Did you take an intensive during last 4 years? Lawyer and former NXIVM student, Omar Rosales, hopes to get you a refund

The Rosales Law Firm, LLC is investigating the possibility of filing a legal proceeding to obtain refunds for anyone who paid for an Executive Success Program (ESP) or NXIVM Intensive in the United States in the last 4 years.
Omar Rosales, an attorney and a former NXIVM member, sent me the following announcement:
***
As you are aware, Keith Raniere and his group made certain representations as part of their marketing efforts to sell Intensives on behalf of ESP. Specifically, Keith claimed that:
He was the World’s Smartest Man
He had a very rare problem solving ability
He was speaking in complete sentences by age 1
He was an East Coast Judo Champion
He was a Master Concert Pianist
He tied the 100-yard dash record in High School
In August 2018, it was revealed by his attorney, Marc Agnifilo, that these claims were false and that Raniere and his group lied to sell Intensives to students. These Intensives cost $5,000 for a five-day course.
If you purchased one of these Intensives (or any classes from ESP) from August 2014 to present, you may qualify to participate in this investigation. Please provide your contact information (that will remain confidential). Also, you must have a copy of your receipt (credit card, bank statement, or other means) to verify the purchase.
Please email your contact info to: espinvestigation@gmail.com
All submissions are confidential
***
Rosales has also written the first book on NXIVM  entitled AMERICAN CULT: NXIVM EXPOSED.
While there is at least one other lawyer pursuing civil claims against NXIVM and Bronfman-Raniere for significant damages – and several NXIVM victims have retained him – I believe that Rosales endeavor is substantially different.
He is seeking refunds for people who were misled into taking the intensives – and is seeking a pathway to get them refunds.
To characterize the differences – one lawyer – who has not yet given me permission to publicly name him but to whom I have referred several clients – is seeking people who were badly victimized by NXIVM/DOS, Bronfman-Raniere etc., and Rosales is seeking people who paid anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000 and up for intensives – who, while potentially not terribly damaged by Bronfman-Raniere, were nonetheless swindled by the fraudulent representations NXIVM made about its founder.
Perhaps the litmus test here is -‘would you have taken the course, if NXIVM had not misled you about the author of the course’s bogus achievements?  Had you known, for instance, that Keith cheated on his IQ test – would that have impacted your decision to spend thousands of dollars on a course?”
 

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Frank Parlato

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  • Was it your 1st intensive? Would you have taken it knowing what you know now about Nxivm? You should at least try that is a lot of money

  • How about if you ever took an intensive? I mean since the product is misrepresented wouldn’t fall it under false advertising?
    Not the smartest man in the world, or ethical by dictionary definition. Just a stinky pedophile sex addict with a gambling problem.

    • The issue is that the Statute of Limitations (SoL) may effect some claimants beyond the four-year mark.

      The best named Plaintiffs would have taken an Intensive within the last 4 years. Now, there is some caselaw in California that states if the Defect is hidden, then the SoL begins from when the Defect is revealed, not from when the product is purchased. With ESP/NXIVM, the defect would be Raniere’s fake resume and qualifications.

      So, there is an argument to obtain a refund for everyone who took the Intensive within the last 10 years. However, it will up to the Court to define the claims period.

    • The best lead plaintiffs would be anyone who took an intensive within the last 4 years. This is because the Statute of Limitations (SoL) is 4 years on a contractual claim.

      Now there is some caselaw in California that states the SoL begins from when the defect is revealed. Since ESP NXIVM purposely hid Keith Raniere’s lack of credentials, the SoL may start from Aug 2018. It will depend on the Judge, how they may modify the class definition and claims period.

  • A new limerick:

    Raniere had new troubles he faced,
    His wealth would be debased,
    The lawyers, they’d win,
    Against Keith’s den of sin,
    And in prison he’d sit, disgraced.

  • Mr. Rosales:

    Correct me if I’m wrong, but shouldn’t NXIVM victims looking for a refund on the money they spent on courses be looking for an attorney licensed in NY, since NXIVM was registered there?

