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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Clare Bronfman says she shouldn't serve more prison time than Allison Mack.</li><li>The heiress to the Seagram's fortune says she didn't even think <keyword id="12230533" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="nxivm" source="Orion">NXIVM</keyword> was a sex cult.</li></ul>NXIVM financier Clare Bronfman wants out of prison, saying in new court papers that she shouldn't spend more time behind bars than "Smallville" actress Allison Mack.Mack pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in April 2019. Prosecutors also accused her of <a href="https://www.insider.com/allison-mack-pleaded-guilty-nxivm-sex-cult-case-2019-4">procuring women</a> for cult leader Keith Raniere.Unlike Mack, "Ms. Bronfman never participated in DOS," her lawyers argue in an appellate filing, referring to <a href="https://www.insider.com/india-oxenberg-routine-as-former-nxivm-cult-slave-2020-10">the cult's secret sex slave sorority</a>. DOS was an acronym for Dominus Obsequious Sororium, Latin for "master over slave women."Bronfman "knew nothing about it, and cannot in any legitimate way be said to be culpable for it," the filing continued.Bronfman, heiress to the multi-billion-dollar Seagram's liquor fortune, is serving a 6 year, 9 month sentence for her role in the Albany-based cult.That's more time, even, than the five years federal prosecutors in Brooklyn requested. They said Bronfman spent at least $116 million of her fortune funding the cult and lawsuits against its enemies.Mack, meanwhile, was <a href="https://www.insider.com/allison-mack-sentenced-3-years-nxivm-sex-cult-2021-6">sentenced last year to three years prison</a>, less than half of Bronfman's term.In her appellate filing, Bronfman quotes Judge Nicholas Garaufis, who in sentencing Bronfman accused her of turning a blind eye to DOS and its humiliation and abuse of women."She maintains that she was an innocent bystander to Raniere's abhorrent conduct," the judge said at Bronfman's sentencing."As I have said, I find that any such blindness was willful and cultivated," the judge continued, saying Bronfman should serve as an example to those who "avert their gaze" from wrongdoing.But the judge offered no evidence that Bronfman's ignorance was willful, and also conceded that there was no evidence she directly participated in DOS, her filing argues."Clare Bronfman never knowingly funded a sex cult," her attorney Duncan Levin told Insider. "And that is what the judge himself said at sentencing."Bronfman is "categorically against sex trafficking of any kind," he added.In contrast, Mack and co-defendant Lauren Salzman were "elbow-deep in DOS," but were shown "extraordinary lenience," Bronfman's filing complains.Salzman was a high-ranking NXIVM member who <a href="https://www.insider.com/lauren-salzman-former-nxivm-member-sentenced-avoids-prison-2021-7">dodged a prison sentence</a> entirely after testifying for the feds against Raniere.Bronfman has asked a federal appellate court to vacate her old sentence and order she be resentenced.Raniere is <a href="https://www.insider.com/keith-raniere-of-nxivm-lifetime-prison-sentence-child-sex-trafficking-2020-10">serving a term of life in prison</a> after being convicted at trial of child sex trafficking and conspiracy. Despite the evidence against him — including the trial testimony of 15 women who were his victims — he has called his conviction "a horrible injustice."

NXIVM financier Clare Bronfman says she shouldn't spend more time in prison than Allison Mack

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="6469208" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="clare-bronfman">Clare Bronfman</keyword>, a member of the multi-level marketing scheme and alleged sex <keyword id="6550757" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="cult">cult</keyword> <keyword id="7550442" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Nxivm">NXIVM</keyword>, has been sentenced to 81 months in prison for immigration and ID theft.</li><li>Bronfman, 41, and her sister Sara are heiresses to their father's multimillion-dollar Seagram's liquor fortune.</li><li>Bronfman used her fortune to fund NXIVM lawsuits against people who chose to leave the organization and speak out about its manipulation tactics.</li></ul>Top-ranking NXIVM member and Seagram's liquor heiress Clare Bronfman was sentenced to 81 months in prison on Wednesday, on charges of concealing immigrants and ID fraud.During her Brooklyn court appearance, she was also issued a fine of more than $500,000 and ordered to pay more than $96,000 to a migrant she brought to the US from Mexico, according to court documents obtained by Insider.Bronfman pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to conceal and harbor illegal aliens for financial gain after the prosecution cited evidence that she had smuggled and harbored six undocumented NXIVM members for monetary gain, promising pay and work visas but providing neither to these members. In an August letter to Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis, Bronfman said she was sorry for harming others, but that she still believed in NXIVM leader Keith Raniere, who was convicted last year of sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit forced labor. "Many people, including most of my own family, believe I should disavow Keith and NXIVM, and that I have not is hard for them to understand and accept," Bronfman wrote. "However, for me, NXIVM and Keith greatly changed my life for the better."Bronfman joined <a href="https://www.insider.com/nxivm-used-real-psychology-to-fetishize-vulnerability-manipulate-2020-9">NXIVM</a>, an alleged sex cult billed as a multi-level marketing company for self-improvement courses, in 2003 and rose to the top of its ranks as an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/30/nyregion/clare-bronfman-nxivm-keith-raniere-sentence.html">executive board member 15 years later</a>.Before her prison sentence, Bronfman spent nearly $50 million on lawsuits on behalf of NXIVM. When former NXIVM members left the organization and spoke about the manipulation tactics its leaders used, they were often <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/28/nyregion/clare-bronfman-keith-raniere-nxivm-sentence.html">bombarded with lawsuits</a>.The prosecution said Bronfman promised one of the migrants $3,600 a month for her work, but the woman, identified as Jane Doe, only received $4,195 total of the $96,000 she was promised."[It was very difficult to] keep up the pace [of my work] with no income and with the uncertainty of not knowing how I will live each day," Doe said in an interview with the prosecution. Bronfman was also charged with ID fraud after pleading guilty for using the credit card and bank information of someone who had been dead for 15 months, racking up $135,000 in bills. Bronfman was previously charged with racketeering, which she denied, in 2018. After posting bail for $100 million, she was <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/qj47d3/heiress-who-bankrolled-sex-cult-leaders-legal-attacks-gets-nearly-7-years-in-jail">released on house arrest</a>.

