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NXIVM
NXIVM () is the name commonly used to describe the personality cult of imprisoned racketeer and sex offender Keith Raniere. NXIVM is also the trademarked name of the defunct corporation that Raniere founded, which provided seminars and videos in the field of human potential development. The United States seized ownership of NXIVM related entities and their intellectual property through asset forfeiture following Raniere's conviction. The NXIVM Corporation was based in the New York Capital District and had centers throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The subsidiary companies of NXIVM recruited based on the multi-level marketing model and used curricula based on the intellectual property ("tech") of Raniere called "Rational Inquiry". Courses attracted a variety of notable students including actors as well as the children of the rich and powerful. At its height, NXIVM had 700 active members. Over its existence, former members and families of NXIVM clients alarmed b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keith Raniere
Keith Allen Raniere (; born August 26, 1960) is an American criminal convicted for a pattern of racketeering activity including human trafficking, sex offenses, and fraud. He co-founded NXIVM, a purported-self-help multi-level marketing company offering personal development seminars and headquartered in Albany, New York. Operating from 1998 to 2018, at its height, NXIVM had 700 members, including celebrities and the wealthy. In NXIVM, Raniere was referred to by members as "Vanguard". Scholars in the fields of religious studies, law and sociology describe NXIVM as a cult. Journalists, mental health professionals and cult experts such as Rick Ross, Diane Benscoter, and Steve Hassan call Raniere a cult leader who manipulates and exerts coercive control over his followers. Multiple accusers identified Raniere as a prolific sexual abuser of women and girls since the 1980s. In 2018, offenses related to a secret society within NXIVM known as "DOS", or "the Vow" led to the a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allison Mack
Allison Christin Mack (born July 29, 1982) is an American actress. She played Chloe Sullivan on the superhero series ''Smallville'' (2001–2011) and had a recurring role on the comedy series '' Wilfred'' (2012–2014). Mack was a member of NXIVM, a cult and a multi-level marketing company selling professional and personal development seminars. In 2018, federal authorities arrested Mack on charges of sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy, and forced labor conspiracy related to her NXIVM and DOS activities. She pleaded guilty to racketeering and racketeering conspiracy charges and in 2021 was sentenced to three years in prison. Early life Mack was born on July 29, 1982, in Preetz, West Germany, to American parents Jonathan Mack, an opera singer, and Mindy Mack, a schoolteacher and bookkeeper. Her parents were in Germany at the time of her birth because Jonathan was performing there; they lived in Germany for two years before moving to California. Career Early work Mack ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clare Bronfman
Clare Bronfman (born 1979) is an American heiress, convicted felon and former leader of NXIVM, a multi-level marketing company and cult based near Albany, New York. She is the youngest daughter of billionaire philanthropist and former Seagram liquor chairman Edgar Bronfman Sr. After a brief equestrian career, Bronfman began involvement in NXIVM, a business engaged in criminal activities during 1998–2018, which led to indictments on federal charges, including sex trafficking. In April 2019, Bronfman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conceal and harbor illegal aliens for financial gain, and to fraudulent use of identification. The prosecution requested a sentence of five years in prison. In September 2020, Judge Nicholas Garaufis sentenced Bronfman to six years and nine months imprisonment. Background Bronfman is a daughter of Canadian billionaire Edgar Bronfman Sr. and Rita Webb, the daughter of an English pub owner from Essex, England. Bronfman's parents met in Marbella, Spain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nancy Salzman
Nancy L. Salzman (born July 16, 1954) is an American felon and the co-founder of NXIVM, a multi-level marketing company and cult based near Albany, New York. A former nurse, Salzman worked with Keith Raniere in the development of the organization beginning in the 1990s. Background Salzman was raised in Cranford, New Jersey and graduated from Cranford High School in her hometown in 1972. She has had experience with hypnosis and NLP. Salzman is listed in the Nursys database as having a nursing license in the state of New York from 1983 to its expiration in 2019. NXIVM Before Keith Raniere met Salzman, Raniere operated a pyramid scheme called Consumers' Buyline Inc. that was shut down by the Attorney General of New York in September 1996. In 1997, Raniere joined forces with Salzman in developing Executive Success Programs, which would eventually be rebranded as NXIVM. At NXIVM, Salzman had considerable authority as president of the company and was referred to as "Prefect" by c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sarah Edmondson
Sarah Edmondson (born June 22, 1977) is a Canadian actress and podcaster. She is known for supporting roles on Hallmark, and as voice actress in Geronimo Stilton and as “Lina” in the Bratz movies. Edmondson is a former member of NXIVM, a now defunct multi-level marketing company founded by Keith Raniere. In 2017, she left the group and confirmed longstanding criticism that NXIVM operated as a cult. The resulting ''New York Times'' exposé of NXIVM's abusive practices precipitated the downfall of the organisation and its leaders. Career Edmondson studied in the theatre program at Lord Byng Secondary School, Vancouver, British Columbia. She then graduated from Concordia University, Montreal, with a BFA in Theatre Performance. She has performed in a variety of YTV programs including '' Are You Afraid of the Dark'', ''Student Bodies'', '' Big Wolf on Campus'' and in series such as ''Stargate SG-1'', '' Andromeda'', ''Godiva's'', '' Edgemont'' and ''Continuum''. In 2007, Edmonds ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emiliano Salinas
