The Albany-based sex cult ‘Nxivm’ – which allegedly forced women to have sex with its leader and branded them with his initials – has moved to Brooklyn amid negative publicity about the group.
Nxivm is in ‘war’ mode, according to the New York Post, after law enforcement arrested founder Keith Raniere and Smallville actress Allison Mack for their involvement in the sex cult.
‘Brooklyn is now their wartime headquarters,’ said Frank Parlato, a former Nxivm publicist-turned-whistleblower said to the Post.
The new rumored leader while Raniere remains in federal lockup without bail is 38-year-old Clare Bronfman, a longtime member and heiress to the Seagram’s liquor fortune.
Claire Bronfman, 38, (left) is the new leader of ‘sex cult’ Nxivm after Smallville actress Allison Mack (right) was arraigned on Friday on charges of sex trafficking. The cult is now based in Brooklyn after moving from Albany, New York
Founder Keith Raniere was arrested in Mexico in March. He is behind bars in Brooklyn on charges of sex trafficking while he awaits trial
‘She’s the enforcer — the brutal one,’ Palato said to the Post said. ‘Clare’s running the [operation] now, and she’s the most ruthless of them.’
The group has also reportedly stopped recruiting given the bad publicity it has received.
Bronfman has been working closely with Raniere’s lawyers on his case to help him as he waits in federal prison for his trial.
Mack was reportedly Raniere’s number two for years and implemented a strict diet for the ‘sex slaves’
The change in power comes after Mack was arraigned in a Brooklyn federal court on Friday on charges of sex trafficking for recruiting women into the purported self-help group.
During the arraignment, a grand jury heard testimony from two former members of the cult.
Those women alleged that Mack would lure young ladies into joining the cult and then demand they turn over ‘collateral’ such as compromising photos or their personal assets.
This ‘collateral’ was then used by Mack to control them women, who were transformed into branded sex slaves according to court filings.
Rainiere, Nxivm’s founder, was arrested on sex trafficking charges in Mexico in March.
Prosecutors said that during the past 20 years, he established a series of purported self-help programs within the Nxivm umbrella organization.
It has operated centers in the United States, Mexico, Canada and South America.
It featured a pyramid scheme, as courses cost thousands of dollars each and participants were encouraged to pay for additional classes and recruit others in order to rise within the ranks.
Mack is accused of co-creating a Nxivm (pronounced Nexium) program that recruited actors.
Off brand: Mack would force women to become sex slaves after they joined the cult by threatening to drain their assets or release compromising photos, claim court documents
Leader of the pack: Raniere (above in a court sketch from April 13) is accused of coercing female followers into having sex and getting branded with his initials
Samia Shoaib (right, in Hollywood in 1998) has claimed earlier this week that Mack tried to lure her into the twisted Nxivm sex slave cult and once told her, ‘You’re delicious’
‘As detailed in court filings, in 2015, Raniere created a secret society within Nxivm called ‘DOS,’ an acronym that stands for a Latin phrase that loosely translates to ‘Lord/Master of the Obedient Female Companions,’ or ‘The Vow.’ DOS operated with levels of women ‘slaves’ headed by ‘masters.”
‘Raniere stood alone at the top of the pyramid. Other than Raniere, all members of DOS were women. Mack is one of the women in the first level of the pyramid immediately below Raniere,’ the statement charged.
One person she reportedly tried to recruit was Pi and The Sixth Sense Actress Samia Shoaib, the New York Post reports.
Shoaib told the post that the Mack once told her ‘You’re delicious’ in an attempt to lure her into the group.
She said she met the 35-year-old actress at an NBC pilot in New York in 2013 and was then bombarded with emails afterwards pleading for them to meet again.
Mack played Chloe Sullivan in ‘Smallville,’ a show about the raising of Clark Kent in Smallville, Kansas, before he became known as Superman. The series lasted 10 seasons.
Mack also had roles in the movies ‘The Ant Bully’ (2006) and ‘Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves!’ (1997).