Latest / The Burros of Berea Podcast / Episode 329- Of Sashes and Slaves- Part 5

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Episode 329- Of Sashes and Slaves- Part 5 · The Burros of Berea Podcast

0:01
Hello and welcome. I'm Nancy Salzman. I'm the
0:06
president of Nexium Corporation and executive
0:08
success programs. If you get involved in a group,
0:12
what's the word that people usually use to invalidate
0:15
the group? Cult, right? People use the term cult
0:21
because they want to devalue a group, but they
0:24
have no way of doing it except by putting unsubstantiated
0:28
doubt in the minds of unsuspecting, non -critically
0:32
thinking people. If this happens to you, ask.
0:36
What are they doing that's bad? Nexium began
0:47
its life not as a scandal, but as a promise,
0:50
a vision, a sales pitch dressed in soft philosophy
0:53
and multicolored sashes. It was 1998 when Keith
0:58
Raniere and Nancy Salzman formally launched executive
1:00
success programs, or later known as ESP. They
1:05
rented modest office spaces in upstate New York,
1:08
purchased hotel conference rooms for trainings,
1:10
and offered their curriculum to ambitious professionals
1:13
hungry for purpose. They never called it a religion.
1:17
Instead, they called it a technology for ethical
1:19
evolution. And that language worked, especially
1:22
on the idealists. By the early 2000s, ESP had
1:26
developed a growing reputation for producing
1:28
loyal, articulate students. It was expanding
1:32
across the United States, Canada, and even into
1:34
Mexico. But while the company positioned itself
1:37
as a cutting -edge self -improvement system,
1:40
beneath the surface, there were already signs
1:42
that Nexium was built to protect Keith, not the
1:45
people that it served. The first warning sign
1:48
came in 2003 in Anchorage, Alaska. Her name was
1:53
Kristen Snyder. She was 35 years old, a bright,
1:57
thoughtful, passionate woman. She worked as an
2:00
environmental consultant, was active in her church,
2:03
and recently started exploring new ways to improve
2:05
her confidence and focus. That's when she discovered
2:08
Nexium. Kristin attended a five -day intensive
2:11
led by ESP Trainers. The language, the structure,
2:15
the idea that one could unlock suppressed memories
2:17
through special techniques, it all intrigued
2:19
her. But by day three, her demeanor changed.
2:24
She became emotional. She told the group she
2:27
believed she had been sexually abused, that she
2:29
had repressed the memory, that she might be pregnant.
2:33
Then, shockingly, she told the group that the
2:35
child was Keith Ranieri's. Trainers. None of
2:39
them licensed mental health professionals, quietly
2:41
escorted her out of the room, and she was never
2:44
seen again. Two days later, Kristen's car was
2:47
found parked near the edge of Resurrection Bay.
2:50
Inside was a notebook with a message that read,
2:53
quote, I was brainwashed. I didn't know I was
2:57
already dead. May we persist into the future,
3:00
end quote. Kristen Snyder was never found. Her
3:05
death was ruled a suicide, but there were holes.
3:08
No police interview with ESP trainers. No psychological
3:12
assessment. No record of the group contacting
3:14
emergency services. Her partner, Heidi Clifford,
3:18
begged for answers. But Nexium offered none.
3:22
Kristen's name was wiped from their internal
3:24
documentation, and in the years that followed,
3:27
the group would tell members that people who
3:28
disappear often choose disintegration over growth.
3:33
Kristen's disappearance wasn't an isolated tragedy.
3:37
It was the first thread. A loose corner and a
3:40
tightly woven brand. In the years that followed,
3:44
lawsuits began to surface. A woman in California
3:47
sued NXIVM for deceptive business practices.
3:50
A former coach in New York accused the organization
3:52
of emotional manipulation. Parents claimed their
3:55
children had been isolated, indoctrinated, and
3:57
financially exploited. Each case told a similar
4:01
story. People came to NXIVM seeking empowerment.
4:04
They left broken, broke, or afraid to speak.
4:07
And for a long time, law enforcement didn't touch
4:10
it. So why? Because Nexium had two weapons. Money
4:15
and silence. After Sarah and Claire Bromkman,
4:19
heirs to the Seagrams Liquor Fortune, joined
4:21
the organization in the early 2000s, Nexium's
4:24
bank accounts swelled. Claire, especially, became
4:28
a guardian of Geet's vision. She believed deeply
4:30
in the mission, and she was willing to spend
4:32
tens of millions to protect it. Nexium began
4:36
launching lawsuits against anyone who opposed
4:38
them. Former members, journalists, whistleblowers,
4:43
even parents trying to get their adult children
4:44
out. They filed over 50 lawsuits in less than
4:48
five years, often dragging defendants across
4:51
state lines or into obscure jurisdictions. If
4:54
you couldn't afford a lawyer, you backed down.
4:56
If you kept fighting, they just filed another
4:59
suit. This wasn't about justice. It was about
5:02
fear. And most people... chose silence. But in
5:06
2007, a new figure entered the scene. A gruff,
5:10
skeptical publicist named Frank Parlato. He was
5:13
hired to do promotional work for NXIVM and the
5:16
Bronfman Sisters. Frank quickly noticed irregularities
5:19
in the group's finances, so he began asking questions.
5:23
And within months, he was fired. And threatened.
5:27
But Frank didn't run. He did what NXIVM feared
5:30
most. He started writing. By 2015, The Frank
5:35
Report had gone live, a daily blog chronicling
5:38
Nexium's inner workings. At first, it was largely
5:41
dismissed, but over time, it became a clearinghouse
5:44
for defectors, documents, and dirt. Frank called
5:48
Keith a fraud. He published legal documents.
