distress at their involvement" and offered one victim impact statement from a Tourette's study's participant that said the study "did nothing for me except ruin my self-esteem, ruin my mental health, and made me hate myself. It did not cure my Tourette’s in any way."{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=United States of America|defendant=Keith Raniere|title=The Government's Sentencing Memorandum as to Defendant Clare Bronfman|doc-number=922|date=September 14, 2020|pacer-number=420062|use-recap=yes|case-state=NY|case-district=ED|case-division=1|case-year=2018|case-type=cr|case-sequence=00204|access-date=June 7, 2022}}

The purported treatment for Tourette syndrome was noted by one reporter as not having been tested in a scientific peer-reviewed setting. Another reporter reached out to NXIVM member Marc Elliot, who promotes both the purported treatment and film, and did not receive a reply.{{Cite web |date=September 1, 2020 |title=Self-Help Group NXIVM Once Claimed It Could Cure Tourette's — How? |url=https://www.oxygen.com/true-crime-buzz/the-vow-nixvms-alleged-cure-for-tourettes-explained |access-date=June 16, 2022 |website=Oxygen Official Site |language=en-US}} Dr. Alan Jern, Associate Professor of Psychology at Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology, wrote in Psychology Today that "[d]espite NXIVM’s obsession with being taken seriously by influential people and mainstream institutions, their penchant for secrecy and refusal to follow the norms of science means that their research was scientifically pretty worthless."{{Cite web |title=Did the NXIVM Cult Actually Help People? {{!}} Psychology Today |url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/overthinking-tv/202211/did-the-nxivm-cult-actually-help-people |access-date=November 12, 2022 |website=www.psychologytoday.com |language=en-US}}

Another purported study Porter conducted within the NXIVM community was described as watching disturbing footage, including video of people being murdered, while their brainwaves, physiological activity, and facial and auditory responses were recorded through electroencephalography, galvanic skin response and video recording.{{cite web|url=https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/4113542/Porter-Complaint.pdf|title=Porter Complaint|date=August 16, 2017}}

The purported study is similar to a patent Raniere filed,{{original research inline|date=November 2024}} "Determination of whether a luciferian can be rehabilitated":

One example of a test to determine whether a person is a Luciferian comprises a video clip of an ice skater performing in a competition. Everything goes flawlessly until, at the very end, a mistake is made during a jump and the skater falls to the ice—all hope of winning the event is gone. A Luciferian will experience pleasure and satisfaction from this. Accordingly, the Luciferian's neurophysiological processes will register pleasure over the skater's misfortune which may be identified and quantified using the medical instrumentation. On the other hand, a non-Luciferian will feel sympathetic and empathize with the unfortunate skater. Unlike the Luciferian, a non-Luciferian's neurophysiological processes will not register as pleasure for this stimulus.{{Cite patent|number=US20130281879A1|title=Determination of whether a luciferian can be rehabilitated|gdate=2013-10-24|invent1=Raniere|inventor1-first=Keith A.|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US20130281879A1/en}}

Several subjects complained to the New York State Board of the Office of Professional Medical Conduct about the experiments. Porter faced 24 professional conduct charges, including "moral unfitness to practice medicine".{{cite web |url=https://www.timesunion.com/nxivm/article/NXIVM-doctor-facing-state-charges-12890993.php |title=NXIVM doctor facing state charges |first=Steve |last=Barnes |date=May 5, 2018 |website=Times Union}}{{cite web |url=https://apps.health.ny.gov/pubdoh/professionals/doctors/conduct/factions/FileDownloadAction.action?finalActionId=12236&fileName=CHRG+253486.pdf&fileSeqNum=1 |title=Notice Of Hearing In The Matter Of Brandon Porter, MD |publisher=Office for Professional Medical Conduct, New York State Department of Health |date=April 24, 2018 |access-date=July 22, 2019}} In August 2019, the New York State Department of Health suspended Porter's license to practice medicine in the state, finding that he conducted studies without an appropriate human research review committee.

Edgar Boone, the scion of a wealthy family, introduced NXIVM to numerous affluent Mexicans, becoming head of NXIVM-Mexico and rising to third in the NXIVM organization.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=84yLDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT141|title=The Program: Inside the Mind of Keith Raniere and the Rise and Fall of NXIVM|first1=Toni|last1=Natalie|first2=Chet|last2=Hardin|year= 2019|publisher=Grand Central Publishing|isbn=978-1538701034|via=Google Books}}{{cite web|url=https://wwrn.org/articles/14597/|title=Executive course in 'cult' lawsuit launches in Dublin |website=World-wide Religious News}}{{cite web|url=http://southbuffalonews.com/?p=118161|title=Vicente: Keith Forced Clare Bronfman to Wear Jock Strap [and More Wonderful Testimony]|first=K. R.|last=Claviger|date=May 13, 2019}}

