Even Greater Conflicts-of-Interest May Be Hanging Over The Upcoming Trial

As was detailed in an earlier post, the presiding judge in the case of U.S. v. Raniere Et Al is about to conduct a series of hearings in order to determine whether each of Clare Bronfman’s co-defendants in the case is aware of the conflicts-of-interest that may exist because she is paying for all their attorneys through a Defense Trust Fund she set up just before she was indicted – and whether they still want to be represented by those attorneys.

Given that none of those people (i.e., Keith Raniere, Nancy Salzman, Lauren Salzman, Allison Mack or Kathy Russell) can likely afford to pay for their own attorneys, the only alternative would be for the court to appoint – and pay for – new attorneys for them.

Although rational people would likely choose to have an independent attorney representing their interests in this sort of situation, it is expected that Raniere, the Salzmans, Mack and Russell will all choose to stay with their current attorneys.

But aside from the rather obvious conflict posed by having Clare pay for all her co-defendants’ legal representation, there are other – and perhaps even more egregious – conflicts-of-intertest hanging over the upcoming trial of the NXIVM Numbskulls.

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One of these conflicts concerns the fact that it appears that the attorneys representing the Salzmans, Mack and Russell are all being directed by Marc Agnifilo, the lead attorney for the head of the NXIVM sex slave cult, Keith Raniere.

In most of the recent hearings before U.S. District Court Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis, Agnifilo is often the only one who addresses the court and appears to be speaking on behalf of all the defendants.

And when Judge Garaufis recently pointed out that the Defense Trust Fund was rapidly running out of money and wanted to know what all of the attorneys were going to do when that happened, it was Agnifilo who immediately stood up and informed the judge that he – and all the other attorneys – would continue to work on the case even if they weren’t being paid.

Judge Garaufis responded to Agnifilo’s blustery statement by directing each of the defense attorneys to advise him, in writing, exactly what they planned to do when the money ran out. It is unknown – but certainly not out of the question – that Agnifilo drafted each of those responses.

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Another potential conflict-of-interest concerns exactly how Clare’s co-defendants have been supporting themselves since they were first indicted.

Let’s take a look at each of those co-defendants – and see if we can figure out the answer to that question.

Keith Raniere AKA The Vanguard
This is probably the easiest one to figure out because The Vanguard has been incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, NY for the past 11 months. As such, he does not have to pay rent, buy food or clothing, or pay for any health care, dental care or vision care services. Just like when he was running the NXIVM crime syndicate, everything he needs just shows up without him having to ask for it.

But even The Vanguard has some out-of-pocket expenses every month. In addition to whatever snacks and clothing he buys from MDC’s commissary, he also has to pay for his email account and for his numerous phone calls with his attorneys. So the question must be asked: Who is putting money into Raniere’s MDC account every month?

Estimated amount of Vanguard’s out-of-pocket expenditures since March 2018: $4,000 – $5,000.

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Nancy Salzman AKA Prefect
Nancy Salzman used to live in a luxury house that was worth well over a million dollars. But that houuse was actually owned by Clare Bronfman.

Shortly after the luxury home was raided by the F.B.I. on March 27, 2018, Nancy departed to an unknown location that is apparently somewhere in the vicinity of Clifton Park, NY (We know that because she still receives daily visits from her daughter, Lauren, who also lives in that area).

Since her arrest, Nancy has reportedly undergone several serious medical procedures for breast cancer and an injured knee – all of which had to be paid for by someone. And she has been living for the past ten months with little, if any, known income.

When the F.B.I. raided Nancy’s house, they confiscated more than $520,000 in cash. Although that’s a lot of money, it’s a whole lot less than the $2 million in cash that she was reported to have stashed away there.

So, is Nurse Nancy living off more hidden cash that the F.B.I. didn’t seize last March? Is that why she and her two daughters, Lauren and Michelle, went to see her parents last month: i.e., to pick up more cash?

Or is someone else paying all of Nancy’s bills these days – and, if so, who might that someone be? Is it the same Clare Bronfman who set up the Defense Trust Fund?

Or is it Sara Bronfman – who is apparently hiding out in France and hoping to avoid an indictment?

Or is someone in Mexico who wants to be sure that Nancy does not agree to any type of plea deal?

Estimated amount of Nancy’s out-of-pocket expenditures since March 2018: $25,000-$30,000 plus a whole shitload of medical expenses.

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Lauren Salzman
Lauren Salzman has always been a spender, so much so that her mother often complained about the fact that Lauren always spent more than she earned.

A fancy car, a fancy condo that she remodeled incessantly, lots and lots of expensive clothes, first-class travel, weekly mani-pedis, etc. Yep, the EM Queen had it all.

So, how exactly has Lauren been surviving since NXIVM blew up last March (She was actually one of the women who was with The Vanguard when the Mexican Federales invited him to return to America)?

Is she still doing EMs?

Is she doing work for a Temp Agency in the Albany area?

Is she a Greeter at the local Walmart?

Is she running drugs for one of the Mexican cartels?

Estimated amount of Lauren’s out-of-pocket expenditures since March 2018: $20,000-$25,000

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Allison Mack
Since her arrest, Allison Mack has been living at home with her Mom and Dad. Presumably, they’re paying all her bills – including all of the flights she’s been making between California and New York over the past eight months.

Estimated amount of Allison’s out-of-pocket expenditures since March 2018: $1,000-$2,000

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Kathy Russell
Since her arrest, Kathy has apparently been living in the same apartment that she was renting at the time of her arrest.

And she’s been allowed to go out to work each day – assuming, of course, that she was lucky enough to find a company that wanted to hire the former bookkeeper and would-be-ballerina who kept multiple sets of books for all the companies associated with the NXIVM crime syndicate.

Even if Kathy has stopped taking her weekly ballet classes, she still has to have enough money to pay the rent, buy food, get her hair dyed, and travel to/from Brooklyn, NY for court hearings.

So, where is she getting the money to pay for those expenses?

Estimated amount of Kathy’s out-of-pocket expenditures since March 2018: $20,000-$25,000

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Is Clare Bronfman paying for all of her co-defendants’ day-to-day living expenses – and, if so, isn’t that also a conflict-of-interest?

And if it’s not Clare, then who is paying for all those expenses?

Inquiring minds want to know!

K.R. Claviger