5:52
He named names. And eventually, someone from
5:54
inside Nexium reached out with something new.
5:57
Not just emotional abuse. Not just lawsuits.
6:01
A secret. A vow. A brand. A hidden group called
6:05
DOS. The claims sounded outrageous. Women were
6:09
being branded with Keith's initials. They were
6:12
being starved, ordered to sleep with him, held
6:15
in emotional captivity through blackmail. Frank
6:18
didn't believe it until he saw the scar. And
6:21
that changed everything. He took the information
6:25
to the FBI and the Bureau didn't laugh. They
6:28
listened. Behind the scenes, a task force began
6:31
to assemble. They had no press conference. no
6:35
headlines, just names, case numbers, timelines.
6:39
They didn't know exactly what they were dealing
6:41
with, but they knew it was big. This wasn't just
6:44
manipulation. It wasn't just a pyramid scheme.
6:48
It was something far more sinister, and it was
6:50
time to follow the scars back to the source.
6:54
By the time Frank Parlato sent the FBI the photo
6:56
of the brand in 2015, Nexium wasn't on anyone's
7:00
radar as a criminal enterprise. Not really. To
7:03
most law enforcement agencies, it looked like
7:05
a fringe seminar group with a tendency to sue
7:07
everyone. But then came the brand. And with it,
7:11
names. Dates. Emails. Phone numbers. Videos.
7:16
Suddenly, it wasn't just theoretical abuse. It
7:20
was evidence. The FBI assigned a case to Special
7:28
Agent Michael Lever, a veteran investigator based
7:31
in the Albany Field Office. Lever had worked
7:33
white -collar crimes, organized fraud, and trafficking
7:36
cases. But even he would later admit, quote,
7:39
I'd never seen a group blur the line between
7:41
Colt and Criminal Enterprise quite like this,
7:44
end quote. Lever didn't work alone. By 2016,
7:48
he pulled in a quiet, brilliant prosecutor from
7:51
the Eastern District of New York, Assistant U
7:53
.S. Attorney Moira Penza. Penza was young, but
7:57
fierce. She had previously prosecuted mob cases,
8:01
real ones. She understood conspiracies, coercion,
8:05
and the way power worked in secretive systems.
8:07
When she began reading Frank's materials, her
8:10
instincts kicked in. This wasn't just a bad self
8:13
-help group, this was something bigger. Pinza
8:16
and Lever began to map it out like a crime family.
8:19
They laid out Keith Ranieri at the center, then
8:22
the lieutenants, Allison Mack, Lauren Saltzman,
8:25
Claire Bronfman, then the foot soldiers, coaches,
8:28
recruiters, assistants, and at the outer ring,
8:32
victims, those who'd escaped, those still trapped,
8:35
and those too afraid to speak. They filed a preliminary
8:38
memo. Ongoing criminal enterprise engaged in
8:41
identity theft, wire fraud, forced labor, sex
8:44
trafficking, and witness intimidation. It was
8:47
a start, but they needed more. They began requesting
8:50
interviews, quiet ones, off the records, in coffee
8:54
shops and borrowed offices. The first woman to
8:56
meet with them was Sarah Edmondson, still shaken,
8:59
still branded, but furious enough to fight. She
9:03
gave them her collateral folder, photos, letters.
9:06
the names of women she had seen go through branding,
9:09
the address in Albany where it had happened.
9:11
Then came Mark Vicente, the former filmmaker,
9:14
the inner circle defector. He had documents,
9:17
call logs, transcripts of Keith's lectures. He
9:21
explained the culture, the obedience, the belief
9:23
system that made smart, successful people give
9:25
away their bodies, their money, and their minds.
9:29
Other women followed, some spoke under aliases,
9:32
some cried through the entire interview. and
9:34
some brought physical scars. One told Pinza,
9:38
quote, If I stop obeying, they'll release my
9:41
photos. They'll ruin me. End quote. Pinza replied
9:46
simply, quote, Let us take care of them. End
9:50
quote. Still, the legal framework was complicated.
9:54
Nexium didn't call itself a cult. It called itself
9:57
a company. Most of its systems were privately
10:00
written. Contracts, non -disclosure agreements.
10:03
collateral arrangements that blurred the line
10:05
between voluntary and extorted. What made it
10:09
prosecutable? Was it the starvation, the branding,
10:12
the threats, the money laundering, or the combination
10:15
of all of it? This wasn't one crime. It was a
10:18
web. So they built a racketeering case, modeled
10:21
loosely on the RICO statutes once used against
10:23
the mafia. RICO or the Racketeer Influence and
10:27
Corrupt Organizations Act, allowed prosecutors
10:30
to argue that NXIVM was a criminal organization
10:32
disguised as a business. It gave them power,
10:35
but it meant they had to prove the enterprise
10:37
was designed to commit crime, not just bad judgment,
10:40
but intentional exploitation. They started following
10:43
the money. Claire Bronfman had fun in Keats'
10:46
legal war chest for over a decade. She also managed
10:49
a number of shell companies and trusts tied to
10:51
NXIVM's activities. Homeland Security Investigations
10:54
joined the effort, launching a parallel inquiry
10:56
into visa fraud and immigration manipulation,
10:59
particularly related to women being brought in
11:01
from Mexico under false pretenses. Meanwhile,
11:04
the Eastern District's prosecutors issued sealed
11:06
subpoenas. One went to Dropbox, another to Google,
11:10
another to a bank in Albany that had served NXIVM
11:13
for years. They collected financial records,
11:16
IP addresses, email servers, private chat logs,
11:19
a paper trail Keith had believed would never
11:21
be followed. By 2017, the task force had grown,
11:25
and now included federal agents, IRS forensic
11:27
accountants, immigration analysts, and at least
11:30
three assistant U .S. attorneys. The branding
11:33
stories were no longer fringe reports. They were
11:36
now confirmed, documented, and tied directly
11:38
to Keith Raniere and Allison Mack. They also
11:41
uncovered more disturbing material, images and
11:44
messages involving underage girls, some dating
11:46
back over a decade. Suddenly, what had started
11:50
as a wellness scandal had become something far
11:52
darker. A cult leader, a sex trafficker, and
11:56
a child predator. Penza said, quote, we didn't
12:00
just want a conviction, we wanted to end the
12:02
system that allowed it to exist, end quote. And
12:06
to do that, they needed to move carefully. No
12:09
leaks, no press, just quiet precision. Because
12:13
when the time came to take Keith down, it had
12:15
to be airtight. One mistake, and he'd vanish
12:18
again. Or worse, they'd be too late. By the fall
12:23
of 2017, the investigation into NXIVM had quietly
12:26
entered a new phase. The brand had been exposed,
12:29
the federal subpoenas were coming back loaded
12:31
with confirmation, and the survivors, once dismissed,
12:35
were now at the center of the government's strategy.