File:US v Raniere GovtExihibit ClareBronfmanMug.jpg

Clare Bronfman, daughter of billionaire Seagrams chairman Edgar Bronfman Sr., was introduced to NXIVM by her sister Sara. Clare 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 million bond and placed on house arrest with electronic monitoring.{{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, Clare Bronfman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conceal and harbor illegal immigrants for financial gain and fraudulent use of identification; she faced 21 to 27 months in prison and agreed to forfeit $6 million.{{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/|title=From heiress to felon how Clare Bronfman wound up in cult like group NXIVM|work=Forbes|author=Will Yakowicz|date=May 31, 2019|access-date=March 27, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://time.com/5568135/nxivm-allison-mack-raniere/|title=NXIVM Leader Keith Raniere Has Been Convicted for Keeping Women as 'Sex Slaves.' Here Are the Major Players in the Case|work=The Times Magazine|author=Andrew R. Chow|date=June 19, 2019|access-date=March 27, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.eluniversal.com.mx/mundo/lider-de-secta-nxivm-ensenaba-que-la-violacion-y-el-abuso-infantil-no-son-delitos|title=Líder de secta NXIVM enseñaba que la violación y el abuso infantil no son delitos|date=June 14, 2019|website=El Universal}} On September 30, 2020, she was sentenced to six years, nine months in prison by a federal judge.

Sara Bronfman, daughter of Edgar Bronfman Sr., was introduced to NXIVM by a family friend in 2002.

Pam Cafritz,{{cite web|url=https://www.eonline.com/news/957915/inside-the-tangled-web-of-nxivm-the-surprising-players-sucked-into-the-alleged-cult-s-orbit|title=Inside the Tangled Web of NXIVM: The Surprising Players Sucked Into the Alleged Cult's Orbit|date=August 7, 2018|website=E! Online}} daughter of Washington, D.C., socialites Buffy and William Cafritz. Cafritz was a founder of JNESS, a Raniere-affiliated women's group. Cafritz was reported to be Raniere's "most important long-term girlfriend". On November 7, 2016, Pam Cafritz died. After her death, her credit card was charged for over $300,000.{{cite web |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Ordered-to-seduce-Raniere-woman-planned-escape-13968629.php |title=Ordered to seduce Raniere, woman planned escape from NXIVM |first=Robert |last=Gavin |date=June 11, 2019 |website=Times Union}}

Suneel Chakravorty, a software developer, remained among Raniere's post-conviction followers, dancing outside the jail where Raniere is confined.{{cite web|url=https://www.bkreader.com/2020/07/23/nxivm-group-holds-nightly-dances-outside-of-brooklyn-prison-despite-its-controversial-ties/|title=NYC Prison Dancers Linked to 'Sex Cult' NXIVM Start Social Justice Org|first=Jessy|last=Edwards}}

File:10.15.11NickiClyneByLuigiNovi2.jpg

Nicki Clyne is a Canadian actress known for her role on the series Battlestar Galactica. According to reports, in 2006, Clyne became involved with NXIVM. She married fellow senior member Allison Mack in 2017; the marriage was alleged to have been a sham to evade United States immigration laws. After Raniere's conviction, Clyne and others began dancing nightly outside the detention center containing Raniere.{{cite web |last=Gavin |first=Robert |date=July 11, 2020 |title=NXIVM members dancing for Raniere outside federal prison |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/NXIVM-members-dancing-for-Raniere-outside-federal-15400460.php |access-date=July 27, 2020 |website=Times Union |language=en-US}}

Marc Elliot, an author, claims taking courses through NXIVM and working with Keith Raniere and Nancy Salzman have helped him overcome his Tourette syndrome. He is among the NXIVM members who remain loyal to Raniere.

File:Allison Mack at ComicCon 2009 NN.jpg

Allison Mack is an American actress known for her role on the series Smallville. Mack was reportedly recruited to the Vancouver chapter of NXIVM, along with her Smallville co-star Kristin Kreuk.{{cite news |title=How to Lose $100 Million |first=Nicholas |last=Köhler |url=http://www.macleans.ca/2010/09/09/how-to-lose-100-million/ |newspaper=Maclean's |date=September 13, 2010 |access-date=November 11, 2017 }} Mack was reportedly a founder of DOS, a Raniere-affiliated Master/Slave group. Mack was arrested on April 20, 2018, on charges of sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy, and forced labor conspiracy. Mack pleaded guilty to racketeering and racketeering conspiracy charges in April 2019, and was to be sentenced in September 2019. However, on July 15, 2019, the Senior U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis postponed the sentencing until further notice to allow federal probation officials to conduct presentencing investigations.{{cite news |title=Sentencing of NXIVM leader delayed |first=Robert |last=Gavin |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/amp/Sentencing-of-NXIVM-leader-delayed-14097454.php |newspaper=Times Union}} On June 30, 2021, Mack was sentenced to three years in prison.