Seagram's heiress Clare Bronfman has been sentenced to almost 7 years in prison for her involvement in the NXIVM cult

<ul class="summary-list"><li>From charges of fraud to allegations of misconduct, Elon Musk is no stranger to scandal.</li><li>Yet he maintains footing at the helm of four companies worth billions of dollars combined.</li></ul>In addition to manufacturing electric cars and producing spaceships, Elon Musk is skilled at making headlines. Usually any bad news is something Musk is quick to brush aside. Now, though, his latest fight with Twitter shows the perils of always leading with bravado: While scandal is unlikely to sink the CEO, he's making extra work for himself — more than he usually does. Last week, the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, and the Boring Company renewed his <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-legal-nightmare-experts-twitter-purchase-2022-7">on-again, off-again</a> offer to buy Twitter. The about-face came after a <a href="https://affiliate.insider.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.scribd.com%2Fdocument%2F598520452%2FLetter-Addressing-the-Parties-Dispute-Concerning-Search-Protocol">judge's ruling</a> to grant discovery of <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2022/10/04/twitter-musk-zatko-whistleblower-anonymous-email/">alleged secret and possibly damning communications</a> between Musk's inner circle and Twitter whistleblower Peter "Mudge" Zatko in the lawsuit waged against Musk for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-says-he-is-terminating-his-deal-to-buy-twitter-2022-7">pulling out of his original $44 billion agreement</a> to buy the company. Musk convinced the judge in the case to delay the start of the trial because of Musk's renewed plans to complete the purchase <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/market-sees-60-chance-musk-162102077.html">by late October</a>. But if he fails to close the deal, the trail could start in November. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-twitter-discussed-deal-50-a-share-talks-ended-2022-10">Musk's negotiations to buy Twitter were subsequently halted</a> when he pushed for concessions the platform was unwilling to give. The tech mogul also stirred international waters after commenting that Taiwan should become a special administrative zone of China in an interview with the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/5ef14997-982e-4f03-8548-b5d67202623a">Financial Times</a>. Taiwan's ambassador to the US <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-63196452">admonished Musk for the suggestion</a>, saying freedom is "not for sale."That wasn't the only dust-up of late. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-spoke-vladimir-putin-before-ukraine-peace-plan-report-2022-10">He reportedly spoke privately with Russian President Vladimir Putin</a>, before <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1576969255031296000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1576969255031296000%7Ctwgr%5E9ab03bc31004ea1642ddce196552feec6e511847%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vice.com%2Fen%2Farticle%2F4axq9d%2Fukrainian-diplomat-tells-elon-musk-to-fuck-off-with-terrible-idea-to-end-war">tweeting a peace plan</a> to end the war in Ukraine that echoed Kremlin talking points. Musk denies the allegations made by Eurasia Group founder and president Ian Bremmer, saying "I have spoken to Putin only once and that was about 18 months ago. The subject matter was space." And it hasn't been a terrible week in the spectrum of Musk's newsmaking. This past summer, he faced <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/elon-musk-affair-sergey-brin-wife-divorce-11658674840">allegations of an affair</a> with Nicole Shanahan, the wife of Sergey Brin, Musk's longtime friend and a Google cofounder; and news that he <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-shivon-zilis-secret-twins-neuralink-tesla">secretly fathered</a> twins with Shivon Zilis, a Neuralink executive — and that's just within the past 30 days.It's unusual for a CEO shrouded in so much scandal, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/slideshows/miscellaneous/elon-musk-is-worth-26-billion-and-extremely-online-here-are-all-the-bizarre-spats-the-the-tesla-ceo-is-caught-up-in-thanks-to-his-twitter-habit-/slidelist/71992837.cms#slideid=71992839">controversy</a>, and alleged misconduct to maintain footing at the helm of four companies with a combined <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/20/spacex-to-become-more-valuable-than-tesla-morgan-stanley-survey.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">valuation</a> in the <a href="https://fortune.com/2022/04/21/elon-musk-twitter-tesla-boring-company-funding-round-valuation-billion/">billions</a>. <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/duncanlevin/">Duncan Levin</a>, a criminal defense attorney who represents controversial clients, such as Harvey Weinstein, Clare Bronfman, and Anna Delvey, told Insider: "No one is scandal-proof. Although, obviously, Elon Musk is somewhat insulated from fallout since he runs his own company."For example, Musk has been accused of <a href="https://fortune.com/2022/06/17/tesla-lawsuit-elon-musk-sued-over-toxic-workplace-culture-discrimination-harassment/">fostering a toxic culture</a> of racism and sexism at the businesses he runs. In June, 15 former and current Black employees at Tesla filed a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-sued-15-black-employees-racial-discrimination-2022-7">lawsuit against</a> the electric-car maker, alleging racial discrimination. In 2018, SpaceX — the aerospace company founded by Musk —<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-paid-250000-to-a-flight-attendant-who-accused-elon-musk-of-sexual-misconduct-2022-5"> paid a flight attendant</a> $250,000 to settle a sexual-misconduct claim against the CEO. Despite his antics, Musk remains largely unscathed professionally. What's more, the tech billionaire's personal life generates the kind of tabloid frenzy typically reserved for Hollywood A-listers, and his professional stunts leave <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-happens-when-elon-musk-moves-markets-with-tweet-2022-5">certain stocks reeling</a>.Musk's ability to bounce back from repercussions is the result of a complex interplay of a fierce, cultlike fandom and his transformational leadership style, experts told Insider. <h2>Transformational leadership </h2>Musk's transformational <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-management-leadership-style-at-tesla-spacex-2022-4">style of leadership</a> is the subject of substantial <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351596595_A_critical_analysis_of_Elon_Musk's_leadership_in_Tesla_motors">analysis</a>, <a href="https://studycorgi.com/elon-musks-leadership-style-and-related-theories/">research</a>, and <a href="https://hbsp.harvard.edu/product/W19114-PDF-ENG">case studies</a>. "He's such an unpredictable character, and nobody really knows which way he is going to turn, which makes him such an interesting leader to follow," said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaybaer/"> Jay Baer</a>, the founder of the marketing-consultancy startup <a href="https://www.convinceandconvert.com/">Convince &amp; Convert</a>, an advisory firm with clients such as 3M, Oracle, Cisco, and Nike.Musk's innovations in space travel and clean energy make him an iconic figure among electric-car enthusiasts, space lovers, and tech geeks. "I think he's a deeply flawed, fascinating person," said <a href="https://www.tomgoodwin.co/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tom Goodwin</a>, a cofounder of the business-consultancy startup All We Have Is Now and the host of <a href="https://www.euronews.com/press-office/press-releases/euronews-launches-the-edge">"The Edge,"</a> a business, tech, and culture video series on Euronews. "Everything that Musk represents is about challenging traditional ways of doing business." Chad Anderson, the CEO of the space-tech VC fund Space Angels Network, was an early investor in SpaceX and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/this-early-spacex-investor-watched-elon-musk-bounce-back-from-failure-and-the-vc-says-he-watches-out-for-the-same-qualities-when-hunting-for-startup-founders/articleshow/70360086.cms">told Insider</a> that while Musk is not without flaws, he has the kind of "vision and real chops" that makes the impossible possible.What's more, he's highly intelligent and ahead of most people, a former manager at Tesla <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ex-tesla-employees-reveal-what-its-like-work-elon-musk-2019-9#some-employees-were-afraid-of-him-1">previously told</a> Insider. "You have to think 10 times more audacious than he does to be able to be successful," the employee said. <h2>Icon status </h2>The controversies Musk faces, the tension he builds, the avid base of fans and allies, and the growing number of enemies only add to his legend, Goodwin said. "The chronicling of obstacles being overcome and the rallying of others behind a shared goal are generating energy and fueling the narrative." What's more, Musk's unflappability is similar to the phenomenon that brought Trump's ascendance."Musk is Teflon in the same way that Trump is Teflon," Baer said. He recalled when <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-joke-shoot-somebody-2016-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump said</a> he could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and "not lose any voters." After that remark in <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/donald-trump-jokes-shoot-people-losing-support/story?id=36474145">2016</a>, he went on to be elected president. Musk has the same halo, he added."They are the movement they've built," said Baer, adding that without Trump, there would be no MAGA, and that without Musk, the allure of his companies would be diminished.This is vastly different from most other CEOs, who are somewhat interchangeable mercenaries or founders who usually don't have the voting shares or board control to give themselves scandal immunity, Baer said. For example, it's not uncommon for CEOs to be asked to step down in light of allegations of personal improprieties. Reports said that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-was-investigated-over-sexual-relationship-with-staffer-wsj-2021-5">Bill Gates</a> left Microsoft's board amid an investigation into an alleged affair with an employee, while <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intel-ceo-brian-krzanich-resigns-investigation-finds-past-employee-relationship-2018-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brian Krzanich</a>, Intel's CEO, resigned after what the tech firm described as a past <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2018/06/25/krzanich-intel.html">consensual relationship</a> with a middle manager.<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2005/03/08/boeing-ceo-resigns-over-affair-with-subordinate/199b6a6b-9883-457d-991b-ea23840b1fe2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></a>"Musk's and Trump's numerous ethical shortcomings make them more effective," Baer said. "They are both 'morality mavericks,' and that works for them, not against them." This story was originally published in August 2022.