12:37
But there was one problem. Keith Raniere was
12:40
no longer in the country. After the New York
12:43
Times expose, Keith had quietly fled the United
12:45
States. He resurfaced in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico,
12:49
a sun -drenched city far from New York and farther
12:52
still from federal reach. And he wasn't alone.
12:55
Still with him were a few loyalists, Nikki Klein,
12:59
Lauren Saltzman, a rotating group of DOS members
13:01
whose loyalty hadn't cracked. They lived in villas
13:04
rented through shell companies, used encrypted
13:06
phones, held meetings with big names like Reflections
13:10
or Community Wellness. But behind it all, Keith
13:13
was still pulling the strings. From his hideout,
13:16
he continued directing Nexium operations. He
13:18
sent messages to Allison Mack back in Clifton
13:21
Park. He coached Claire Bronfman on media strategy.
13:24
He reassured his inner circle that the charges
13:26
were nothing more than patriarchal retaliation.
13:29
But federal agents knew better. In late 2017,
13:33
Operation VAL was born, a joint task force between
13:36
the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, or
13:39
the HSI, and Mexican federal police. Its mission?
13:44
locate and arrest Keith Ranieri, and do it without
13:47
giving him a second to run. Special Agent Michael
13:50
Lever worked the U .S. side. He coordinated surveillance
13:53
logs, monitored Keith's online activity, and
13:56
reviewed weekly updates from tech partners monitoring
13:58
VPN usage and burner accounts. HSI agents, including
14:02
cyber specialists and financial analysts, monitored
14:05
the flow of funds into Keith's Mexico operations.
14:08
Bank accounts tied to Claire Broughman. PayPal
14:10
accounts disguised as wellness consulting. even
14:13
cryptocurrency wallets. What they found was a
14:16
man living lavishly on loyalty. Women brought
14:19
him food, organized schedules, hosted volleyball
14:22
games in the evenings, held space for his lectures,
14:25
his ethics forums, and his continued sexual control.
14:30
But Keith was getting nervous. He switched phones
14:32
frequently, used aliases for travel bookings,
14:36
and most telling, he stopped posting altogether.
14:39
Public silence and a man once addicted to his
14:42
own voice. Federal agents knew they were close,
14:45
but they also knew Keith had resources. He could
14:48
vanish again, and this time, maybe for good.
14:52
So they tightened the circle. They secured a
14:54
provisional arrest warrant through diplomatic
14:56
channels with Mexico. They partnered with Interpol,
14:59
filing a red notice, an international alert to
15:02
flag Keith Raniere as a fugitive wanted for sex
15:05
trafficking, forced labor, and racketeering.
15:08
Still, they waited. The arrest had to happen
15:11
at the right time. There could be no crowd, no
15:15
cameras, and no warning. Through wiretaps and
15:19
flipped witnesses, they learned that Keith had
15:21
relocated again to a gated villa in the city's
15:24
outskirts, surrounded by high walls and a loyal
15:27
inner circle. Lauren was still there. Nikki was
15:31
still there. Keith had begun instructing them
15:33
to prepare to restart DOS in Mexico. In one intercepted
15:38
message, he wrote, quote, We have been persecuted
15:40
for our purity, but purity always returns. We
15:44
are the seed." It was delusional and dangerous.
15:49
The agents knew this wasn't just about prosecution
15:52
anymore. It was about prevention. The final stage
15:56
of Operation Val began on March 23, 2018. FBI
16:00
agents coordinated with Mexico's federal police
16:02
and dispatched a plain clothes team to the neighborhood.
16:05
The house was staked out. Surveillance teams
16:07
kept eyes on Keith from a nearby rooftop. One
16:10
agent pretended to be a utilities worker to confirm
16:12
Keith's presence inside. He was there, alive,
16:17
relaxed, and unaware. But what they didn't know
16:20
is that Keith was with Lauren Saltzman at that
16:22
very moment, alone, in a back room, reviewing
16:26
notes for a new DOS indoctrination pitch. That
16:29
night, a signal was sent. Green light. Move.
16:34
They were going in. And we begin with an update
16:37
on a Daily Mail TV exclusive, Nexium Leader Arrested.
16:41
Over the last 25 years, thousands of people have
16:44
joined the secretive self -help group that brands
16:46
its female followers. But others have become
16:49
devoted and obsessed with the organization and
16:52
its guru -like founder, Keith Ranieri, including
16:55
actress Catherine Oxenberg's daughter, India.