Brandon Porter, a medical doctor, conducted unlicensed human-subjects research on 200 people for NXIVM. During a "fright study", Porter exposed subjects to disturbing videos, including actual footage of a decapitation. In 2016, Porter was present at a NXIVM retreat ("V-Week") where 300 to 400 individuals were struck by an unidentified disease; Porter failed to report the outbreak, in violation of his duties as a licensed medical doctor. Porter was stripped of his medical license in 2020.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/doctor-associated-with-cult-like-new-york-group-loses-license/1495702/|title=Doctor Associated With Cult-Like New York Group Loses License|date=August 22, 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/NXIVM-doctor-who-conducted-brain-studies-loses-14370824.php|title=NXIVM doctor who conducted brain studies loses license|date=August 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200820105504/https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/NXIVM-doctor-who-conducted-brain-studies-loses-14370824.php|archive-date=August 20, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://apps.health.ny.gov/pubdoh/professionals/doctors/conduct/factions/FileDownloadAction.action?finalActionId=12236&fileName=HRG+253486.pdf&fileSeqNum=2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191215055442/https://apps.health.ny.gov/pubdoh/professionals/doctors/conduct/factions/FileDownloadAction.action?finalActionId=12236&fileName=HRG+253486.pdf&fileSeqNum=2|title=RE: In the Matter of Brandon Porter, M.D.|date=August 20, 2019|archive-date=December 15, 2019}}

Keith Raniere, founder of NXIVM, arrested and indicted on a variety of charges related to DOS (a "secret sisterhood" within NXIVM), including sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy, and conspiracy to commit forced labor in March 2018.{{cite web |url=https://www.news10.com/video/nxivm-trial-prosecution-s-opening-statements-lasted-90-minutes_20190507163116/1986277706 |title=NXIVM Trial: Prosecution's opening statements lasted 90 minutes |date=May 7, 2019 |publisher=WTEN}} He was found guilty of all charges at trial. On October 27, 2020, Raniere was sentenced to 120 years in prison.{{cite web|url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/NXIVM-founder-Raniere-guilty-on-all-counts-14018002.php|title=NXIVM founder Raniere guilty on all counts|first=Robert|last=Gavin|date=June 19, 2019|website=Times Union|access-date=June 20, 2019}}{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/27/nyregion/nxivm-cult-keith-raniere-sentenced.html|title=Keith Raniere, Leader of Nxivm Sex Cult, Is Sentenced to 120 Years in Prison|first1=Nicole|last1=Hong|first2=Sean|last2=Piccoli|newspaper=The New York Times|date=October 27, 2020}}

Danielle Roberts, an osteopathic physician, gained notoriety for having used a cauterizing pen to brand 17 women in connection with the group known as DOS. In 2020, New York Board of Medical Conduct began an investigation into Roberts;{{cite web|url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/NXIVM-doctor-who-branded-women-target-of-13751013.php|title=NXIVM doctor who branded women is target of investigation|first=Brendan J.|last=Lyons|date=April 8, 2019|website=Times Union}} a year later it brought charges against her with the possibility of the revocation of her license.{{cite news|last=Klein|first=Melissa|title=Nxivm doctor Danielle Roberts, accused of branding 'sex slaves,' could lose her medical license|url=https://nypost.com/2020/03/21/nxivm-doctor-danielle-roberts-accused-of-branding-sex-slaves-could-lose-her-medical-license/|newspaper=New York Post|date=March 21, 2020|access-date=December 18, 2020}} After Raniere's conviction, Roberts was among the dancers outside the jail in which he was incarcerated. Roberts' medical license was revoked in October 2021.{{cite news|title=NXIVM doctor who branded women loses medical license|url=https://apnews.com/article/health-religion-new-york-keith-raniere-1d401bae4ee168316a2b9216c192c81e|work=Associated Press|date=October 2, 2021|access-date=October 6, 2021}}

Emiliano Salinas is a venture capitalist and businessman. He is the son of former Mexican president Carlos Salinas de Gortari. Salinas served as vice president of Prorsus Capital, a financial consortium with ties to Raniere and NXIVM.{{cite news |last1=Zimmerman |first1=Amy |title=Inside the NXIVM Sex Cult's Secret Plot to Take Over Mexico |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/inside-the-nxivm-sex-cults-secret-plot-to-take-over-mexico |website=The Daily Beast |access-date=March 31, 2020 |language=en |date=August 9, 2018}}{{cite news | url = https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/mar/26/nxivm-cult-co-founder-keith-raniere-arrested-charged-sex-trafficking-texas | work = The Guardian | title = Co-founder of 'self-help' group arrested and charged with sex trafficking | date = March 26, 2018}}

