Keith Raniere's longtime lover Lauren Salzman, 45, AVOIDS jailtime despite admitting to recruiting sex slaves for the NXIVM cult and keeping a woman locked up in a room for TWO YEARS
Lauren Salzman has avoided jail time for her role in recruiting slaves for the NXIVM sex cult.
Salzman, 45, was facing nine years behind bars after pleading guilty to charges of racketeering and conspiracy, but on Wednesday US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis instead sentenced her to five years probation.
He took mercy on Salzman, noting that she had delivered testimony against NXIVM co-founder Keith Raniere that 'substantially contributed' to his prosecution.
Last year, Raniere was sentenced to 120 years in jail for a slew of crimes, including sex and human trafficking.
Salzman escaped serving time despite the fact she confessed to locking one young woman in a room for two years in order to fulfill her duties in the sex cult.
She appeared relieved by the fact she would be walking free from court, but sobbed remorsefully: 'It kills me that I hurt people that I loved so much. '
Salzman first met Keith Raniere more than two decades ago after her own mother, Nancy, co-founded the NXIVM multi-level marketing company alongside Raniere in upstate New York. They soon began a long-term relationship.
Then, in 2015, a number of NXIVM employees entered into a secret society known as Dominus Obsequious Sororium, or 'DOS' - a sex cult controlled by Raniere himself.
The society recruited young women who were branded with Raniere's initials before they were turned into his sex slaves. The recruits were made to live off just 500 calories a day, and forced to make a lifetime vow to obey their 'masters'.
Salzman became a 'first line' master in DOS and bought numerous women into the society.
Lauren Salzman has been avoided jail time for her role in recruiting slaves for the NXIVM sex cult
Free woman: Salzman is seen leaving court flanked by her lawyer after learning she will not be spending any times behind bars
Salzman and Raniere were longtime lovers, but Salzman now says she was 'manipulated' by her ex
A sign outside the now-defunct NXIVM headquarters is seen in Albany, New York
In 2019, following her arrest, Salzman confessed to locking a young woman - known only as Jane Doe 4 - in her home to fulfill her duties in DOS.
She sated that the woman was put to work while enslaved in the room, and revealed that she 'threatened to deport Jane Doe 4 back to Mexico if she did not complete labor requested by myself and others.
Salzman also admitted to extorting the recruits by demanding compromising material, like nude photos, that could be used as blackmail if they refused orders.
Salzman and Raniere were longtime lovers, but Salzman now says she was 'manipulated' by her ex.
In a letter written to Judge Garaufis prior to sentencing, Salzman claimed she stayed in DOS because Raniere had promised her they would have children together.
'For two decades, I allowed Keith to govern almost every area of my life. This stunted my ability to think for myself, to be my own person and to ever view myself as independent of Keith or NXIVM.
'I looked to Keith for guidance, I overrode my own value system and went against my better judgment believing I couldn't trust my decision-making ability. I now see that Keith not only took advantage of this blind trust, but he required it, which is something much more calculated and sinister. This was a toxic relationship.'
Salzman first met Keith Raniere more than two decades ago after her own mother, Nancy, co-founded the NXIVM multi-level marketing company alongside Raniere in upstate New York
Salzman, 45, was facing nine years behind bars after pleading guilty to charges of racketeering and conspiracy, but US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis instead sentenced her to five years probation on Wednesday
Salzman (pictured in 2019) claimed she stayed in DOS because Raniere had promised her they would have children together
Salzman's mother, Nancy, has also been charged with racketeering conspiracy in relation to the NXIVM cult. She is due to be sentenced in September.
Nancy - who has also turned against Raniere - wrote her own letter to Judge Garaufis pleading for him to be lenient with her daughter.
'I am responsible for Lauren being before you, having endured arrest, prosecution and successful cooperation, and now facing her own judgment,' she wrote.
When handing down his sentence, Judge Garaufis noted that Salzman had seemingly turned her life around after pleading guilty.
She now runs her own business specializing in dog care.
Lauren Salzman's mother, Nancy Salzman co-founded NXIVM alongside Keith Raniere. She had plead guilty to charges of
Meanwhile, other members of DOS included Smallville actress Alison Mack, who was jailed earlier this year after pleading guilty to a string of charges.
