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This was several years before the New York Times’ damning exposé on NXIVM, published in October 2017, which formally accused the cult of sex trafficking through DOS, its “sorority” subset. Following the Times story, which mentioned the Bronfmans were members of NXIVM, Clare publicly denied being a member of DOS in a blog post on her website, but added that she supports Raniere and does not believe he has “abused” anyone.

In March of this year, however, Raniere was arrested in Mexico for sex trafficking, sex-trafficking conspiracy and forced labor conspiracy. Just weeks later, Canadian actress Allison Mack was also arrested under the same charges. While Mack was eventually released on a $5-million bond and is currently living under house arrest, Raniere was denied bail. Both pleaded not-guilty to all counts and are awaiting trial.

In Mack’s court filings, there are several mentions of an “heiress” who ran off to Mexico with Raniere after the New York Times story was published and before his arrest. She is described as an executive member of his organization who has been financially supporting Raniere and the cult itself, spending millions on lawsuits to silence former members and those who have criticized the cult. The court documents go on to suggest that “the heiress” attempted to intimidate former NXIVM members who could be used as witnesses in the case against Raniere, by threatening to publish some of the “collateral” new members have to offer upon joining the cult. This collateral includes personal, potentially “damaging” documents regarding them and/or their family members, including sexually explicit photos.