Nancy Salzman, a psychiatric nurse and trained practitioner of hypnotism and neuro-linguistic programming, met Raniere in 1998. The two founded Executive Success Programs, a personal development company offering a range of techniques aimed at self-improvement. In March 2019, Salzman pleaded guilty to racketeering.{{cite web |url=https://www.newsweek.com/who-nancy-salzman-nxivm-co-founders-wrongdoings-shine-through-daughter-lauren-1431652 |title=Who is Nancy Salzman? Co-founder's daughter testifies in plea deal for NXIVM wrongdoings |first=Kelly|last= Wynne |date=May 21, 2019 |website=Newsweek}} In September 2021, Salzman was sentenced to 42 months in prison and a $150,000 fine for racketeering conspiracy.{{cite web|date=September 8, 2021|title=NXIVM President Nancy Salzman Sentenced to 42 Months' Imprisonment for Racketeering Conspiracy|url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/nxivm-president-nancy-salzman-sentenced-42-months-imprisonment-racketeering-conspiracy|access-date=October 25, 2021|website=www.justice.gov|language=en}}

Karen A. Unterreiner is a member who became Raniere's live-in partner beginning in the 1980s and an early employee of his company Consumers' Buyline.{{cite web |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Raniere-stands-alone-13795442.php |title=Raniere stands alone |date=May 4, 2019 |website=Times Union}}

Barbara Bouchey was a client of Nancy Salzman, having been referred to her in 1988. Beginning in 2000, Bouchey dated Raniere. In 2009, Bouchey and eight other women ("The NXIVM Nine") confronted Raniere with concerns about abuse within the organization. That year, Bouchey left the group and later went to law enforcement.{{cite web |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Guilty-plea-of-Salzman-ends-her-long-allegiance-13691433.php |title=Guilty plea ends Salzman's long allegiance to Raniere |date=March 17, 2019 |website=timesunion.com |access-date=June 20, 2019}}

Sarah Edmondson is a Canadian actress. After leaving NXIVM in early 2017, she publicly denounced the organization, claiming that she was invited into DOS, a substructure within NXIVM operated by Keith Raniere and Allison Mack, and was branded with a combination of Raniere's and Mack's initials at Mack's Albany home.{{cite news |title=Nxivm member was branded at Allison Mack's home |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/nxivm-member-was-branded-at-allison-macks-home-video-1113006 |access-date=May 18, 2018 |agency=The Hollywood Reporter}} Edmondson showed the brand in a New York Times exposé of NXIVM.

Kristin Keeffe became Raniere's partner in the early 1990s. In 2013, Keeffe gave birth to Raniere's son Gaelyn.{{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 |first=Brendan J. |last=Lyons |date=September 20, 2015 |website=Times Union}} In February 2014, Keeffe broke with Raniere and his group. Fleeing the region with her son, an email bearing Keeffe's name explained: "I have full sole legal custody of Gaelyn. Keith was experimenting on him. I had to get Gaelyn away."{{cite web |url=https://www.timesunion.com/local/article/A-split-from-NXIVM-5468731.php |title=A split from NXIVM |first=James M. |last=Odato |date=May 11, 2014 |website=Times Union}} Keeffe publicly described Raniere as "dangerous". In 2015, Keeffe alleged that NXIVM leaders had planned to lure critics to Mexico with an invitation to an anti-cult conference; once in Mexico, the critics were to be arrested on false charges by order of a judge who had been bribed.{{cite web |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/ev7pwk/the-alleged-plot-to-put-nxivms-critics-in-mexican-prison |title=The Alleged Plot to Put NXIVM's Critics in a Mexican Prison |website=Vice |access-date=December 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009032743/https://www.vice.com/en/article/ev7pwk/the-alleged-plot-to-put-nxivms-critics-in-mexican-prison |archive-date=October 9, 2020|last1=Berman |first1=Sarah|date=September 26, 2018 |publication-date=September 26, 2018}}{{cite web |url=https://culteducation.com/group/907-nxivm/34380-the-alleged-plot-to-put-nxivm-s-critics-in-a-mexican-prison.html |title=The Alleged Plot to Put NXIVM's Critics in a Mexican Prison |website=culteducation.com |access-date=December 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200820102927/https://culteducation.com/group/907-nxivm/34380-the-alleged-plot-to-put-nxivm-s-critics-in-a-mexican-prison.html |archive-date=August 20, 2020}}{{cite web |url=https://culteducation.com/group/907-nxivm/28896-records-nxivm-hacked-billionaire-s-emails-with-hillary-clinton-world-leaders.html |title=Records: NXIVM hacked billionaire's emails with Hillary Clinton, world leaders |website=culteducation.com |access-date=December 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403064458/https://culteducation.com/group/907-nxivm/28896-records-nxivm-hacked-billionaire-s-emails-with-hillary-clinton-world-leaders.html |archive-date=April 3, 2016}}{{cite web |url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/uncover/transcripts/transcript-uncover-escaping-nxivm-season-1-ep-3-1.5084740 |title=Transcript: Uncover: Escaping NXIVM – Season 1, EP 3 |work=CBC Radio |date=April 4, 2019}}{{cite web |url=https://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Records-NXIVM-hacked-billionaire-s-emails-with-6576310.php |title=Records: NXIVM hacked billionaire's emails with Hillary Clinton, world leaders |work=Times Union |last=Lyons |first=Brendan J. |date=October 18, 2015}}

