A new report says New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s father once worked for an Upstate New York group accused of being a “sex cult,” but tried to distance himself from the organization over a decade ago.

Court documents obtained by political blog Big League Politics show Doug Rutnik worked as a consultant and lobbyist for NXIVM (pronounced “nexium”) for four months in 2004. He was hired by Keith Raniere, who founded the Capital Region-based group accused of sex trafficking, branding women and allegedly forcing members to have sex with Raniere.

According to Fox News, Rutnik was paid $25,000 per month but was later sued when he tried to distance himself from the group; NXIVM ended up paying Rutnik a settlement of $100,000. The 2006 settlement is signed by Rutnik and several NXIVM members, including wealthy Seagram’s heiresses Clare and Sara Bronfman and NXIVM President Nancy Salzman.

Salzman pleaded guilty to a charge of racketeering conspiracy last month. Her daughter, Lauren Salzman, pleaded guilty last week as well and admitted to keeping a slave locked in a room for two years.

According to Frank Parlato, a former NXIVM employee who helped expose the group to a federal investigation in 2017, Rutnik also got his future wife -- Gillibrand’s stepmother -- and a second cousin into NXIVM. It’s unclear if either continued to be alleged members after Rutnik left.

“[Gillibrand’s] father Doug Rutnik came to work as a consultant for NXIVM... He was fired, they sued him, and they had to pay him $100,000,” Parlato told Big League Politics. “Her father’s wife, her stepmother, was also a member of NXIVM. ... Doug got her into the cult, Gillibrand’s father got Gillibrand’s future stepmother into the cult. Doug left the cult because he was sued. Clare Bronfman, after her father was sued, donated money to Gillibrand. Gillibrand accepted it.”

Parlato said Rutnik, whose daughter Gillibrand is running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, allegedly signed a confidentiality agreement in the settlement.

According to The New York Post Gillibrand said she didn’t know anything about NXIVM until the group made national headlines in 2017 when former member Sarah Edmondson filed a complaint, saying she was branded with Raniere’s initials, “KR.” The Justice Department began a federal investigation of NXIVM later that year.

“Senator Gillibrand had never heard of this group until she recently read about them in the newspaper,” a spokesman told the Post in 2018. “She is glad that federal and state prosecutors have taken action in this case."

Raniere, “Smallville” actress Allison Mack, Clare Bronfman, the Salzmans and others were arrested last year for their involvement with NXIVM, based in Colonie, N.Y. Charges include sex trafficking, wire fraud, extortion, identity theft, money laundering, and forced labor conspiracy.

Mack was allegedly the leader of a women’s only group within NXIVM called “DOS,” a “secret sorority” that allegedly brainwashes members, puts them on starvation diets and beats them if they don’t recruit enough “slaves.” DOS stands for “dominus obsequious sororium,” Latin for “master over the slave women.” Members are also allegedly required to give their “master” or recruiter, naked photos of themselves and other blackmail material before joining.

NXIVM claimed to be a self-help group, with DOS focusing on women’s empowerment. Federal authorities say DOS instead groomed female members to have sex with Raniere.

A criminal trial is scheduled to begin April 29 in Brooklyn.

NXIVM claimed to have over 16,000 members in chapters nationwide, as well as in Canada and Mexico. Until the Salzmans’ guilty pleas, officials and associates had repeatedly denied all wrongdoing and disputed allegations that it is a cult.