Carlos Emiliano Salinas (born February 19, 1976) is a venture capitalist and businessman. He is the son of former Mexican president Carlos Salinas de Gortari. Salinas was a member of the American cult NXIVM. He served as vice president of Prorsus Capital, a financial consortium with ties to Keith Raniere and NXIVM. Following Raniere's arrest in 2018 for sex trafficking, money laundering, and other misdeeds, Salinas ended a two-decade association with Raniere and resigned from Prorsus. Education and career Salinas is the son of Carlos Salinas de Gortari and his first wife, former Mexican First Lady Cecilia Occelli. Educated in Mexico, Switzerland, France and the United States, he is fluent in Spanish, English and French. He studied in the primary school division of the Liceo Mexicano Japonés in Mexico City. Prior to working at Prorsus Capital, Salinas received his bachelor's degree in economics from ITAM (the Spanish acronym for Autonomous Technology Institute of Mexico) in Me ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catherine Oxenberg
Catherine Oxenberg (born September 22, 1961) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Amanda Carrington on the 1980s prime time soap opera ''Dynasty''. Oxenberg is the daughter of Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia and Howard Oxenberg. She twice played Diana, Princess of Wales on screen, in ''The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana'' (1982) and '' Charles and Diana: Unhappily Ever After'' (1992) and has appeared in many other films. Early life Oxenberg was born in New York City, but grew up in London. She is the eldest daughter of Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia (born 1936) and her first husband Howard Oxenberg (1919–2010), a Jewish dress manufacturer and close friend of the Kennedy family. Her sister is Christina Oxenberg. Princess Elizabeth is the only daughter of Prince Paul of Yugoslavia (who served as regent for his cousin's eldest son King Peter II of Yugoslavia) and Princess Olga of Greece and Denmark. Through her maternal grandmother, Catherine is a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bonnie Piesse
Bonnie Piesse (born 10 August 1983) is an Australian actress and singer. Her breakthrough role was playing a trapeze artist in the Australian children's television series ''High Flyers'' at the age of 15 and not long after that she was scouted by George Lucas to play a young Beru Lars in '' Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones'' and ''Episode III – Revenge of the Sith'', a role she reprised in the 2022 Disney+ series ''Obi-Wan Kenobi'' (2022). She also had recurring roles on ''Blue Heelers'', ''Horace and Tina'', '' Stingers'', and '' Last Man Standing''. Early life Piesse attended a Rudolf Steiner School in Australia where she developed a love for the performing arts and honed her skills as a singer/songwriter. Between 2000 and 2002, Bonnie won the 'Ranges Songsmith Award' and 'Apollo Bay Young Performers Competition' for songs she'd written and she was one of only a handful of '' VCE'' performing arts students from around Victoria to be selected to perform at '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cult Education Institute
Rick Alan Ross (b. 1952) is an American deprogrammer, cult specialist, and founder and executive director of the nonprofit Cult Education Institute. He frequently appears in the news and other media discussing groups some consider cults. Ross has intervened in more than 500 deprogramming cases in various countries. Ross faced charges of unlawful imprisonment over a 1991 forcible deprogramming of United Pentecostal Church International member Jason Scott; a jury acquitted him at trial. In 1995, a civil lawsuit filed by Scott resulted in a multimillion-dollar judgement against Ross and his co-defendants. Later, Ross and Scott reached a settlement in which Ross agreed to pay Scott 5,000 USD and provide 200 hours of professional services at no charge. Ross was the only deprogrammer to work with members of the Branch Davidians prior to the Waco siege; some scholars later criticized his involvement with the siege. Background Ross was born in 1952 in Cleveland, Ohio, and moved to Pho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rick Alan Ross
Rick Alan Ross (b. 1952) is an American deprogrammer, cult specialist, and founder and executive director of the nonprofit Cult Education Institute. He frequently appears in the news and other media discussing groups some consider cults. Ross has intervened in more than 500 deprogramming cases in various countries. Ross faced charges of unlawful imprisonment over a 1991 forcible deprogramming of United Pentecostal Church International member Jason Scott; a jury acquitted him at trial. In 1995, a civil lawsuit filed by Scott resulted in a multimillion-dollar judgement against Ross and his co-defendants. Later, Ross and Scott reached a settlement in which Ross agreed to pay Scott 5,000 USD and provide 200 hours of professional services at no charge. Ross was the only deprogrammer to work with members of the Branch Davidians prior to the Waco siege; some scholars later criticized his involvement with the siege. Background Ross was born in 1952 in Cleveland, Ohio, and moved to Pho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The New York Observer
''The New York Observer'' was a weekly newspaper printed from 1987 to 2016, when it ceased print publication and became the online-only newspaper ''Observer''. The media site focuses on culture, real estate, media, politics and the entertainment and publishing industries. History The ''Observer'' was first published in New York City on September 22, 1987, as a weekly newspaper by Arthur L. Carter, a former investment banker. The ''New York Observer'' had also been the title of an earlier weekly religious paper founded by Sidney E. Morse in 1823. In July 2006, the paper was purchased by the American real estate figure Jared Kushner, then 25 years old. The paper began its life as a broadsheet, and was then printed in tabloid format every Wednesday, and currently has an exclusively online format. It is headquartered at 1 Whitehall Street in Manhattan. Previous writers for the publication include Kara Bloomgarden–Smoke, Kim Velsey, Matthew Kassel, Jillian Jorgensen, Joe Cona ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also reports on related subjects such as technology, communications, science, politics, and law. It is based in Jersey City, New Jersey. Competitors in the national business magazine category include ''Fortune'' and ''Bloomberg Businessweek''. ''Forbes'' has an international edition in Asia as well as editions produced under license in 27 countries and regions worldwide. The magazine is well known for its lists and rankings, including of the richest Americans (the Forbes 400), of the America's Wealthiest Celebrities, of the world's top companies (the Forbes Global 2000), Forbes list of the World's Most Powerful People, and The World's Billionaires. The motto of ''Forbes'' magazine is "Change the World". Its chair and editor-in-chief is Steve Fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