    If I hire you, then you have to hire a NY-based lawyer, and this matter attains class-action status, don’t the lawyers typically get 40%, while the victims split the remaining 60%?

    If not, what is the typical fee structure here? I figure there will be a lot of us coming forward, and we’ll probably be unsecured creditors, and last in line to get paid.

    I would really appreciate it, if you could answer these questions for me here, before I pursue anything

    Thank you,

    NexVic

    • Hey NexVic,

      Thanks for writing! All good questions.

      I am also licensed in New York. My Bar No. is 5513619. You can verify with the NY Court System Attorney Directory.

      On a Class Action, attorney’s fees are different. They are based on a lodestar calculation of how many hours worked. In typical Class Actions, attorney’s fees are less than 30% (closer to 20-25%). The award to the Class is determined first, then handled by a claims administrator. The individual Class member awards depend on the number of claimants (ideally, everyone would get their full purchase price back).

      I know I would not have taken the classes, if I knew about Raniere’s lies about his qualifications. So, thinking about it, it really pissed me off that so many people were ripped off by these con-artists.

    • Hey NexVic,

      Thanks for writing. All good questions.

      I am also licensed in New York, Bar No. 5513619.

      On a class action, the attorneys fees are calculated as a lodestar based upon how many hours are worked. The court determines the settlement fund. The claims administrator will coordinate contacting the victims. The amount refunded will depend on the number of claimants.

      I know I would not have signed up for an Intensive if I knew Keith was lying about his qualifications. My goal is that victims receive refunds for their tuition.

    • Good video.
      It demonstrates the absolute depravity of America’s elite and shows that people like Richard Branson were part and parcel of NXIVM.
      And it mentions that Allison Mack is a follower of the Satanic witch Marina Abramovic.

      • My biggest takeaway is that there must not be any good manicurists in Vancouver

  • Isn’t NXIVM a corporation? If so, how could a suit succeed if said corporation is bankrupt? Can individual members of the governing board or subsidizers [i.e. Bronfmans] be sued?

    • Yes, individual members of a corporation or board can be sued, but its a lot more difficult to do.

      Most likely it will be Nexium’s insurance company that will be dealing with it, if they had one.

      I’m not a lawyer, but I’ve been involved indirectly in cases where bankrupt companies have been sued. The laws may vary from state to state so I could be totally wrong as well. Just an armchair opinion.

About the Author

Frank Parlato is an investigative journalist.

His work has been cited in hundreds of news outlets, like The New York Times, The Daily Mail, VICE News, CBS News, Fox News, New York Post, New York Daily News, Oxygen, Rolling Stone, People Magazine, The Sun, The Times of London, CBS Inside Edition, among many others in all five continents.

His work to expose and take down NXIVM is featured in books like “Captive” by Catherine Oxenberg, “Scarred” by Sarah Edmonson, “The Program” by Toni Natalie, and “NXIVM. La Secta Que Sedujo al Poder en México” by Juan Alberto Vasquez.

Parlato has been prominently featured on HBO’s docuseries “The Vow” and was the lead investigator and coordinating producer for Investigation Discovery’s “The Lost Women of NXIVM.” In addition, he was credited in the Starz docuseries 'Seduced' for saving 'slave' women from being branded and escaping the sex-slave cult known as DOS.

Parlato appeared on the Nancy Grace Show, Beyond the Headlines with Gretchen Carlson, Dr. Oz, American Greed, Dateline NBC, and NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, where Parlato conducted the first-ever interview with Keith Raniere after his arrest. This was ironic, as many credit Parlato as one of the primary architects of his arrest and the cratering of the cult he founded.

Parlato is a consulting producer and appears in TNT's The Heiress and the Sex Cult, which premieres on May 22, 2022.

IMDb — Frank Parlato

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Parlato,_Jr.

Contact Frank with tips or for help.
Phone / Text: (305) 783-7083
Email: frankparlato@gmail.com

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