Toni Natalie met Raniere in 1991 when he was pitching his business Consumer's Buyline.{{cite web |url=https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/politics/albany/2018/03/08/rochester-woman-battles-nxivm-keith-raniere/360847002/ |title=Rochester woman tells all about life with NXIVM's Keith Raniere, her ex |website=Rochester Democrat and Chronicle}} Natalie and her then-husband became top sellers for the organization. Natalie recalled that she was able to stop smoking after a two-hour session with Raniere. Natalie and her son later moved to be near Raniere; her marriage ended shortly thereafter. Natalie and Raniere dated for the next eight years. In the mid-90s, Raniere and Natalie operated a health-food store in Clifton Park, NY. In 1999, Raniere's eight-year relationship with Natalie ended. Natalie would subsequently claim to have been the victim of harassment.{{cite web |url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/uncover/transcripts/transcript-uncover-escaping-nxivm-season-1-ep-3-1.5084744 |title=Transcript: Uncover: Escaping NXIVM – Season 1, EP 4 |work=CBC Radio |date=April 4, 2019}} In a January 2003 ruling, federal judge Robert Littlefield implied Raniere was using a legal suit to harass Natalie. Wrote Littlefield: "This matter smacks of a jilted fellow's attempt at revenge or retaliation against his former girlfriend, with many attempts at tripping her up along the way."{{cite web |url=http://archive.org/details/269747-natalie-jilted-boyfriend |title=Natalie Jilted Boyfriend |date=December 1, 2011 |via=Internet Archive}} In 2011, Natalie filed documents in federal court alleging that she had been repeatedly raped by Raniere.

Joseph J. O'Hara was an attorney who departed NXIVM in 2005 after accusing the group of misdeeds. In 2007, O'Hara was indicted by Albany County. It was later revealed that the District Attorney had allowed Raniere's girlfriend Kristin Keeffe to operate within its office as a sort of victims' advocate.{{cite web |url=https://www.timesunion.com/local/article/NXIVM-pressed-district-attorney-3379748.php |title=NXIVM pressed district attorney |date=March 3, 2012}} Charges were ultimately dismissed.

India Oxenberg, daughter of actress Catherine Oxenberg, was introduced to the group in 2011.{{cite news |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/catherine-oxenberg-on-losing-her-daughter-to-the-sex-cult-nxivm-going-public-was-a-last-resort |title=Catherine Oxenberg Reveals How She Lost Her Daughter to the Sex Cult NXIVM |first=Amy |last=Zimmerman |newspaper=The Daily Beast |date=August 8, 2018 |access-date=June 20, 2019 |via=thedailybeast.com}} At Raniere's trial, a witness testified that India had spent a year on a 500-calorie-per-day diet.{{cite web |url=https://www.newsweek.com/allison-mack-nxivm-trial-diet-500-calories-1443377 |title=Allison Mack reportedly forced NXIVM sex cult members to follow 500-calorie-a-day diets |first=Janice|last= Williams |date=June 11, 2019 |website=Newsweek |access-date=June 20, 2019}} In May 2017, India admitted to her mother that she was among those who had been branded.{{cite web |url=https://people.com/crime/catherine-oxenberg-daughter-being-branded-nxivm/ |title=Catherine Oxenberg's Daughter Was 'Branded' with 'Cult' Leader's Initials: 'I Was Horrified' |website=People |access-date=June 20, 2019}} India left the group in June 2018, after Raniere's arrest.{{cite news |url=https://people.com/crime/catherine-oxenberg-says-her-daughter-who-has-left-nxivm-is-moving-forward/ |title=Catherine Oxenberg Says Her Daughter Who Has Left Nxivm Is 'Moving Forward' |first1=Liz |last1=McNeil |first2=Johnny |last2=Dodd |work=People |date=August 7, 2018 |access-date=February 7, 2019}} In August 2018, Catherine Oxenberg's book Captive: A Mother's Crusade to Save Her Daughter from a Terrifying Cult was published.{{Cite book |url=http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Captive/Catherine-Oxenberg/9781982100650 |title=Captive |last1=Oxenberg |first1=Catherine |first2=Natasha |last2=Stoynoff |date=2018 |publisher=Gallery Books |isbn=978-1982100650}}{{cite tweet |user=gma |title=Tomorrow: @GMA Exclusive: India Oxenberg, daughter of TV star Catherine Oxenberg, speaks out alongside her mother about being caught up in NXIVM and what prosecutors have called a 'sex cult.' |number=1315729194731667458 |date=October 12, 2020 }}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/10/india-oxenberg-opens-up-about-her-familys-nxivm-nightmare|title=India Oxenberg Opens Up About Her Family's NXIVM Nightmare: 'It's Like Freaking Shakespeare'|first=Julie|last=Miller|magazine=Vanity Fair|date=October 13, 2020}}

