Lauren Salzman seeks to have contact with past Stripe Path Nxivm members

Lauren Salzman’s Arizona attorneys, Hector J. Diaz and Andrea S. Tazioli, have filed a motion before Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis seeking to modify her bail conditions.

At first glance, it is hard to see what the modifications are. It is almost a distinction without a difference.

Lauren is seeking to

1. Modify the Nxivm non-association conditions of her pretrial release
2. Extend the time period in which she may have daily, in-person visits with her mother, Nancy Salzman, at her mother’s residence through April 29, 2019.

At Lauren’s Bail Hearing on July 27, 2018, the Court ordered that Lauren cannot have contact with
certain groups of individuals associated with NXIVM and DOS —except in the presence of her attorneys.

They are

1. Current or former employees of – or independent contractors for – NXIVM (including NXIVM’s affiliated entities)
2. Individuals whom she knows or believes to be current or former members of DOS
3. Any individual who is currently or was actively working toward a career path within NXIVM on the stripe path, subject to reasonable exceptions agreed upon by the parties.

The Court permitted Lauren to have contact with her mother, co-defendant, Nancy Salzman, her sister, Michelle Salzman, and her brother-in-law, Nxivm hacker, Ben Myers.

In addition, Lauren is not permitted to provide counseling services to anyone who is employed, trained, or who has taken courses through NXIVM, DOS or is a current or former member of DOS.

Which means she won’t likely be providing counseling services to anyone since her counseling primarily consisted of doing Exploration of Meaning therapy sessions – which is a patent-pending unlicensed therapy technique invented by Nxivm leader Keith Raniere – provided exclusively to Nxivm members.

[This has raised the question of how is Lauren supporting herself. She was not known to have any savings. As a Nxivm member, Raniere would almost certainly have gobbled that up. Perhaps she and her mother are living off the stashed cash that was not stored at Nancy Salzman’s house but tucked away at other homes for just such an emergency as an indictment.]

Lauren must have some people in mind that she wants to associate with – else why make the request to  modify her non-association conditions of pretrial release?

The present request is as follows:

(a) Lauren Salzman may not directly or indirectly associate or have contact with—except in the presence of her attorneys—any of the following categories of individuals:

1. Individuals listed on the Coach List
2. Current or former employees of, or independent contractors for NXIVM (including NXIVM’s affiliated entities)
3. Individuals whom she knows or believes to be a current or former members of DOS
4. Anyone on the Jane and John Doe list of alleged victims of the offenses identified in the superseding indictment, subject to reasonable exceptions agreed upon by the parties.

(b )Lauren is not permitted to provide counseling services to anyone who is employed, trained, or who has taken courses through NXIVM, DOS or is a current or former member of DO

***

So what is the difference in the present conditions and the modification for which she seeks approval from the court? There is basically only one difference:

Lauren is presently prohibited from contacting, “Any individual who is currently or was actively working toward a career path within NXIVM on the stripe path, subject to reasonable exceptions agreed upon by the parties.”

Now, she proposes she be only prohibited from contacting people on the 2017 coaches list. Our records show that number is 309 individuals.

It seems reasonable to conclude then that Lauren wishes to contact certain individuals who were or are on the Stripe Path but were not included in the 2017 coaches list.

[Who might that be? There were a lot of people who left who were at some level on the Stripe Path and are not Jane Does. I can think of three right off the bat: Kristin Kreuk, Susan Dones and Barbara Bouchey. Personally, I think it would be good for Lauren to contact Susan and Barbara – if they were willing to talk to her. Perhaps these two intelligent and compassionate women might be able to help Lauren wake up from her Raniere-induced stupor of almost two decades duration.]

As for the extension of the “Daily In-Person Visitation Period with her Mother”, from 9:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M  – at her mother’s residence – it expired today, February 4.

Lauren wants it extended until April 29, 2019, the date her trial is currently scheduled to begin.

Her lawyers write, “…the Court has allowed Ms. Salzman to have daily in-person visitation with her mother, Nancy Salzman, at her mother’s residence so that Ms. Salzman may care for her mother. Nancy Salzman is still continuing ‘to recover from recent surgeries’ and she is still receiving medical treatment for her medical condition. Ms. Salzman wishes to maintain her regular care for her mother.”

Nancy recently had radical breast cancer surgery and a follow-up reconstructive surgery. After a long absence from court appearances, Nancy showed up in court on January 28 for a hearing on the surprising depletion of the Bronfman-funded trust that is paying for five of the Nxivm defendants’ attorneys – including the ones who represent her and  Lauren.

Lauren’s bail modification request is likely to be granted since the government and Pretrial Services have no objection to the proposed modifications.

One thing that has not abated even after it was revealed that the trust fund is almost out of money – is the onslaught of motions. We are now at some 330 filings and counting.

Some think this is due to the fact that the lawyers are rushing to make motions to exhaust what remains of the fund and then jettison before the hard work begins – the trial.

Some think that the lawyers are driven by the cause – and will work without pay for their clients and stick it out to the end for they are noble ethical lawyers.

I personally think that the lawyers will be continued to be paid – and they know it. Paid not necessarily by Clare Bronfman – and possibly not by a trust fund.

It might be Sara Bronfman. It might be Clare with other money she has squirreled away.

It might be Emiliano Salinas or his father, Carlos. It might be anyone with an interest in the defendants not copping a plea and sticking it out through trial and perhaps, if necessary, taking the fall.

I think it is Clare and here’s why: Clare’s attorney, Susan Necheles, said at the last hearing that when the trust fund is depleted, it will not be replenished.

She did not say that Clare will not continue to use her money to fund the attorneys.

One has to know Nxivm’s ethical lying by omission to understand that that is a distinction with a difference.

Frank Parlato