Sentencing for NXIVM financier and billionaire Seagram heiress Clare Bronfman, 40, is postponed as judge considers giving her MORE jail time than the recommended two years
- The sentencing for Clare Bronfman, the financier of the sex cult NXIVM, has been postponed, it was announced Thursday
- The 40-year-old billionaire heiress to the Canadian conglomerate Seagram, was due to be sentenced on January 8, but it was pushed back to February 14
- Brooklyn Judge Nicholas Garaufis postponed it to consider giving her a longer prison sentence than the recommenced 21 to 27 months
- Bronfman pleaded guilty in April to conspiring to harbor immigrants for financial gain and fraudulent use of identification in her time with NXIVM
- She joined NXIVM in the early 2000s and became its legal enforcer, filing and financing lawsuits against cult leader Keith Raniere’s enemies
- She used her family fortune from Seagram liquor to pay off Raniere’s debts
The sentencing for the financier of the sex cult NXIVM has been postponed as a judge considers giving her more prison time than recommended amount, it was announced Thursday.
Clare Bronfman, the 40-year-old billionaire heiress to the Canadian conglomerate Seagram, was due to be sentenced on January 8, but on Thursday Brooklyn Judge Nicholas Garaufis pushed the date back to February 14.
It was recommended that she serve 21 to 27 months in prison, but Garaufis is considering an even longer sentence.
However, Garaufis did not provide an explanation as to why he’s considering a harsher sentence, according to the New York Post.
The sentencing for Clare Bronfman, the 40-year-old Seagram liquor heiress and financier of the sex cult NXIVM, has been postponed, it was announced Thursday. Brooklyn Judge Nicholas Garaufis postponed it to consider giving her a longer prison sentence than the recommenced 21 to 27 months
Self help guru Keith Raniere founded NXIVM in the 1990s as a organization meant to help women pave a path to person growth. He’s accused of being a sadistic conman who ended up abusing women and forcing followers to become sex slaves once they were roped into the group.
He was arrested last April in his Mexican hideaway with a harem of sex slaves.
Bronfman, the daughter of billionaire philanthropist and former Seagram liquor chairman, Edgar Bronfman Sr., worked as the group’s financier using her family fortune to keep the group afloat.
On Thursday prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn requested that victims be allowed to provide impact statements at the sentencing proceedings for Raniere, Bronfman, NXIVM’s bookkeeper Kathy Russell and members former Smallville actress Allison Mack, Lauren Salzman and Nancy Salzman.
Prosecutors say Bronfman aided Raniere by paying off his credit-card debt and helping get an illegal immigrant into the U.S.
Bronfman pleaded guilty in April to conspiring to harbor immigrants for financial gain and fraudulent use of identification in her time with NXIVM, a sex cult run by leader Keith Raniere (above) under the guise of a self help group
Bronfman pleaded guilty in April (above) to conspiring to harbor immigrants for financial gain and fraudulent use of identification in her time with NXIVM. She joined NXIVM in the early 2000s and became its legal enforcer, filing and financing lawsuits against cult leader Keith Raniere’s enemies using money from her family’s fortune
In the cult, run by mastermind Keith Raniere, she contributed more than $14million to the organization and established a trust fund to contribute to legal costs.
Bronfman pleaded guilty in April to conspiring to harbor immigrants for financial gain and fraudulent use of identification.
Bronfman never earned a high school career and had a previous career of an elite equestrian show jumper and philanthropist. She has homes in New York, Fiji and California.
She joined NXIVM in the early 2000s and became its legal enforcer, filing and financing lawsuits against Raniere’s enemies, according to the New York Times.
In 2015 Raniere formed DOS, a secret society within NXIVM where members were allegedly branded, forced to provide him with sex slaves and ordered to abide by his teachings
She and her sister Sara reportedly fell into the group through NXIVM’s ‘Executive Success Program’ workshops.
In 2015 Raniere formed DOS, a secret society within NXIVM where members were allegedly branded, forced to provide him with sex slaves and ordered to abide by his teachings.
However, when Raniere went to trial for racketeering, sex-trafficking and other charges, Bronfman did not testify against him.
The Seagram fortune was made by its founder Samuel Bronfman who made millions during the prohibitions era of the 1920s, making liquor in Montreal, Quebec, where alcohol production was still legal.