16:58
Catherine spoke to us back in October about her
17:00
heartbreaking struggle to bring her daughter
17:02
home and how she described Keith Ranieri. Take
17:05
a look. I miss you and I'm sending you a big
17:08
kiss. May 30th was the last time that I saw my
17:12
daughter. She calls me and she says, Mom, I'm
17:14
losing hair dramatically and I haven't had a
17:17
period in a year. And I was taken aback and I'm
17:23
like trying to figure out how the hell do I intervene?
17:25
How do I save my daughter? And I asked her to
17:28
come home for a birthday, any excuse to get her
17:30
out of that environment. And I said, you know,
17:33
you're brainwashed. And she said, no, I'm not
17:36
brainwashed. So she went back on a plane that
17:38
night. I believe that Keith Ranieri is a dangerous
17:40
psychopath. And I believe that this organization
17:44
needs to be stopped. Now, Keith Ranieri has been
17:48
found arrested and charged with sex trafficking
17:51
and forced labor charges. Chris Bargo starts
17:54
us off from our New York newsroom now with more.
17:56
Chris, where did police catch Keith Ranieri?
17:58
Well, Jesse Keith Ranieri, the head of Nexium,
18:01
was tracked down at a luxury villa in Puerto
18:03
Vallarta, Mexico. He was then extradited and
18:06
taken to Texas where he is now facing charges.
18:08
He had set up a system in Nexium where he had
18:10
a group of slaves and a triangle sister under
18:12
him with 50 women who was serving his every need.
18:15
These women were, he was the only woman at this
18:17
cult, there were no other men, and he was the
18:18
only male allowed in. He is now being accused
18:20
of sex trafficking and also forced labor conspiracy.
18:24
They're looking to transport him now next to
18:26
Brooklyn where he will face more charges. He
18:27
had headed down to Mexico after the New York
18:29
Times wrote an article about some of the women
18:31
who he would brand in the cult. So Chris, with
18:33
Keith Ranieri charged and now in jail, where
18:36
are the rest of the Nexium members now? Well,
18:38
Jesse, we're not really sure where the members
18:40
are. We know they were in upstate New York, then
18:42
they all began leaving at some point last year
18:44
and heading down to Mexico. We believe that many
18:46
may still be there, but there has yet to be any
18:48
proof of that thus far. We also know that in
18:50
the bail documents, when they're trying to deny
18:52
Keith Bail, they said that many of these people
18:54
were funding his lifestyle, that he was all but
18:56
penniless, and all the money actually came from
18:57
the women in this cult. So they really support
19:00
him, are really going to do everything they can
19:01
to try to get him out, which is why... authorities
19:03
want to keep him in jail until he's taken up
19:05
to Brooklyn. Chris, now that Ranieri's in jail,
19:07
what are the chances this helps bring Catherine
19:09
Oxenberg's daughter, India, home? The Oxenberg
19:12
family has yet to comment, but this has to be
19:14
the best news they've heard thus far. They, of
19:16
course, brought a lot of light to this cult when
19:18
they talked about how they lost their daughter.
19:20
She was in the New York sect of it. I'd not know
19:23
if she'd traveled to Mexico if she'd stayed up
19:25
there, but with the Ranieri being out of this,
19:27
it's a good chance that we're gonna be able to
19:29
find her again and she'll be reunited with her
19:30
family, hopefully. A lawyer who has represented
19:32
Nexium could not immediately be reached for comment.
20:01
Chris Fargo starts us off from our New York newsroom.
20:03
So Chris, what can you tell us? Well, Jesse,
20:05
this is the very moment that Mexican authorities
20:07
came in and did arrest Keith Ranieri to take
20:09
him to export him over to Texas. Now, Allison
20:12
Mack, the actress from Smallville, is who we're
20:14
seeing this video that was confirmed by someone
20:16
who has ties to the cult of DailyMail .com. Now,
20:19
he's been he's been arraigned in Texas currently
20:21
on charges of sex trafficking. He's expected
20:23
to be transported to Brooklyn. But what's really
20:25
amazing here is you see Allison Mack and these
20:27
other women talking about how they're going to
20:28
follow them. DailyMail .com spoke to Mexican
20:31
authorities and said that these women then got
20:32
on a high speed chase with these police officers.
20:34
trying to chase them down and actually take Keith
20:36
away from them. The police ended up getting him
20:38
to the station fine, and there wasn't any incident,
20:40
but it looks like there could be more people
20:41
getting arrested down the road. Shocking details,
20:44
Chris, and there's also a report that police
20:46
are maybe close to arresting Allison Mackert's
20:48
self. What can you tell us about that? Yeah,
20:51
that is one of the people we're hearing, Jesse.
20:52
Apparently a very big indictment is being made
20:54
in this case with this pyramid scheme that is
20:56
supposed to be part of this cult nexium requiring
20:58
that women allegedly get other women to come
21:00
be slaves to masters. This is how they're getting
21:02
that sex trafficking charge. and it seems that
21:04
Alice and Matt could be one of the women as she
21:06
is viewed as his co -conspirator number one.
21:09
We don't know that for sure, however, the district
21:10
attorney for the Eastern District of New York
21:12
will not comment at this time, but we will see
21:14
later this week what happens. On March 25th,
21:18
2018, just two days after Operation Bow Captured
21:22
Keith Ranieri in Mexico, the press release went
21:24
out. No photos, no video. Just words from the
21:28
U .S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District
21:30
of New York. Quote, Keith Raniere has been arrested
21:33
on federal charges of sex trafficking, sex trafficking
21:36
conspiracy, and forced labor conspiracy. He is
21:40
currently in custody in Mexico and will be extradited
21:43
to the United States." The world exploded. The
21:48
New York Times, CNN, BBC, and The Guardian. Newsrooms
21:52
scrambled to understand how a man most people
21:54
had never heard of, until a branding scandal
21:57
cracked open, was facing charges more commonly
21:59
associated with organized crime. But for those
22:02
who had followed the case from the inside, the
22:04
real question wasn't if the others would fall.