Elon Musk's battle with Twitter shows that even the brashest, loudest leaders can face a reckoning

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="6469210" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="keith-raniere">Keith Raniere</keyword>, the founder and leader of <keyword id="7550442" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Nxivm">Nxivm</keyword>, was sentenced to a lifetime in prison.</li><li>Raniere was convicted of <keyword id="386171" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="sex-trafficking">sex trafficking</keyword> of children, conspiracy, and conspiracy to commit forced labor in June 2019.</li><li>Raniere falsely billed himself a scientist and created self-help courses with Nxivm cofounder Nancy Salzman.</li><li>In reality, the courses helped brainwash members, some to the point of joining a secret sorority that branded its members with Raniere's initials and manipulated them into sex with him, former members said <a href="https://variety.com/2020/biz/news/keith-raniere-sentenced-prison-nxivm-1234815933/">at the recent sentencing</a> and testified in 2019, according to the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/14/nyregion/nxivm-trial-sex-cult-women.html">New York Times.</a></li></ul>Keith Raniere, the 60-year-old cofounder and leader of the alleged sex <keyword id="6550757" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="cult">cult</keyword> Nxivm, has been <a href="https://twitter.com/EDNYnews/status/1321184945130426370">sentenced to 120 years in prison</a>.<a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/06/19/734116183/nxivm-leader-keith-raniere-found-guilty-of-all-charges-in-sex-cult-case">In 2019, Raniere was found guilty on charges of sex trafficking of children</a>, conspiracy, and conspiracy to commit forced labor.He was arrested in 2018 in Mexico, where he sought refuge from the US <a href="https://people.com/crime/nxivm-founder-keith-raniere-arrested-catherine-oxenberg-responds/">after multiple members who left Nxivm pressed charges against him</a> and spoke with The New York Times in a damning exposé of the group.In a recent <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/nxivm-founder-keith-raniere-speaks-out-from-prison-ahead-of-sentencing-94515269837">NBC News interview</a>, his first public appearance since his 2018 arrest, Raniere called his charges "a horrible injustice" and said he would continue to fight for his innocence.During his sentencing, victims giving impact statements <a href="https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Keith-Raniere-sentencing-on-tap-in-Brooklyn-on-15677169.php?utm_source=t.co&amp;cmpid=twittersocialflow&amp;utm_campaign=socialflow&amp;utm_medium=referralium=referral">called Raniere a "monster,"</a> "parasite," and "terrorist" who psychologically and physically manipulated followers.One victim, who went only by the name Camila, said Raniere forced a sexual relationship on her when she was 15 and that it lasted until she was 27, court documents obtained by Insider showed."He manipulated me for what he wanted," Camila said in court on Tuesday. "I became unreachable to my parents, my brother, my friends until I had nobody to worry about me. He knew the things that mattered most to me and what I feared and used that against me."<h2>How Raniere built a cult covered up as a self-help group</h2>Nxivm was billed as a self-help multilevel marketing company, inviting people to spend thousands of dollars on courses. Raniere founded the group in 1998, alongside the nurse and hypnotist <a href="https://www.insider.com/where-are-they-now-nxivm-sex-cult-leaders-and-followers-2020-10#nancy-salzman-a-nurse-and-hypnotist-created-much-of-the-psychological-framework-used-in-nxivm-courses-she-plead-guilty-to-racketeering-in-2019-10">Nancy Salzman</a>. He had his followers refer to him as "Vanguard" and to Salzman as "Prefect."Followers were told he was a scientist, which he was not, and that he had <a href="https://www.insider.com/nxivm-used-real-psychology-to-fetishize-vulnerability-manipulate-2020-9">created a unique self-help method</a> that would help anyone achieve their personal and professional aspirations.In reality, Raniere had <a href="https://www.insider.com/nxivm-used-real-psychology-to-fetishize-vulnerability-manipulate-2020-9">rebranded real psychological methods</a> used in therapy and abused them to elicit private information from his followers that he later wielded as blackmail, former members alleged.<h2>Women were branded with his initials</h2>He also created a secret sorority for women within Nxivm called DOS (Latin for "Dominus Obsequious Sororium," which translates to "master over slave women"), where women were branded with his initials and some were manipulated into being Raniere's sex slaves, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/allison-mack-smallville-actress-granted-bail-sex-cult-case-2018-04-24/">CBS reported,</a> citing 2015 court filings.Former Nxivm members who left the group said Raniere's supposed self-help methods were used to groom certain women in DOS. Others, like <a href="https://www.insider.com/where-are-they-now-nxivm-sex-cult-leaders-and-followers-2020-10#india-oxenberg-was-in-nxivm-for-7-years-and-in-dos-for-2-she-executive-produced-a-docuseries-seduced-about-her-experience-as-a-sex-slave-to-raniere-11">India Oxenberg</a> and <a href="https://www.insider.com/where-are-they-now-nxivm-sex-cult-leaders-and-followers-2020-10#sarah-edmondson-is-a-former-member-who-was-branded-with-ranieres-initials-4">Sarah Edmondson</a>, have spoken out to accuse Raniere of mistreatment against them.<h2>Some members who've stayed loyal to Raniere are now facing long prison sentences</h2>There are some members of DOS, like the actress <a href="https://www.insider.com/where-are-they-now-nxivm-sex-cult-leaders-and-followers-2020-10#allison-mack-an-actress-remains-loyal-to-raniere-she-pleaded-guilty-to-racketeering-in-2019-and-awaits-sentencing-8">Allison Mack</a> and Salzman's daughter <a href="https://www.insider.com/where-are-they-now-nxivm-sex-cult-leaders-and-followers-2020-10#lauren-salzman-the-daughter-of-top-ranking-nxivm-nurse-and-hypnotist-nancy-salzman-recruited-women-to-the-sex-slave-ring-dos-shes-on-house-arrest-and-awaiting-sentencing-9">Lauren Salzman</a>, who remain loyal to Raniere.Seagram's heiress <a href="https://www.insider.com/where-are-they-now-nxivm-sex-cult-leaders-and-followers-2020-10#clare-bronfman-is-half-of-the-sister-heiress-duo-which-helped-fund-lawsuits-against-people-who-left-nxivm-she-was-sentenced-to-more-than-6-years-in-prison-2">Clare Bronfman</a>, who was sentenced to nearly seven years in prison on September 30 for identity fraud and <keyword id="1776831" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Racketeering">racketeering</keyword>, provided Raniere with millions to bombard members who left Nxivm with lawsuits, <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2010/11/bronfman-201011">Vanity Fair reported</a>, citing legal filings and public documents.Mack, Nancy Salzman, and Lauren Salzman also pleaded guilty to <a href="https://www.insider.com/where-are-they-now-nxivm-sex-cult-leaders-and-followers-2020-10">crimes including racketeering</a> in 2018, but their sentencings were postponed because of the pandemic. Those sentencings are being rescheduled and are expected to happen in 2020.<ul class="read-more-links"><li style="list-style-type: none;"><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li></ul></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/3-cult-leader-types-says-therapist-treating-former-followers-2020-9">The 3 main personality traits of cult leaders, according to a cult-recovery therapist</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/why-people-join-cults-according-to-therapist-who-treats-survivors-2020-9">3 reasons why people join cults, according to a cult-recovery therapist</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/couple-who-escaped-nxivm-is-rebuilding-intimacy-from-ground-up-2020-10">How a married couple who escaped NXIVM is rebuilding their relationship from scratch after leaving the cult</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/clare-bronfman-nxivm-81-months-in-prison-immigration-id-theft-2020-9">Seagram's heiress Clare Bronfman has been sentenced to almost 7 years in prison for her involvement in the NXIVM cult</a></li></ul>

