US Attorney seeks forfeiture of $515,577 cash seized in Nancy Salzman’s home; Will anyone claim the money is theirs and defend it?

3 Oregon Trail was raided on March 27, 2018. [Photo courtesy Albany Times Union.]

The office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York has filed a Bill of Particulars for Forfeiture of Property – with the US District Court – seeking to keep $515,577 in US currency that was seized at the home of Nancy Salzman.

The FBI raided Salzman’s home at 3 Oregon Trail in Waterford NY, on March 27, 2018, the day following Raniere’s arrest in Texas. He had been arrested and deported from Mexico just hours before the raid.

FBI agents also seized approximately 60 electronic devices including computers, data-storage devices, cameras, mobile phones, BlackBerrys from Salzman’s home.

Agents found most of the cash in two shoe boxes and a bag. One shoe box had $390,180 in cash, the other had $15,670. The bag contained $109,727.

The forfeiture is based on Counts Two, Four, Five and Six of the Superseding Indictment.  Assistant United States Attorney Karin Orenstein is leading the prosecution on this action.

Nancy Salzman in July.

Analysis:

Q: What are the chances of the government winning this action?

A: Extremely high. The main reason is: Who is going to oppose it? In order to oppose this forfeiture action, a party would have to claim the money is theirs. Who is going to do that?

The money was likely obtained without anyone paying taxes on it. It may have been smuggled into the US or is laundered money. Anyone claiming the money is theirs would undoubtedly face IRS scrutiny over how they obtained it and if they paid income taxes on it.

It is possible the money is Nancy Salzman’s, or she may have been holding it for Keith or NXIVM. At the trial, the public may hear testimony on that.

As for this forfeiture action, my guess is that no one will step forward and seek standing to defend it. If the action is unopposed, the government will win and be awarded the money by default.

The government has previously commenced a forfeiture action against real property at 8 Hale Dr, which is titled in the name of a corporation owned – at least on the record – by Salzman.  The Hale property – known to NXIVM followers as “Library” – was allegedly the scene of one or more acts of sex trafficking.

By the way, lest anyone think the government is being a hog, in addition to the $515,577 FBI agents seized in two shoe boxes and a bag, and the US Attorney is seeking to possess, the FBI also seized about $7,800 in miscellaneous currencies from Salzman’s home, and are evidently, and may I add generously, not including this in their forfeiture action.

There was $1923 in cash lying around Salzman’s house, a white envelope with $2,770, Travelers Checks totaling $2,180, plus 60,000 Russian rubles [$915] and 100 Mexican pesos [$5.19].

Nancy could get this windfall returned to her following her acquittal or release from prison.

Viva Executive Success!

With 12 of these babies, you could go a long way, Prefect.

 

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About the author

Frank Parlato

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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.” Parlato was also credited in the Starz docuseries "Seduced" for saving 'slave' women from being branded and escaping the sex-slave cult known as DOS.

Additionally, Parlato’s coverage of the group OneTaste, starting in 2018, helped spark an FBI investigation, which led to indictments of two of its leaders in 2023.

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 premiered on May 22, 2022. Most recently, he consulted and appeared on Tubi's "Branded and Brainwashed: Inside NXIVM," which aired January, 2023.

IMDb — Frank Parlato

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

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