Mark Vicente, a filmmaker known for the 2004 film What the Bleep Do We Know!?, began involvement with the group in 2005. Vicente testified against Raniere at his 2019 trial.{{cite web |url=https://tonyortega.org/2019/05/09/filmmaker-breaks-down-describing-nxivms-duplicitous-ideas-and-evil-intent/ |title=Filmmaker breaks down describing Nxivm's duplicitous ideas and evil intent – The Underground Bunker |website=tonyortega.org |access-date=June 20, 2019}} His wife Bonnie Piesse, an actress best known for her role as the young Beru Lars in the Star Wars franchise, was also a member before she left the group in 2017, the same year in which Vicente would leave. The two became two of NXIVM's fiercest critics.{{cite web|url=https://www.oprahmag.com/entertainment/a33810530/the-vow-mark-vicente-bonnie-piesse-nxivm-now/|title=Bonnie Piesse and Her Husband Mark Vicente of The Vow Live in Portugal Now|work=The Oprah Magazine|last=Nicolaou|first=Elena|date=28 August 2020}}

Richard Branson, a British billionaire businessmen, is said to have attended the group's seminars, which Branson denied. Raniere tried to recruit Branson for the organization and NXIVM is said to have repeatedly held seminars and “wild parties” on Branson's private island, Necker Island. Branson later denied having known about this and having ever known Raniere.{{Cite web |date=2018-04-25 |title=Sex-Sekte feiert Orgien auf Milliardärs-Insel |url=https://www.oe24.at/welt/sex-sekte-feiert-orgien-auf-milliardaers-insel/331244684 |access-date=2025-02-28 |website=www.oe24.at |language=de}}{{Cite web |last=Whiteford |first=Andrew |last2=Sun |first2=The |date=2018-04-23 |title=Sex cult partied on Richard Branson’s private island |url=https://nypost.com/2018/04/23/sex-cult-partied-on-richard-bransons-private-island/?__twitter_impression=true |access-date=2025-02-28 |language=en-US}}

Roger Stone, a lobbyist and longtime adviser of Donald Trump, was a lobbyist for NXIVM but was not a member. He said that he "never saw any evidence that NXIVM was a sex cult."{{Cite web |last=Member |first=Gillian Edevane Writer Newsweek Is A. Trust Project |date=2018-05-01 |title=How Is Roger Stone Connected to NXIVM's Alleged Cult? |url=https://www.newsweek.com/roger-stone-nxivm-sex-cult-allison-mack-keith-raniere-907558 |access-date=2025-02-28 |website=Newsweek |language=en}}

James Odato is an investigative reporter who wrote for the Albany Times Union. In 2012, Odato reported Raniere's history of pedophilia. In October 2013, Odato was named in a lawsuit filed by NXIVM, along with Suzanna Andrews of Vanity Fair and blogger John J. Tighe; all had written critically of the group.{{cite web |url=http://politi.co/1W2nbYE |title=Journalist on leave after tangle with secretive 'NXIVM' group |first=Joe |last=Pompeo |website=Politico Media|date=November 26, 2014 }} The suit alleged that NXIVM computers had been illegally accessed. Shortly thereafter, Odato was described as being "on leave" from the Times Union. Following Keith Raniere's sentencing in 2020, the editorial board of the New York Daily News praised Odato's work exposing NXIVM for its prescience, taking the unusual step of commending the work published by a competitor.{{Cite web |title=The truth vs. the cult: How a journalist exposed Keith Raniere and NXIVM |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-edit-nxivm-20201028-tqoht35c6rfilp76pkp2mq763a-story.html |access-date=August 4, 2022 |website=New York Daily News|date=October 28, 2020 }}

Frank Parlato was hired by NXIVM in 2007 to help with publicity. After concluding that NXIVM members were being defrauded by Raniere, Parlato began blogging about the group on his sites ArtVoice, The Niagara Falls Reporter, and The Frank Report.Vice News Tonight May 16, 2018

Rick Alan Ross is the executive director of the Ross Institute, which specializes in studying cults. Ross received a copy of a NXIVM training manual and published portions of it on his website. In NXIVM Corp. v. Ross Institute, NXIVM sued to try to block further publications. Courts ruled in favor of Ross.