Nxivm cult leader Keith Raniere has been sentenced to life in prison

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Former <keyword id="7550442" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Nxivm">NXIVM</keyword> member <keyword id="11553067" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="sarah-edmondson">Sarah Edmondson</keyword> believes <keyword id="6469209" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="allison-mack">Allison Mack</keyword> received a fair sentence for her role in the cult.</li><li>She said she believed Mack was not as responsible for abuse as <keyword id="6469210" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="keith-raniere">Keith Raniere</keyword>, and was herself a victim. </li><li>Edmondson told Insider while Mack should be held accountable, she no longer feels angry with the actress.</li></ul>A survivor of the NXIVM cult told Insider that top official Allison Mack received an appropriate sentence for her role in the group after expressing regret for her actions. Mack, a former actress most widely known for her role in "Smallville," <a href="https://www.insider.com/allison-mack-sentenced-3-years-nxivm-sex-cult-2021-6">was sentenced Wednesday to three years in prison</a> for recruiting women to join the Albany, New York-based cult to act as sex slaves for its leader, <a href="https://www.insider.com/keith-raniere-of-nxivm-lifetime-prison-sentence-child-sex-trafficking-2020-10">Keith Raniere.</a> Former NXIVM member Sarah Edmondson said that unlike Raniere, who was sentenced to 120 years in prison for his role in the cult, Mack has apologized for her actions. Mack wrote a letter to NXIVM survivors days before her sentencing in which she called her role in the cult her "greatest regret." "It is now of paramount importance for me to say, from the bottom of my heart, I am so sorry," <a href="https://www.insider.com/allison-mack-role-in-the-nxivm-sex-cult-was-the-her-greatest-regret-2021-6">Mack, 38, wrote.</a> Edmondson told Insider that Mack needed to be held accountable for her role in NXIVM, but she also believes Mack was a victim. Neither Raniere or top-ranking NXIVM member Clare Bronfman showed any remorse for their actions, Edmondson noted."The fact is that Alison appears to have woken up. It appears that she's out of that mindset, which is very different than Keith and Claire who were not remorseful and take no responsibility," Edmondson told Insider. "I think the judge really acknowledged that, and I actually think that his sentence is fair." <a href="https://www.sarahedmondson.com/book">Edmondson</a>, who wrote a book, <a href="https://www.insider.com/reviews/out?asin=1452184267&amp;platform=browser&amp;postSource=in%7C5f8752a90afbe74bd5166ca4&amp;postTag=thebusiinsi-20&amp;sc=false&amp;type=AMAZON-AFFILIATE-LINK&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fdp%2F1452184267%3Ftag%3Dthebusiinsi-20&amp;sessionid=1625166161119&amp;tag=insider-safetynet-20119&amp;tag=insider-safetynet-20" rel="nofollow sponsored noindex">"Scarred,"</a> about her experience with NXIVM, was a member of the group run by Raniere for 15 years. Like many cults, NXIVM was <a href="https://www.insider.com/therapists-werent-allowed-to-join-nxivm-would-see-through-raniere-2020-10">marketed as a self-help group</a> where members would learn to better themselves; over time, former members say they were subjected to abusive mind control and manipulation tactics. Edmondson left NXIVM was after she was recruited to DOS, a secret sorority within the group, and was pressured into getting a brand that she later realized bore Raniere's initials. "Figuring out that the symbol was not a symbol for the elements, but actually his initials, was the biggest wake up call," she said. Edmondson said she spent thousands of dollars on oils, creams, and treatments to try and remove the brand, but it was still visible. She said she eventually had it surgically removed. Today, Edmondson and her husband, Anthony "Nippy" Ames - also a survivor of the group - host a podcast called <a href="https://www.alittlebitculty.com/">A Little Bit Culty,</a> where they talk to former members of abusive cults and share advice on how to heal. On Wednesday, Edmondson chose not to go to Mack's sentencing hearing, instead enjoying a family vacation with Ames and their two young children. Edmondson recalled Mack as being generous and kind, and said she considered her a close friend during her time in the cult. She said she wouldn't be opposed to reconnecting with Mack down the line."I really wish [Mack] and her family peace and healing. I'm devastated that it came to this," Edmondson said. "Forgiveness is a weird thing because I do think she needs to be held accountable, but I don't have any anger in my heart."

