A billionaire heiress to the Seagram liquor company fortune was one of six people arrested Tuesday for her alleged role as Operations Director in connection with the infamous group NXIVM, who federal agents say is a sex cult.
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Richard Donoghue, announced on Tuesday that heiress Clare Bronfman, along with NXIVM founder Keith Raniere, former “Smallville” actress Allison Mack, Kathy Russell, Lauren Salzman and Nancy Salzman, have been indicted on multiple charges, The Free Thought Project reports.
“As alleged in the superseding indictment, for over a decade, Keith Raniere was the leader of a racketeering conspiracy in which he and members of his inner circle committed a broad range of serious crimes from identity theft and obstruction of justice to sex trafficking, all to promote and protect Raniere and NXIVM.”
The charges, according to Donoghue, include “racketeering conspiracy involving an array of crimes, including identity theft, extortion, forced labor, sex trafficking, money laundering, wire fraud and obstruction of justice.”
Earlier this year, Raniere and Mack were arrested on sex trafficking charges for reportedly running the purported sex-slave cult, where members were made to please Raniere while having his initials permanently branded on their bodies, as CrimeOnline previously reported.
Bronfman stands accused of identity theft for her role in apparently helping Raniere monitor electronic communications of those he believed criticized him, along with aiding him in charging expenses to his dead partner’s credit cards, who died in 2016.
The heiress has been named in court documents before, according to CBS News, who reports that she is thought to have aided an illegal alien in entering into the United States. Authorities say Bronfman gave millions of dollars to an organization that helped cover expenses such as private air travel with a price tag of $65,000.
While officials haven’t accused the billionaire of sex trafficking like other group members including Raniere and Mack, NXIVM whistleblower Frank Parlato told the New York Post that she is one of the harshest leaders involved in the organization.
“She’s the enforcer—the brutal one. Clare’s running the [operation] now, and she’s the most ruthless of them. I’m issuing an absolute warning now. Clare Bronfman is a true fanatic, and if there’s a Jim Jones situation, everyone will commit suicide but her.”
Following her Tuesday court appearance, Bronfman walked free after agreeing to wear an ankle monitor and posting an astonishing $100 million bond.
[Feature Photo: Clare Bronfman via AP/Mary Altaffer]