22:07
It was when? And the answer came swiftly. On
22:11
April 20th, 2018, at her apartment in Brooklyn,
22:15
Alice and Mack opened the door to find federal
22:17
agents. She didn't resist. She didn't run. She
22:20
was handcuffed in silence and led down her front
22:22
steps in a sweatshirt and jeans. Inside her apartment,
22:26
agents found journals, burner phones, DOS task
22:28
lists, and extensive communication with Keith.
22:31
still awaiting extradition in Texas. The complaint
22:34
against her was chilling and included sex trafficking,
22:38
sex trafficking conspiracy, forced labor conspiracy.
22:42
Federal prosecutors alleged she had recruited
22:45
women to join what was presented as a female
22:47
mentorship group, but that in truth she required
22:51
them to provide damaging collateral and forced
22:53
starvation diets and directed them to engage
22:56
in sex acts with Raniere. In short, She was no
23:00
longer Smallville's Chloe Sullivan. She was the
23:03
co -conspirator and a sex trafficking cult. Then
23:06
came Claire Bronfman. The heiress didn't wait
23:09
for a knock. She walked into the federal building
23:11
in Manhattan with two attorneys and quietly surrendered.
23:15
She believed she would be out within days. She
23:17
believed her money would protect her. She was
23:20
charged with identity theft, credit card fraud,
23:23
conspiracy to conceal and harbor illegal aliens
23:25
for financial gain, and obstruction of justice.
23:29
She had helped fund Keith's hideout. She had
23:31
allegedly paid off visa fraud schemes to bring
23:34
women into Nexium under false pretenses. She
23:37
had used false bank accounts and encrypted systems
23:39
to keep the group's operations afloat. Her bail
23:42
was set at $100 million. She paid it. But her
23:46
passport was seized, her movements were restricted,
23:49
and Claire, for the first time in years, was
23:52
not holding the sword. She was in the crosshairs.
23:56
The next knock came in Clifton Park. Agents showed
24:00
up at the Saltzman home at 6 a .m. Nancy and
24:03
Lauren Saltzman were both taken into custody.
24:06
No resistance, just exhaustion. Nancy, Nexium's
24:10
prefect, the woman who had helped invent its
24:12
language, was charged with racketeering conspiracy,
24:16
wire fraud conspiracy, and obstruction of justice.
24:19
She had destroyed evidence, deleted emails, tried
24:22
to shield Keith's location. The woman who once
24:25
taught personal responsibility, had turned responsibility
24:28
into a fortress of avoidance. Lauren Saltman's
24:32
charges were more intimate, sex trafficking,
24:35
racketeering, and forced labor conspiracy. She
24:38
was deeply embedded in DOS. She had held women
24:41
in her home. She had overseen branding ceremonies.
24:44
She had watched lives unravel and believed that
24:47
she was helping. Her journals, seized during
24:50
the raid, painted a chilling portrait. Quote,
24:53
I want to be good. I want to be loyal. But my
24:57
gut is screaming." The scream had been ignored.
25:01
Now, it was evidence. Cameras lined the sidewalks
25:05
of the Brooklyn courthouse. Commentators dissected
25:08
every frame of Allison's walk in and out. Articles
25:12
ran headlines like, From Starlet to Suspect,
25:15
Inside the Cult that Branded Women, and The Heiress,
25:19
The Actress, and The Mastermind. Behind the noise,
25:22
a darker reckoning began. Survivors wept. Families
25:26
breathed relief, and prosecutors prepared for
25:29
the long road to trial. Now it's one thing to
25:33
read an indictment, and it's another to hear
25:35
it read aloud, with the accused standing ten
25:38
feet away. The courtroom on April 24th, 2018
25:42
was packed. Reporters, federal agents, survivors.
25:47
And at the defense table, Allison Mack, her hair
25:50
pulled back, her eyes flat, her attorney whispering
25:53
at her shoulder. The judge entered. A U .S. Marshal
25:57
called for silence, and the gavel hit once. And
26:01
then, United States vs. Allison Mack. The clerk
26:05
read the charges, one by one. Sex trafficking.
26:09
Sex trafficking conspiracy. Forced labor conspiracy.
26:13
Each count carried up to 15 years. Some more,
26:17
none less. Allison stood. She didn't cry. She
26:21
didn't blink. Her voice was almost inaudible
26:25
as she said, not guilty. But her face said something
26:29
else. This wasn't her script anymore. The prosecutors
26:33
were ready. Leading them was Assistant U .S.
26:36
Attorney Moya Rapenza. She laid out a case that,
26:39
even in summary, shook the courtroom. She spoke
26:43
of collateral, photos, videos, signed confessions.
26:46
She described the branding rituals. She read
26:48
aloud excerpts of emails between Allison and
26:51
her slaves. You must ask permission to eat. Write
26:55
a 500 -word essay on the meaning of obedience.
26:58
Are you ready to show your master you have no
27:00
reservations? In the courtroom, the air shifted.