Former NXIVM member Sarah Edmondson says she believes Allison Mack regrets her role in sex cult

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="7550442" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Nxivm">NXIVM</keyword> <keyword id="6355231" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Sex">sex</keyword> <keyword id="6550757" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="cult">cult</keyword> top official Allison Mack will be sentenced today after pleading guilty to racketeering.</li><li>Mack helped NXIVM leader Keith Raniere lure women to his secret sex-slave group, DOS.</li><li>She orchestrated branding ceremonies, restricted women's diets, and collected compromising photos.</li></ul>Former "Smallville" actress Allison Mack was <a href="https://people.com/crime/allison-mack-sentenced-nxivm-cult-crimes/">sentenced to 3 years in prison</a> on Wednesday after pleading guilty to racketeering related to her involvement in the <a href="https://www.insider.com/everything-we-learned-nxivm-cult-docuseries-seduced-2020-10">Albany, New York-based sex cult NXIVM</a>.In 2019, Mack faced charges of <a href="https://www.insider.com/allison-mack-pleaded-guilty-nxivm-sex-cult-case-2019-4">sex trafficking, identity fraud, and money laundering</a>, Insider previously reported.During the hearing, Mack said she was guilty of racketeering, or running an illegal business, and conspiracy to commit racketeering. The former actress<a href="https://www.insider.com/allison-mack-pleaded-guilty-nxivm-sex-cult-case-2019-4"> also revealed she had obtained </a>compromising photos of two women and threatened to release them publicly if they refused to perform "so-called acts of love."She faces <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9741091/NXIVM-victim-India-Oxenberg-speaks-ahead-Allison-Mack-sentencing.html">up to 17 years in prison</a>, the Daily Mail reported.Mack was a top official in NXIVM, the upstate New York sex cult that <a href="https://www.insider.com/what-is-nxivm-keith-raniere-explainer-2019-4">made national headlines</a> for its <a href="https://www.insider.com/nxivm-used-real-psychology-to-fetishize-vulnerability-manipulate-2020-9">psychology-based brainwashing tactics</a>, branding ceremonies, and sex slave grooming <a href="https://www.insider.com/nxivm-leader-keith-raniere-brainwashed-women-into-starving-themselves-2020-10">under the leadership of Keith Raniere</a>.Mack is the latest NXIVM high-ranking official to be sentenced, following <a href="https://www.insider.com/keith-raniere-of-nxivm-lifetime-prison-sentence-child-sex-trafficking-2020-10">Raniere, who was sentenced to life in prison,</a> and Seagram's heiress <a href="https://www.insider.com/where-are-they-now-nxivm-sex-cult-leaders-and-followers-2020-10#clare-bronfman-is-half-of-the-sister-heiress-duo-which-helped-fund-lawsuits-against-people-who-left-nxivm-she-was-sentenced-to-more-than-6-years-in-prison-2">Clare Bronfman</a>, who was sentenced to more than six years.<div type="image" title="Allison Mack" height="3000" width="1964" msid="83990237" hostid="261"></div><h2>The 'Smallville' actress moved to NXIVM headquarters in 2011</h2>Mack's history with NXIVM dates back to 2006, when she attended her first meeting in Los Angeles.Raniere, who<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/willyakowicz/2019/05/15/keith-raniere-the-leader-of-the-nxivm-sex-cult/?sh=6052471f35a9"> started as a top salesperson</a> for upstate New York multi-level marketing company Consumer's Buyline before starting his own company, <a href="https://www.insider.com/nxivm-used-real-psychology-to-fetishize-vulnerability-manipulate-2020-9">created expensive self-help seminars</a> that attracted Hollywood-based actors and other creatives.According to The <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/how-smallvilles-allison-mack-went-actress-sex-cult-slaver-1112107">Hollywood Reporter</a>, Mack learned of NXIVM through her "Smallville" co-star Kristin Kreuk and started attending seminars regularly.Mack <a href="https://www.oprahdaily.com/entertainment/tv-movies/a33623734/allison-mack-nxivm-update/">moved to Albany, New York in 2011</a>, after her work on "Smallville" ended. There, Raniere recruited her to become a figurehead of the organization. She starred in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amLPa8I1KU0">video promotions</a>, led courses, and recruited new members, according to HBO's documentary series about the group, "The Vow."<h2>Mack restricted women's food intake, threatened to embarrass them, and orchestrated branding ceremonies</h2>Raniere also put Mack in charge of running DOS, or <a href="https://www.oprahdaily.com/entertainment/tv-movies/a33623734/allison-mack-nxivm-update/">Dominus Obsequious Sororium, a latin phrase that </a>translates to "Master over slave women."<a href="https://www.insider.com/india-oxenberg-routine-as-former-nxivm-cult-slave-2020-10">DOS was a secret women-only sector of NXIVM</a> that only select members knew about, Insider previously reported.She worked with other top NXIVM officials, including <a href="https://www.insider.com/where-are-they-now-nxivm-sex-cult-leaders-and-followers-2020-10#nancy-salzman-a-nurse-and-hypnotist-created-much-of-the-psychological-framework-used-in-nxivm-courses-she-plead-guilty-to-racketeering-in-2019-10">Nancy Salzman</a> and her daughter <a href="https://www.insider.com/where-are-they-now-nxivm-sex-cult-leaders-and-followers-2020-10#lauren-salzman-the-daughter-of-top-ranking-nxivm-nurse-and-hypnotist-nancy-salzman-recruited-women-to-the-sex-slave-ring-dos-shes-on-house-arrest-and-awaiting-sentencing-9">Lauren Salzman</a> to recruit women to DOS. Then, Mack <a href="https://www.insider.com/india-oxenberg-routine-as-former-nxivm-cult-slave-2020-10">groomed them to become Raniere's sex slaves</a>, Insider previously reported.Part of the grooming process involved Mack and other sex-slave "masters" <a href="https://www.insider.com/nxivm-leader-keith-raniere-brainwashed-women-into-starving-themselves-2020-10">enforcing strict diets</a>. According to former sex slave and NXIVM member India Oxenberg, <a href="https://www.insider.com/nxivm-leader-keith-raniere-brainwashed-women-into-starving-themselves-2020-10">Mack and Raniere said diet restrictions were a sign of self-improvement</a> and restricted her to between 500 and 900 calories each day.Mack also organized secret branding ceremonies for new DOS members, which involved NXIVM<a href="https://nypost.com/2021/02/24/nxivm-doctor-defends-branding-sex-cult-members/"> member and former physician Danielle Roberts</a> <a href="https://apnews.com/6cfea4d3f5d642e1bc11da464bb99930">using a cauterizing pen to write Raniere's initials</a> in each woman's flesh near their bikini lines.Under Raniere's instruction, Mack collected nude photos and compromising personal information from women she recruited into DOS, which she later used to prevent them from leaving by threatening to release the information.<div type="image" title="Allison Mack" height="1490" width="2000" msid="83990240" hostid="261"></div><h2>Mack was arrested in 2018 while in Mexico with Raniere</h2>In 2018, Raniere, Mack, and NXIVM member Nikki Clyne were arrested in Mexico after fleeing the US amidst an investigation into the cult. She was placed on house arrest for a year.At her 2019 hearing, Mack apologized to the people she recruited into NXIVM and said Raniere had brainwashed her."I threw myself into the teachings of Keith Raniere with everything I had. I believed, whole-heartedly, that his mentorship was leading me to a better, more enlightened version of myself. I devoted my loyalty, my resources, and, ultimately, my life to him," Mack <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2021/06/allison-mack-calls-nxivm-greatest-regret-before-sentencing.html">wrote in her statement</a> to a federal judge in Brooklyn."This was the biggest mistake and greatest regret of my life."