John Tighe wrote about NXIVM on a blog.{{cite web |url=https://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Secret-mission-A-child-589818.php |title=Secret mission: A child |first=James M. |last=Odato |date=July 25, 2010 |website=Times Union}} In 2013, NXIVM accused Tighe of illegally accessing NXIVM servers using a former member's login information. Tighe's home was raided by the New York State Police, and his computer was seized.{{cite web |url=https://www.timesunion.com/local/article/NXIVM-hacking-case-to-be-tossed-6827893.php |title=NXIVM hacking case to be tossed |first=Robert |last=Gavin |date=February 13, 2016 |website=Times Union}}

• A&E Investigates: Cults and Extreme Belief aired its premier 1 hour episode, "NXIVM", featuring interviews of former members Sarah Edmondson and Mark Vicente, on May 28, 2018.{{cite web|url=https://www.aetv.com/shows/cults-and-extreme-belief/season-1/episode-1/ |title=A&E Investigates: Cults and Extreme Belief; S1E1 'NXIVM'

|first1=Elizabeth|last1=Vargas |first2=Sarah|last2=Edmondson |first3=Mark|last3=Vincente

|date=May 28, 2018}}

• A&E presents: Escaping The NXIVM Cult: A Mother's Fight To Save Her Daughter (air date was September 21, 2019)
• Investigation Discovery released a two-hour special, The Lost Women of NXIVM on June 20, 2019.{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2019/06/investigation-discovery-the-lost-women-of-nxivm-1202635465/ |title='The Lost Women Of NXIVM': Investigation Discovery Explores Sex Cult In Two-Hour Special |first1=Peter |last1=White |date=June 20, 2019}}
• HBO released a docuseries about NXIVM titled The Vow; it premiered on August 23, 2020.{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/hbo-plans-docuseries-alleged-sex-cult-nxivm-1203073 |title=HBO Plans Docuseries on Alleged Sex Cult NXIVM |website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=April 18, 2019 }}{{cite web |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/tv/alleged-sex-cult-nxivm-focus-hbo-documentary-series-n996196 |title=Alleged sex cult NXIVM focus of HBO documentary series |website=NBC News|date=April 19, 2019 }}
• Starz released a docuseries about NXIVM titled Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult; it premiered on October 18, 2020.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2020/10/seduced-inside-the-nxivm-cult-trailer-premiere-date-starz-docuseries-india-oxenberg-1234596167/|title='Seduced: Inside The NXIVM Cult': Trailer & Premiere Date For Four-Part Starz Docuseries|website=Deadline Hollywood|first=Erik|last=Pederson|date=October 13, 2020|access-date=October 13, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2020/tv/features/nxivm-cult-india-oxenberg-catherine-oxenberg-seduced-docuseries-1234796912/|title=India Oxenberg Open Ups About NXIVM Experience in 'Seduced' Docuseries for Starz|website=Variety|first=Danielle|last=Turchiano|date=October 13, 2020|access-date=October 13, 2020}}
• NXIVM was the subject on an episode E! True Hollywood Story comprising interviews from several journalists and the people that were once involved with the organization including Catherine Oxenberg, Sarah Edmondson, and actor and Oxenberg's real-life friend Callum Blue.
• CNBC aired an episode of American Greed titled "Nightmare at NXIVM" on January 25, 2021.{{cite news|url=https://www.oxygen.com/true-crime-buzz/how-nxivm-leader-keith-ranieres-arrest-went-down-in-mexico|title=From Alleged Cult Leader To Cowering In Closet: How Keith Raniere's Arrest Went Down|last=Sederstrom|first=Jill|website=Oxygen|date=January 25, 2021|access-date=January 31, 2021}}
• NBC aired a Dateline special on February 26, 2021, featuring an interview with Keith Raniere.{{Citation|title=Watch Dateline Episode: Collateral Damage |url=https://www.nbc.com/dateline/video/collateral-damage/4316728|language=en-US|access-date=March 2, 2021}}
• NXIVM appears in an episode of the second season of How To with John Wilson titled "How To Appreciate Wine", when Wilson recalls encountering Keith Raniere while in a college a capella group.{{citation|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p0clv44h/how-to-with-john-wilson-series-2-2-how-to-appreciate-wine|website=bbc.co.uk/iplayer|date=Sep 5, 2022|access-date=August 20, 2024 |title=How to with John Wilson - Series 2: 2. How to Appreciate Wine }} The episode aired on HBO on December 3, 2021.