Mack - who had been associated with NXIVM since the mid-2000 - was also a close confidante of Reniere and a senior member of DOS.
In her role in the cult, Mack admitted that at Raniere's direction, she obtained compromising information and images of two unidentified women - called 'collateral' within the group - that she threatened to make public if they didn't perform 'so-called acts of love.'
Prosecutors also said Mack ordered victims 'to perform labor, take nude photographs, and in some cases, to engage in sex acts with Raniere.'
As an investigation into NXIVM got underway in 2017, Raniere and Mack fled to Mexico to try to reconstitute the group there.
Raniere was arrested at a luxury villa in Puerto Vallarta and sent back to the US in March 2018. Mack was arrested a few days later in New York before she was charged.
Like both Lauren and Nancy Salzman, Mack turned on Raniere, saying in court: ''I'm filled with remorse and guilt. I renounced Keith Raniere and all of his teachings. From the deepest part of my soul, I am sorry.'
Elsewhere, Seagram heiress Clare Bronfman, has also been sentenced in relation to the NXIVM case. She was jailed for 81 months last September after being accused of bankrolling the group.
Additionally, NXIVM's longtime accountant, Kathy Russell, has pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and will be sentenced later this year.
Allison Mack, 38, is pictured leaving the federal court in Brooklyn on Wednesday after she was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay a $20,000 fine
Slaves recruited to the NXIVM sex cult 'DOS' were branded with Raniere's initials
THE NXIVM MEMBERS CHARGED IN SEX CULT CASE
Keith Raniere
Charges: Racketeering conspiracy, forced labor conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, sex trafficking conspiracy, sex trafficking, attempted sex trafficking, conspiracy to commit identity theft.
Plea: Not Guilty
Verdict: Guilty, all counts
Sentence: 120 years in prison
Clare Bronfman
Charges: Racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to commit identity theft
Plea: Guilty (plea deal)
Sentence: 81 months in prison and $500,000 fine
Allison Mack
Charges: Racketeering conspiracy, forced labor conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, sex trafficking conspiracy, sex trafficking, attempted sex trafficking
Plea: Guilty (plea deal)
Sentence: Three years in prison
Kathy Russell
Charges: Racketeering conspiracy
Plea: Guilty (plea deal)
Lauren Salzman
Charges: Racketeering conspiracy, forced labor conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy
Plea: Guilty (plea deal)
Nancy Salzman
Charges: Racketeering conspiracy
Plea: Guilty
'I am not remorseful': NXIVM guru Keith Raniere complains to judge as he is ordered to pay $3.5 million to sex slave victims - including surgery costs to remove their brands of his initials
The unrepentant former leader of the NXIVM cult was ordered on Tuesday to pay $3.5 million to 21 victims of a sex-trafficking scheme, including costs to surgically remove scars from branding rituals performed by his secret sorority.
Women in the NXIVM cult were branded with the initials of self-help guru Keith Raniere to symbolize their status as sex slaves.
The sex cult leader, 60, appeared by video from an Arizona prison and told the federal judge in Brooklyn that he was baffled by the restitution order.
Raniere was sentenced last year to 120 years in prison for his conviction on racketeering conspiracy and other charges.
He has continued to refuse to take responsibility for his actions, telling the court on Tuesday: 'I do believe I am innocent of the charges.'
'It is true I am not remorseful of the crimes I do not believe I committed at all,' said Raniere, known to cult members as 'Vanguard' and 'the smartest man in the world.'
A judge also ordered Raniere to return 'collateral' - nude photos and other potentially embarrassing material - that was used to extort and manipulate the victims.
He denied he ever 'handled collateral' and claimed: 'I don't know anything about it.'
'I don't know who the victims are,' Raniere added at another point.
It was unclear if Raniere has the means to pay restitution that's also intended to cover costs of mental health treatment and unpaid labor.
Keith Raniere, center, sits with attorneys Paul DerOhannesian, left, and Marc Agnifilo during closing arguments at Brooklyn federal court in New York in 2019