NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Four more people have been arrested in connection to the alleged sex cult NXIVM , including group leaders with such titles “The Prefect” serving “The Vanguard.” Clare Bronfman, Kathy Russell, Lauren Salzman and Nancy Salzman were arrested Tuesday on a superseding indictment charging them with racketeering conspiracy. Previously charged were group founder Keith Raniere and “Smallville” actress Allison Mack . On Tuesday afternoon, Bronfman was set to be arraigned in a Brooklyn federal court while Russell and the Salzmans were to appear in federal court in Albany. A federal judge last month denied bail for Raniere , who prosecutors accuse of forming a barbaric secret society within NXIVM, pronounced “Nex-i-um,” a group that over the years has attracted a following of minor celebrities and wealthy people. Prosecutors allege a sub-group branded brainwashed victims with Raniere’s initials during initiation ceremonies that turned them into his sex slaves. The defense says the women were never abused and willingly let themselves be branded. NXIVM announced on its website that it has temporarily suspended operations. In April, authorities filed criminal sex trafficking and forced labor conspiracy charges against Mack and Raniere – also known as “Vanguard” – in connection NXIVM. A complaint previously filed in United States District Court seeks to foreclose on two properties in the Town of Halfmoon in upstate New York, about 15 miles from the NXIVM group’s headquarters in Albany. READ: Civil Complaint To Seize Properties In Halfmoon, N.Y. The document also gave some insight into other rituals and practices of the NXIVM group, which authorities say grew out of a previous enterprise called Executive Success Programs, Inc. (“ESP”) founded in 1998 by Raniere and Nancy Salzman. “Every year in August, Nxians celebrate ‘Vanguard Week’ in honor of Raniere’s birthday,” the complaint said. “Nancy Salzman is referred to as ‘The Prefect’; by Nxians, and her birthday is celebrated in May with the ‘Festival of Flowers.’” The complaint also described women’s roles in the empowerment group compared to the men, and especially Raniere as its leader. Based on information obtained during the course of this investigation, since ESP’s founding, Raniere has maintained a rotating group of fifteen to twenty women with whom he maintains sexual relationships. These women are not permitted to have sexual relationships with anyone but Raniere or to discuss with others their relationships with Raniere. Some of the Nxivm curriculum includes teachings about the need for men to have multiple sexual partners and the need for women to be monogamous. As “slaves” to their “masters,” investigators say women were expected to record “collateral” videos professing true and untrue confessions about themselves and others. Investigators allege some participants were branded on their skin with a symbol that incorporated Raniere’s initials. The complaint also described how NXIVM operated self-development courses costing $1,000 a day for five days, and used colored sashes worn by members to identify ranks of “goal levels” of recruitment, similar to how a so-called “pyramid scheme” multilevel marketing group operates.
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Police Arrest 4 NXIVM Leaders On Racketeering Charges