• {{cite book | title = Captive: A Mother's Crusade to Save Her Daughter from a Terrifying Cult | first1 = Catherine | last1 = Oxenberg | first2 = Natasha | last2 = Stoynoff | author-link1 = Catherine Oxenberg | date = August 7, 2018 | isbn = 978-1982100650 | publisher = Simon and Schuster}}
• {{cite book | title = Scarred: The True Story of How I Escaped NXIVM, the Cult That Bound My Life | first1 = Sarah | last1 = Edmondson | first2 = Kristine | last2 = Gasbarre | author-link1 = Sarah Edmondson | date = September 17, 2019 | isbn = 978-1452184265 | publisher = Chronicle Prism}}
• {{cite book | title = The Program: Inside the Mind of Keith Raniere and the Rise and Fall of NXIVM | first1 = Toni | last1 = Natalie | date = September 24, 2019 | isbn = 978-1538701065 | publisher = Grand Central Publishing}}
• {{cite book | title = Don't Call it a Cult: The Shocking Story of Keith Raniere and the Women of NXIVM | first1 = Sarah | last1 = Berman | date = April 20, 2021 | isbn = 978-1586422752 | publisher = Steerforth}}
• {{cite book | title = The Untouchable Jessica Joan: A Real Life Journey Of Love, Forgiveness, And Evolution From The Jane Doe Who Helped Bring The NXIVM Cult To Justice | first1 = Jessica | last1 = Joan | first2 = Brian | last2 = Johnson | publisher = Live Your Dreams Out Loud Publishing | date = September 11, 2021 | isbn = 978-1734897425 }}

• The first season of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's investigative podcast series Uncover, was about the cult and was released in 2018.[https://www.cbc.ca/radio/uncover/uncover-season-1-escaping-nxivm-1.4675949 CBC.ca: Uncover Season 1]
• NBC aired Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 20, Episode 5 entitled “Accredo” based on the details of this cult. The episode aired October 18, 2018.
• Catherine Oxenberg produced a film for Lifetime about her daughter's experiences with NXIVM.{{cite web |url=https://people.com/tv/nxivm-sex-cult-movie-lifetime/ |title=Lifetime Is Making a NXIVM Sex Cult Movie After Founder Keith Raniere's Conviction |website=People}}{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2019/07/nxivm-sex-cult-movie-lifetime-catherine-oxenberg-peter-facinelli-star-1202637998/ |title=NXIVM Sex Cult Movie Set At Lifetime With Catherine Oxenberg Producing; Peter Facinelli & Andrea Roth To Star |first1=Denise |last1=Petski |date=July 1, 2019}} It is titled Escaping the NXIVM Cult: A Mother's Fight to Save Her Daughter and aired on September 21, 2019. While Catherine Oxenberg served as the narrator and executive producer, the film starred Andrea Roth as Catherine Oxenberg, Peter Facinelli as Keith Raniere, and Sara Fletcher as Allison Mack.{{cite web |title=Lifetime's Trailer For 'Escaping The NXIVM Cult' Shows Seduction And Anguish |url=https://deadline.com/video/lifetimes-trailer-for-escaping-the-nxivm-cult-shows-seduction-and-anguish/ |work=Deadline Hollywood |date=August 24, 2019 |access-date=September 9, 2019}}
• India Oxenberg wrote and narrated an audio book memoir, Still Learning, about her time in, and escape from, NXIVM.{{cite magazine | title = 'He Wanted Me To Feel Grateful': Former NXIVM Member India Oxenberg on Meeting Keith Raniere | first1 = Rose | last1 = Minutaglio | magazine = Elle | date = October 29, 2020 | url = https://www.elle.com/culture/books/a34482728/india-oxenberg-nxivm-book-audible-still-learning-vow/}}
• The BBC World Service program Outlook aired a four-part series on NXIVM in May and June 2021.{{cite web |title=Nxivm 'sex cult' part one: How my daughter became trapped |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct1jt2 |publisher=BBC World Service |work=Outlook |access-date=June 1, 2021}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20180421090811/http://www.keithraniere.com/ Website] of Keith Raniere
• [http://www.scs.cmu.edu/~dst/NXIVM/ Three critical articles pertaining to the NXIVM v. Ross Institute lawsuit]
• [http://www.timesunion.com/nxivm/ Times Union Special Report on NXIVM]
• {{cite web|author=Berman, Sarah|date=July 22, 2020|title=Actress Who Allegedly Recruited NXIVM 'Slaves' Is Dancing for Prisoner Rights Now|url=https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/v7gyjx/actress-who-allegedly-recruited-nxivm-slaves-is-dancing-for-prisoner-rights-now|website=Vice}}
• {{cite web|last=Prahl|first=Amanda|date=August 30, 2020|title=Is NXIVM Still Operational? What We Know About the Cult's Current Status|url=https://www.popsugar.com/node/47736371|website=POPSUGAR Entertainment}}

{{Multi-level marketing}}

{{coord|42.7414|-73.8401|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:NXIVM}}

Category:1998 establishments in New York (state)

Category:Colonie, New York

Category:Companies based in Albany County, New York

Category:Companies established in 1998

Category:Cults of personality

Category:Defunct multi-level marketing companies

Category:Large-group awareness training

Category:Privately held companies based in New York (state)

Category:Sex trafficking

Category:Sexual misconduct allegations