Allison Mack was a top NXIVM member who persuaded women to join a cult-like group. Here's what to know about the former actor's role in the sex cult.

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="7550442" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Nxivm">Nxivm</keyword> cult leader and founder <keyword id="6469210" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="keith-raniere">Keith Raniere</keyword> used various brainwashing tactics to manipulate his followers into obeying him, ex-members said at Raniere's prison sentencing. One of those methods was extreme diet restriction.</li><li>He specifically restricted his sex slaves' calories in an attempt to make them lose weight and appear more child-like, former member India Oxenberg said.</li><li>Raniere told followers diet control was one of the best ways to work through underlying psychological issues, they said.</li></ul>Former members of alleged sex cult Nxivm have spoken out about founder and leader Keith Raniere's various <a href="https://www.insider.com/nxivm-used-real-psychology-to-fetishize-vulnerability-manipulate-2020-9">manipulation tactics</a>, like providing family secrets and notarized house deeds under the guise of personal accountability.During <a href="https://www.insider.com/keith-raniere-of-nxivm-lifetime-prison-sentence-child-sex-trafficking-2020-10">Raniere's lifetime prison sentence</a> hearing on October 27, former members talked about Raniere's request for diet restriction among multiple women members, including those in Nxivm's secret sorority DOS.According to India Oxenberg, who executive produced the docuseries "Seduced" about her seven years in the cult and two years as a DOS sex slave, Raniere framed diet restriction as the ultimate show of self-improvement and convinced some followers to believe that. In reality, Raniere restricted women's diets to <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/10/27/india-oxenberg-says-keith-raniere-starved-her-to-look-like-12-year-old/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CIndia%20Oxenberg%20says%20Keith%20Raniere,from%20watching%20our%20skin%20burn.">make them look more child-like</a>, Oxenberg said during her victim impact statement at the sentencing.Oxenberg, who was also branded with Raniere's initials, isn't the only former Nxivm member to say Raniere restricted her diet.When Ivy Nevares defied Raniere's strict diet, eating pumpkin seeds to stave off her hunger, <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/10/27/india-oxenberg-says-keith-raniere-starved-her-to-look-like-12-year-old/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CIndia%20Oxenberg%20says%20Keith%20Raniere,from%20watching%20our%20skin%20burn.">he became angry</a>, Nevares said during her own victim impact statement.Camila, who didn't share her last name during her testimony, said Raniere raped her when she was 15 and he was 45. She said Raniere was obsessed with her weight for the entirety of their relationship, which lasted until she left Nxivm at 27."From the time we started having sex, he would ask me my weight every single day," <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/3anzx8/nxivm-child-sex-abuse-victim-says-keith-raniere-stole-12-years-of-her-life">Camila said</a> at Raniere's sentencing. "This continued into my adulthood. His goal for me was to be 100 pounds or less." During an appearance on Dr. Oz that airs October 29, former member Tabby Chapman said Raniere falsely told her diet restriction was a useful tool for self-improvement. "I was originally food-restricted because Keith had everyone convinced that the fastest way to work your issues was to work your relationship with food," Chapman told Oz.She said she often wondered how eating fewer calories would lead her to business success, but continued to eat between 500 and 900 calories daily as Raniere requested.Bonnie Piesse, a former member, left Nxivm when she noticed various women were restricting their food intake and looked dangerously underweight, she said in HBO's docuseries "The Vow." She said one of those women was "Smallville" actress Allison Mack, who recruited Oxenberg and others into DOS. Mack now awaits her own sentencing, and pleaded guilty to racketeering for her involvement in the cult.Raniere, 60, was sentenced to 120 years in prison after being found guilty of child sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit forced labor.<ul class="read-more-links"><li><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li></ul></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/3-cult-leader-types-says-therapist-treating-former-followers-2020-9">The 3 main personality traits of cult leaders, according to a cult-recovery therapist</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/why-people-join-cults-according-to-therapist-who-treats-survivors-2020-9">3 reasons why people join cults, according to a cult-recovery therapist</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/couple-who-escaped-nxivm-is-rebuilding-intimacy-from-ground-up-2020-10">How a married couple who escaped NXIVM is rebuilding their relationship from scratch after leaving the cult</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/clare-bronfman-nxivm-81-months-in-prison-immigration-id-theft-2020-9">Seagram's heiress Clare Bronfman has been sentenced to almost 7 years in prison for her involvement in the NXIVM cult</a></li></ul>

Ex-members of Nxivm say leader Keith Raniere brainwashed women into starving themselves