27:04
This wasn't cult theory. This was evidence. Emails,
27:09
text messages, audio recordings, the paper trail
27:12
of a woman who once played a sidekick on TV,
27:15
now accused of being a master in a sex slavery
27:17
ring. Her defense attorney tried to counter,
27:21
quote, She believed she was helping people. She
27:24
was manipulated. She's not a predator." But Penza
27:28
didn't flinch. She wasn't just complicit. She
27:32
was active. She recruited. She punished. She
27:36
instructed. And so the judge denied bail. Allison
27:41
Mack was remanded to federal custody. Keith Ranieri
27:45
appeared first in Dallas, Texas after being extradited
27:48
from Mexico. He looked tired. Pale. His ponytail
27:52
was fraying, his prison jumpsuit hung loose,
27:55
but his eyes were still darting, scanning the
27:57
courtroom, reading every expression. He was charged
28:01
with sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy,
28:05
forced labor conspiracy, racketeering, wire fraud,
28:08
obstruction of justice, and possession of child
28:11
pornography. When asked to enter a plea, Keith
28:15
said clearly, not guilty. There was no apology,
28:19
no emotion. just the calm tone of a man still
28:22
convinced he was above the law. Judge Nicholas
28:25
Garaufis ordered Granieri to be held without
28:27
bail, citing his flight risk and the seriousness
28:30
of the charges. Quote, This defendant ran an
28:33
organization built on manipulation and control.
28:36
He is a danger to the community. End quote. Nancy
28:40
Salzman appeared in court in May. She sat stiffly,
28:43
dressed in a gray suit, her hair shorter than
28:45
before. She didn't look at the gallery. She pleaded
28:49
not guilty. Her charges were racketeering conspiracy,
28:53
obstruction of justice, conspiracy to alter records
28:55
for use in an official proceeding. Prosecutors
28:59
alleged that Nancy had ordered the destruction
29:00
of key documents as soon as media attention began.
29:04
She was released on a $5 million bail, but confined
29:07
to home detention. Her daughter, Lauren, came
29:11
next. Quiet. Broken. She pleaded not guilty,
29:15
but looked as if the guilt was already in her
29:17
bones. The court was packed for Claire Bronfman,
29:21
the Seagram's heiress, the financier, the last
29:24
true believer. She walked in with a team of attorneys
29:28
that included Mark Garagos, known for high -profile
29:31
celebrity cases. Her charges included identity
29:34
theft, conspiracy to commit identity theft, conspiracy
29:37
to harbor an illegal alien for financial gain,
29:40
wire fraud conspiracy, and money laundering.
29:43
The government laid out its claim. Claire had
29:46
paid hundreds of thousands to protect Keith,
29:48
had funded private investigators, had falsified
29:50
visas, had used wealth as a weapon to intimidate
29:53
dissenters and keep NXIVM alive. She entered
29:57
a plea. Not guilty. The judge allowed release
30:00
on a $100 million bond, secured by her trust
30:04
fund. But she, too, was placed under home confinement.
30:08
For survivors like Sarah Edmondson and India
30:10
Oxenberg, the arraignments were both surreal
30:12
and vindicating. The people who had once held
30:15
power over their lives were now lined up in prison
30:17
jumpsuits, answering to the law. India, watching
30:21
from a distance, wrote, quote, It's strange to
30:23
see someone who once told you what to wear, now
30:26
standing in chains, end quote. Catherine Oxenberg,
30:30
her mother, with her voice shaking during an
30:33
interview said, quote, This is what justice looks
30:35
like. This is what rescue feels like, end quote.
30:39
As prosecutors began preparing for trial, a chilling
30:43
pattern emerged. Collateral was demanded in writing.
30:47
Orders to starve, sleep deprived, and isolate
30:50
were issued regularly. Keith directed every level
30:53
of DOS, even when pretending not to. Allison,
30:56
Lauren, and others executed his will like a chain
30:59
of command. This wasn't just a group gone off
31:02
the rails. It was a designed hierarchy of control,
31:05
with rules, ranks, and consequences. The law
31:08
now saw what survivors had known for years. Nexium
31:12
wasn't broken. It was functioning exactly as
31:15
it was meant to. And the headlines didn't go
31:17
away. They multiplied. Every day after the arraignments,
31:22
another piece of the Nexium puzzle was exposed
31:24
in mainstream media. The story had reached a
31:27
cultural tipping point. Not just because of the
31:29
crimes, but because of the faces behind them.
31:32
An actress, an heiress, a therapist, a spiritual
31:35
guru. And at the center of it all, a man who
31:38
once sold enlightenment, now accused of owning
31:41
people. For years, Nexium had avoided the label.
31:45
Cult was a word used by angry parents, internet
31:48
skeptics, and a few former members. Keith Ranieri
31:51
dismissed the term as a lazy miscategorization.
31:54
Nancy Saltzman claimed it was a slur against
31:57
innovation. But now, even the FBI was using the
32:00
term. So were prosecutors, and so is nearly every
32:04
major news outlet in the country. The Washington
32:06
Post wrote, how a sex cult used sashes and seminars
32:10
to hide its crimes. The New York Times said,
32:13
from self -help to sex slavery, inside Nexium's
32:16
cult -like grip. And the Rolling Stone even printed,
32:20
inside the secretive group that branded women
32:22
and worshipped a monster. There was no going
32:25
back. Nexium wasn't a misunderstood movement.
32:29
It was a criminal cult, designed to manipulate
32:31
minds, bodies, and souls. And now the world was
32:35
watching. For people like Sarah Edmondson, India
32:38
Oxenberg, and dozens of other women whose stories
32:40
hadn't yet gone public, the coverage brought
32:43
a flood of emotion. Sarah, now living in Vancouver
32:46
with her husband and young son, began receiving
32:49
letters. Hundreds of them. Some were from former
32:52
NXIVM members, thanking her. Others were from
32:55
strangers who said they'd seen her story and
32:57
recognized pieces of themselves in it. One message
33:00
read, quote, I thought I was the only one. You
33:04
helped me name it. You helped me leave. India,
33:08
still processing the trauma, remained largely
33:10
silent, but her mother, Catherine Oxenberg, became
33:13
a fixture in interviews and television specials.
33:17
She had fought, loudly, persistently, and at
33:20
great personal cost, to get her daughter out.
