In an interview apparently conducted before she was charged with sex trafficking, among other counts, former Smallville costar Allison Mack told a reporter it was her idea to brand some female members of the controversial self-help group Nxivm.

According to Mack’s quotes, published Thursday in a New York Times Magazine article, she says she was the one who decided specific women within Nxivm — all part of a secretive subgroup known as “Dominus Obsequious Sororium” or DOS, according to prosecutors — should be marked with co-founder Keith Raniere’s initials, using a cauterizing pen.

The Times describes Mack, 35, as taking “full responsibility for coming up with” the brand.

“I was like: ‘Y’all, a tattoo? People get drunk and tattooed on their ankle “BFF,” or a tramp stamp,’ ” Mack is quoted as saying. “‘I have two tattoos and they mean nothing.’ ”

Instead, according to the Times, Mack “wanted to do something more meaningful, something that took guts.”

The symbol each member was branded with appears to have included not just Raniere’s initials but also an “AM” — Mack’s initials.

View photos Allison Mack outside court in May More

The NYT Magazine article details at length the various beliefs and practices of the New York-based Nxivm, which markets itself on the basis of its empowerment practices, including helping members manage emotional trauma.

But federal prosecutors contend the group has a darker side largely built on coercion and manipulation with Raniere and Mack, his lieutenant, atop DOS, a sexual pyramid scheme of select women from the larger pool of Nxivm members.

Investigators allege Raniere, who was known as “Vanguard” to his followers, occupied the top of the pyramid and was DOS’ only male member. Beneath him were tiers of female “slaves,” each of whom could become a “master” by recruiting other women into the group, according to prosecutors.

One former devotee described Nxivm as a “cult,” and the group has been the subject of scrutiny from both law enforcement and journalists as it came under fire from Dynasty actress Catherine Oxenberg, whose estranged daughter, India, joined in 2011.

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The criminal complaint against Raniere, obtained by PEOPLE, outlines how authorities believe the women in DOS were forced to turn over “collateral” — identified as potentially-damaging personal information or materials, such as nude photographs, with which they later could be blackmailed.

The women allegedly victimized by Mack and Raniere believed their “collateral” would be released if they did not engage in sexual activity with the 57-year-old Nxivm leader, prosecutors have said.

The Times piece reports that Mack was Raniere’s personal slave and that “the collateral she gave him as her ‘master’ was chilling: a contract declaring that if she broke her commitment, her home would be transferred into his name and future children birthed by her would be his, as well as a letter addressed to social services claiming abuse of her nephews.”

View photos Keith Raniere More