<ul class="summary-list"><li>India Oxenberg and mother, "Dynasty" actor Catherine Oxenberg, sat down to discuss <keyword id="7550442" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Nxivm">NXIVM</keyword> on <a href="https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/dynasty-star-catherine-oxenbergs-daughter-speaks-life-escape-73580938">"Good Morning America" on Tuesday.</a></li><li>India Oxenberg, 29, said she was raped by leader <keyword id="6469210" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="keith-raniere">Keith Raniere</keyword>, and that NXIVM was a "ploy for Keith to enslave women for his own sexual desires."</li><li>She said she was a member of the organization for seven years, and during that time her mother tried to free her from the cult. </li></ul>Former NXIVM member India Oxenberg spoke publicly about the cult for the first time this week, saying she was groomed and raped by leader Keith Raniere.India Oxenberg, 29, and mother, "Dynasty" actor Catherine Oxenberg, sat down to discuss NXIVM on ABC's "<a href="https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/dynasty-star-catherine-oxenbergs-daughter-speaks-life-escape-73580938">Good Morning America</a>" on Tuesday, in a promotional interview for the Starz docuseries, "Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult.""It was a trap," India Oxenberg said of NXIVM. "And it was a ploy for Keith to enslave women for his own sexual desires."The mother-daughter duo went to their first NXIVM meeting together nearly a decade ago when it was operating as a purported self-help program based in Albany, New York.In the years since, <a href="https://www.insider.com/what-is-nxivm-keith-raniere-explainer-2019-4">a secret sex cult within the group surfaced called DOS</a>, in which women were forced to have sex with Raniere. Raniere was found guilty last year on charges of racketeering, sex, trafficking, and possession of child pornography.India Oxenberg called Raniere a "master of manipulation" and a "predator," and said she was groomed by the "inhumane" NXIVM leadership.<div type="image" title="Catherine Oxenberg" height="1277" width="2000" msid="78671594" hostid="261"></div>"When you're unaware, it's so easy to be led astray, especially by people who are masters at manipulation," she told GMA, adding that she paid the organization $100,000 during her time as a member.India Oxenberg said that "Smallville" actress Allison Mack, who pleaded guilty to racketeering charges, recruited her for DOS, saying she was forced to hand over nude photos as collateral, which removed any free will within the group."I had given collateral, which automatically removes my choice," India Oxenberg told GMA. "So I did not have the option to say no. Saying no meant hurting my family or hurting my friends. And I wasn't gonna do that."She also said her relationship with her mother was severed by the group early on, but Catherine Oxenberg spent years working to free her daughter."Getting somebody out of a cult is very different than a drug intervention, for instance, because their critical thinking has been taken away," Catherine Oxenberg told GMA. "And so the process of working with a cult defector is to reawaken and reignite their critical thinking."India Oxenberg told GMA she plans to attend Raniere's sentencing later this month, and wants to deliver a victim impact statement."You don't have to live with Keith Raniere haunting you. You can reclaim your life," she said. "You can learn from it. And you can move on. And you can heal. And you can have love. And I just feel so lucky that I can have that."<h2>Read the full "Good Morning America" report <a href="https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/dynasty-star-catherine-oxenbergs-daughter-speaks-life-escape-73580938">here</a>.</h2><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/couple-who-escaped-nxivm-is-rebuilding-intimacy-from-ground-up-2020-10">How a married couple who escaped NXIVM is rebuilding their relationship from scratch after leaving the cult</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/clare-bronfman-nxivm-81-months-in-prison-immigration-id-theft-2020-9">Seagram's heiress Clare Bronfman has been sentenced to almost 7 years in prison for her involvement in the NXIVM cult</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/what-is-nxivm-keith-raniere-explainer-2019-4">How NXIVM, a so-called self-help company, crumbled after former members exposed it as a cult that abused sex slaves</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/a-cult-recovery-therapist-who-treats-former-nxivm-scientology-members-2020-9">How a cult-recovery therapist helps former NXIVM members regain their independence: 'There's a huge amount of fear and loss'</a></li></ul>

A former NXIVM member whose mother fought for years to free her from the group says she was groomed and raped by leader Keith Raniere

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Former <keyword id="7550442" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Nxivm">NXIVM</keyword> member Sarah Edmondson told Insider that top-ranking members of the <keyword id="6550757" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="cult">cult</keyword> barred <keyword id="21324" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Therapists">therapists</keyword> from joining. They said this was because therapists would steal Raniere's teachings.</li><li>Since leaving NXIVM, Edmondson said, she believes this was because any therapist who attended trainings would "see through" the manipulation tactics (as her mother did).</li><li>NXIVM founder and leader Keith Raniere used bonafide <keyword id="6363047" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="psychology">psychology</keyword> techniques to brainwash his followers.</li><li>He rebranded therapy methods as his own, calling them the "Executive Success Program."</li></ul>Leaders of NXIVM, the alleged sex cult covered up as a self-improvement multi-level marketing company, banned trained therapists from joining the group.Former NXIVM member Sarah Edmondson, who was coerced into being branded with leader Keith Raniere's initials, told Insider that executives of the group wouldn't allow licensed psychologists to come to the group's trainings.Leaders also barred life coaches or consultants, except for certain cases if top officials interviewed them and deemed them acceptable.High-ranking NXIVM members told lower-ranking ones that therapists were barred because Raniere's self-improvement methods were so helpful and original, psychologists would steal them and use them as their own.However, Edmondson, whose mother is a therapist, now believes that this rule (and the explanation for it) was a cover-up used to protect Raniere.Raniere used <a href="https://www.insider.com/nxivm-used-real-psychology-to-fetishize-vulnerability-manipulate-2020-9">science-backed psychology techniques,</a> rebranding them as his own creation, with jargon he invented like "rational inquiry" and "exploration of meaning." He called his method "ESP," or Executive Success Program. Billing himself as a guru, he used the method to manipulate members into sharing personal information.Raniere charged thousands of dollars for members to take these courses, which he claimed contained original and groundbreaking self-help methods. But if professionals caught wind of his teachings, they'd realize the lessons were rehashed teachings a psychology master's degree student learned in class."Really, I think it was: Keith knew that if a therapist came, they'd be able to see through it," Edmondson told Insider.<h2>Edmondson's therapist mother had to be screened before attending NXIVM events</h2>Edmondson's parents both work in the counseling realm. Her mother is a licensed therapist, and her father is a counselor.She said her mother always "saw through" NXIVM's guise of self-improvement. She would ask Edmondson "discerning questions" about the company's inner workings, though she still supported her daughter because she didn't want to push her away."She didn't know the extent of everything that we know now, but she certainly didn't buy Keith as a thought leader. She totally thought he was a megalomaniac," Edmondson, who was part of NXIVM for 15 years, said.Since leaving the cult, Edmondson said she believes leaders' demands to interview her mother before she attend NXIVM events in support of her daughter were a way to keep their <a href="https://www.insider.com/nxivm-used-real-psychology-to-fetishize-vulnerability-manipulate-2020-9">methods</a> under wraps.<h2>Anyone who questioned whether Raniere's methods were original was billed a 'suppressive'</h2>According to Edmondson, people who came to NXIVM after already dabbling in other self-improvement workshops would often say that Raniere's methods were nothing new.The cult's leaders would have a rebuttal to those statements."We were taught to be like, 'Well, they're just being suppressive. They're not paying tribute to what Keith has built, or they're just not discerning enough to see how this is different.' You know, that s--- like that," Edmondson said.Now Edmondson sees how Raniere harnessed <a href="https://www.apa.org/ptsd-guideline/patients-and-families/cognitive-behavioral">cognitive behavioral therapy</a>, a type of talk therapy that helps patients change unhealthy thinking patterns, to use members' emotions and vulnerable moments against them.The most common way NXIVM members would therapize their actions was through an EM, or "exploration of meaning" — a term Raniere created. During an EM, a member and a high-ranking NXIVM teacher would sit in chairs, facing each other, while a group of other members watched. The member would explain an area of their life they were having trouble in, like feeling anxious about a job interview, and the teacher would ask questions to see if the anxiety was rooted in a specific memory or pattern in their past.This framework only turned vulnerability into a commodity or "highly valued currency," therapist Kelly Scott of Tribeca Therapy previously told Insider."I think there is a way that group absolutely fetishizes vulnerability. Actually, the more accurate way of saying that is they fetishize exploitation," Scott said, adding that the group mentality allowed more and more people to buy into that system.<ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/clare-bronfman-nxivm-81-months-in-prison-immigration-id-theft-2020-9">Seagram's heiress Clare Bronfman has been sentenced to almost 7 years in prison for her involvement in the NXIVM cult</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/3-cult-leader-types-says-therapist-treating-former-followers-2020-9">The 3 main personality traits of cult leaders, according to a cult-recovery therapist</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/why-people-join-cults-according-to-therapist-who-treats-survivors-2020-9">3 reasons why people join cults, according to a cult-recovery therapist</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/couple-who-escaped-nxivm-is-rebuilding-intimacy-from-ground-up-2020-10">How a married couple who escaped NXIVM is rebuilding their relationship from scratch after leaving the cult</a></li></ul>