33:23
Now, she told reporters, this is not the end,
33:26
this is the beginning of healing, and healing
33:28
takes longer than justice. Almost overnight,
33:32
NXIVM's digital footprint began to vanish. The
33:35
main website was taken offline, official social
33:38
media pages disappeared, enrollment links went
33:41
dead. But even as the public front collapsed,
33:44
a few remnants remained. Encrypted group chats,
33:47
private Facebook groups, cloud storage accounts
33:49
filled with seminar footage, internal documents,
33:52
and collateral. The prosecutors moved quickly
33:55
to secure digital warrants. The evidence was
33:57
now part of a bigger picture, a roadmap of control,
34:01
stitched together in terabytes of video and text.
34:04
And while the government prepared for trial,
34:06
the world outside was trying to understand how
34:08
it all happened. Television producers rushed
34:11
to develop series. 2020, Dateline, ABC News,
34:15
and The Vow on HBO all launched documentaries
34:18
or exposés. Each one asked the same question.
34:22
How did they get away with it for so long? The
34:25
answer wasn't simple. It was about power, language,
34:29
charisma, isolation, and the fact that Keith
34:31
Raniere didn't look like a monster. until it
34:33
was too late. He was soft -spoken, wore white
34:36
sneakers, quoted Plato, taught meditation, told
34:39
people they were changing the world, and they
34:42
all believed him. It wasn't just the branding.
34:45
It wasn't just the starvation. It was years of
34:48
cognitive restructuring, of being told that discomfort
34:51
meant growth, that fear meant you were on the
34:53
right path. And that's what made the case so
34:56
chilling. This wasn't done with force. It was
34:59
done with words and smiles. And most of all,
35:03
Trust. Public response was not universal. Some
35:06
still defended NXIVM. Some argued that the government
35:09
had overreached, that consenting adults had the
35:12
right to make dangerous choices. Online forums
35:15
exploded with debate. Some questioned how Alice
35:17
and Mac could be both a victim and a predator.
35:21
Others asked if people like Lauren Saltzman had
35:23
simply been trying to survive. And then there
35:25
was Claire Bronfman. To this day, some of her
35:28
supporters claim she was railroaded. as she had
35:31
merely supported a vision others didn't understand.
35:34
But for prosecutors, the lines were clear. This
35:37
was not philosophy. It was not spiritual growth.
35:40
It was coercion wrapped in ideology. And the
35:43
government was now building a case that would
35:45
prove it in open court. For the parents of former
35:48
NXIVM members, the aftermath was complicated.
35:52
Some had reconnected with children they hadn't
35:53
seen in years. Others were still waiting, still
35:56
hoping, still wondering how long the damage would
35:59
last. One father, whose daughter had escaped
36:01
just months before the arrest, told the New York
36:04
Times, quote, And he wasn't wrong. The emotional
36:15
and psychological impact of NXIVM wouldn't end
36:17
with a verdict. For many, it was just beginning.
36:21
By the summer of 2019, the trials were still
36:24
months away, but the fortress was already giving
36:27
out. One by one, the pillars of NXIVM began to
36:30
fall on each other. The prosecutors now had evidence.
36:34
They had witnesses. They had wiretaps, journals,
36:37
photographs, and scar tissue. But what they really
36:40
wanted was testimony. Someone inside the cult.
36:43
Someone close to Keith. Someone willing to break
36:46
the circle of silence. And they got it. On March
36:50
25th, 2019, almost exactly one year after Keith
36:53
Ranieri was arrested in Mexico, Lauren Salzman
36:56
entered a Brooklyn courtroom and pled guilty.
37:00
She admitted to racketeering. She admitted to
37:02
forced labor. She admitted to holding a woman
37:04
hostage in a room for two years, threatening
37:07
her with deportation. She cried. She apologized.
37:11
But most importantly, she agreed to cooperate.
37:14
Lauren had once been one of Keith's most trusted
37:16
disciples. She'd recruited, trained, she'd obeyed.
37:21
And now, she was going to testify. It was the
37:24
beginning of the end. Soon after, Nancy Saltzman,
37:28
Lauren's mother and Nexium's prefect, entered
37:30
a guilty plea to racketeering conspiracy. She
37:34
admitted to destroying evidence. She admitted
37:36
to conducting illegal surveillance. She confessed
37:39
that she had helped Keith build the behavioral
37:40
training system that allowed the abuse to function
37:43
in plain sight. And then came Claire Bronfman,
37:46
the woman who had bankrolled Nexium for nearly
37:48
two decades, who had written checks for millions.
37:51
who had sued, silenced, and shielded Keith Ranieri
37:54
from consequences. She pled guilty to two federal
37:57
charges, conspiracy to conceal and harbor illegal
38:00
aliens for financial gain, and fraudulent use
38:03
of identification. She stood tall, defiant, and
38:07
she never apologized. Even after pleading guilty,
38:10
Claire stated in court, quote, I still believe
38:13
in Keith. I still believe in his vision, end
38:17
quote. And that's when the government finally
38:19
said it. Clearly, directly and in court. This
38:24
case is the very definition of coercion mass
38:26
as empowerment. Nexium promised transformation
38:29
through colored sashes. What it delivered was
38:33
a pyramid of control, enforced by silence, and
38:36
codified in a secret society of branded, obedient
38:39
women. This is the story of sashes and slaves.
38:45
The phrase echoed in the courtroom, in newsrooms,
38:49
in blogs and podcasts. It became the language
38:52
survivors had long searched for. And it finally
38:55
gave voice to the truth. NXIVM had never been
38:58
about empowerment. It had always been about obedience.
39:03
Allison Mack pled guilty on April 8th, 2019.
39:07
She admitted her role in DOS. She admitted to
39:10
coercing women into providing nude photos and
39:12
false confessions. She admitted she had helped
39:14
design the branding ceremony. She admitted that
39:17
Keith Ranieri had been the architect of all of
39:20
it. And she cried. Not the tears of a sociopath,
39:24
but the tears of someone who had finally, painfully,
39:27
woken up. Her statement to the court was brief,
39:31
but raw. Quote, I believed I was helping women.
39:35
I was wrong. I'm so sorry for the pain that I've
39:39
caused. End quote. Behind her, former DOS members
39:43
sat silently watching. Some wept. Others just
39:46
stared. Because even as Allison confessed, It
39:50
didn't undo what had already been done. Just
39:53
when the case seemed airtight, Keith made a final
39:56
play. He refused a plea deal. He refused to testify.
40:00
He refused to acknowledge any wrongdoing. He
40:03
planned to go to trial, alone, represented by
40:07
a legal team bankrolled by his remaining followers.
40:10
The prosecutors were stunned, but they were ready.
40:14
Because now, they had a full roster of insiders.
40:17
Lauren, Nancy, Allison, the digital trail, and
40:21
dozens of women ready to testify to what had
40:23
happened behind closed doors. In one interview,
40:26
a lead investigator said, quote, he underestimated
40:29
the power of truth. He thought silence would
40:32
protect him. But the women he controlled, once
40:35
they started speaking, became louder than he
40:38
ever was, end quote. On May 7th, 2019, United
40:43
States versus Keith Raniere officially went to
40:46
trial in the Eastern District of New York. The
40:48
courtroom was full, the press gallery was packed,
40:52
and the prosecution, led by Assistant U .S. Attorney
40:55
Moira Penza, was ready to do what had never been
40:58
done before. Try the leader of a cult not under
41:01
freedom of religion, not under moral ambiguity,
41:04
but under the full weight of federal law. This
41:07
wasn't about belief. It was about crime. The
41:11
trial would last six weeks. Testimony came from
41:14
victims, insiders, and defectors. Evidence included
41:18
branding irons, photos, audio recordings, email
41:21
threads, and sworn statements. One former DOS
41:25
member took the stand and described, in excruciating
41:27
detail, the day that she was branded, quote,
41:31
They said it was a symbol of strength, but I
41:33
couldn't scream. I couldn't run. I just laid
41:37
there and let them burn him into me, end quote.
41:41
Another read aloud a message from Keith, quote,
41:44
True love is obedience. pain refines you, suffering
41:48
cleanses the soul." And then there was Lauren
41:52
Saltzman. She testified about the woman she kept
41:55
locked in a room for nearly two years. She cried
41:58
as she recounted her own descent into submission.
42:01
She described Keith as brilliant, terrifying,
42:04
and fully in control. The defense offered little.
42:08
Keith's lawyers claimed the women were free to
42:10
leave, that Doss was voluntary, that the branding,
42:13
the starvation, the sleep deprivation, was all
42:16
consensual. But the jury didn't buy it. Not after
42:20
the recordings. Not after the tears. And especially,
42:23
not after the scars. On June 19, 2019, after
42:28
less than five hours of deliberation, the jury
42:31
returned with a unanimous verdict. Guilty on
42:34
all counts. Keith Ranieri was convicted of racketeering,
42:39
sex trafficking, forced labor, identity theft,
42:42
possession of child pornography, obstruction
42:44
of justice, and wire fraud conspiracy. In total,
42:49
seven felony counts, with sentencing to follow.
42:53
He stood quietly. He didn't flinch. He didn't
42:55
speak. He only blinked as the verdict was read.
42:59
Behind him, former NXIVM members wept. One woman
43:02
held a photo of her younger self. Another whispered,
43:06
it's over. But it wasn't over. Not yet. The conviction
43:11
was only the first step. Sentencing loomed. And
43:15
for many of NXIVM's co -conspirators, the weight
43:17
of justice was still gathering behind them. Prosecutors
43:20
said it clearly, quote, This verdict sends a
43:24
powerful message. No matter how long you hide
43:26
behind philosophy, wealth, or fame, if you enslave
43:30
people, we will find you, end quote. The world
43:34
finally saw what NXIVM was. Not a self -help
43:37
group, not a misunderstood movement, but a machine
43:41
of absolute control. And that's how it ended.
43:46
A man who once promised transcendence, a group
43:49
that claimed to empower, a woman who recruited
43:52
with smiles, and another who gave her fortune
43:54
to protect it all, now stood in front of a courtroom,
43:58
in orange jumpsuits, ankle chains, and federal
44:01
charges. And somewhere, tucked between the original
44:05
workbooks and marketing flyers, still sat the
44:07
symbols that now read like satire. The path to
44:11
ethical enlightenment. the science of personal
44:14
power, success through sash advancement. That
44:18
was NXIVM. That was DOS. That was the truth behind
44:22
the title. From empowerment to submission. From
44:26
colored sashes to secret slaves. And that is
44:30
the story of Sashes and Slaves. Next time, we'll
44:35
follow what happens after the verdict, the sentencing
44:38
of Keith Ranieri, and how many years the court
44:41
gave him. What penalties Allison Mack, Claire
44:44
Bronfman, Nancy Saltzman, and Lauren Saltzman
44:46
received. How India Oxenberg rebuilt her life,
44:49
and how her mother, Catherine, turned trauma
44:51
into advocacy. The civil lawsuits, the documentaries,
44:56
the fallout of the media, and the public reckoning
44:58
that rippled beyond NXIVM. You'll also hear what
45:01
the survivors have done since, and how a movement
45:04
once praised for personal growth became a warning
45:07
for generations to come. I'm Rick Welch, and
45:10
this... is of sashes and slaves.