Why therapists weren't allowed to join NXIVM, the alleged sex cult disguised as a self-help group

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Former <keyword id="7550442" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Nxivm">NXIVM</keyword> member Sarah Edmondson told Insider that much of the docuseries "<keyword id="841491" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="The-Vow">The Vow</keyword>," which covers the alleged sex <keyword id="6550757" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="cult">cult</keyword>, contains footage she's never seen or heard of before.</li><li>Edmondson said she was unaware of leader <keyword id="6469210" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="keith-raniere">Keith Raniere</keyword>'s simultaneous romantic relationships with various NXIVM women, and the ways in which he seduced and manipulated some of them.</li><li>For Edmondson, being forced to get a brand was the tipping point that caused her to leave the cult. But if she knew about Raniere's other deceptions laid out in the docuseries footage, she would've left sooner.</li></ul><keyword id="71946" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="HBO">HBO</keyword>'s docuseries "The Vow," which follows former members of the alleged sex cult NXIVM as they try to bring down its founder and leader Keith Raniere, contains intimate footage of his relationships with former members in the 1980s.For members who joined the cult, which was covered up as a self-improvement multi-level marketing company, the docuseries is the first time they're seeing this illuminating footage, just like viewers.Former NXIVM member of 15 years Sarah Edmondson told Insider that viewers may have a misconception that those who left knew the extent of Raniere's sexual manipulation throughout their time with the cult. In reality, "The Vow" brought much of this behavior to the forefront for the first time."That's the thing that still feels a little bit misunderstood. People think that what they're showing in 'The Vow' we saw that, but we didn't and that's [Raniere's] own brilliance, keeping people quiet," Edmondson told Insider.She said watching the never-before-seen footage in the weekly episodes, which air every Sunday, feels like "a real trip.""The footage of him meeting <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/08/nyregion/nxivm-allison-mack.html">Allison [Mack]</a> for the first time, and how he like penetrated her with his eyes, it was just revolting. I mean, that whole conversation made me want to be sick," Edmonson said.<div type="image" title="Sarah Edmondson NXIVM" height="641" width="853" msid="78690863" hostid="261"></div>She also felt disturbed after seeing footage from the 1980s that showed Raniere lounging around while being doted on by various NXIVM women.According to Edmondson, it wasn't clear to members like herself that Raniere had these intimate relationships with multiple women at once because he <a href="https://www.insider.com/couple-who-escaped-nxivm-is-rebuilding-intimacy-from-ground-up-2020-10">discouraged other members from romantic relationships</a> and hid his own."The people who are still loyal to Keith will say, 'Sarah never worked through her issues because she was just covering up her deficiency with [her husband] Nippy or having a baby,' which is ridiculous because by the way, all the women around Keith weren't having babies because he was making them have abortions and stay so thin that they couldn't even get pregnant," Edmondson said. "I just thought all of these women were single, so they could work on issues, and it turns out they were all loyal to Keith."For most of her time with the cult, Edmondson said she and others only saw Raniere as a professional who taught self-help courses. When she noticed him spending lots of time and being strangely intimate with his secretary, Edmondson said she wrote it off as normal, considering how closely he had to work with her.It wasn't until she was pushed to the brink of her boundaries when she joined DOS, a secret sorority Raniere created to exploit NXIVM women, that she realized his dangerous nature.Edmondson's friend Lauren Salzman, who she met through NXIVM, invited her to join the sorority, so she did. Then she was pressured into getting a brand that she was told represented the natural elements. But she soon realized the brand contained Raniere's initials, and for her, that was the final straw that made her leave the cult.After leaving, Edmondson saw that Raniere created DOS to "formalize" his women-hating behavior.Women who he manipulated in the early NXIVM days in the 1980s "woke up" and left the cult when he treated them poorly, Edmondson said.When a fresh group of women who didn't know that information joined in the 1990s and later, "he had to create basically a blackmail pyramid scheme to keep women loyal so that they wouldn't leave and they wouldn't tell secrets," she said."It's been going on for a long time, is what I'm saying. It's not just DOS. It's not like he started off good and then turned bad. He's always been bad in my opinion."<ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/clare-bronfman-nxivm-81-months-in-prison-immigration-id-theft-2020-9">Seagram's heiress Clare Bronfman has been sentenced to almost 7 years in prison for her involvement in the NXIVM cult</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/3-cult-leader-types-says-therapist-treating-former-followers-2020-9">The 3 main personality traits of cult leaders, according to a cult-recovery therapist</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/why-people-join-cults-according-to-therapist-who-treats-survivors-2020-9">3 reasons why people join cults, according to a cult-recovery therapist</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/couple-who-escaped-nxivm-is-rebuilding-intimacy-from-ground-up-2020-10">How a married couple who escaped NXIVM is rebuilding their relationship from scratch after leaving the cult</a></li></ul>

You Searched For "clare bronfman" and got 10 results

NXIVM financier Clare Bronfman says she shouldn't spend more time in prison than Allison Mack

Laura Italiano

Seagram's heiress Clare Bronfman has been sentenced to almost 7 years in prison for her involvement in the NXIVM cult

Julia Naftulin,Canela López

Elon Musk's battle with Twitter shows that even the brashest, loudest leaders can face a reckoning

Ebony Flake

Nxivm cult leader Keith Raniere has been sentenced to life in prison

Julia Naftulin

Former NXIVM member Sarah Edmondson says she believes Allison Mack regrets her role in sex cult

Insider Inc.

Allison Mack was a top NXIVM member who persuaded women to join a cult-like group. Here's what to know about the former actor's role in the sex cult.

Julia Naftulin

Ex-members of Nxivm say leader Keith Raniere brainwashed women into starving themselves

Julia Naftulin

A former NXIVM member whose mother fought for years to free her from the group says she was groomed and raped by leader Keith Raniere

Kelly McLaughlin

Why therapists weren't allowed to join NXIVM, the alleged sex cult disguised as a self-help group

Julia Naftulin

Even former NXIVM members were shocked by some of the 'revolting' footage of Keith Raniere in the docuseries 'The Vow'

Julia Naftulin

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