The US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York is recommending a five-year sentence for Clare Webb Bronfman, the Seagram’s heiress who funded and led the Nxivm racketeering enterprise.
This is in stark contrast to Bronfman’s attorneys who have recommended she receive 3-years of probation.
It is now up to Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis, who is set to sentence Bronfman on Sept. 30.
Based on her original plea agreement, the estimated sentencing guidelines were from 21-27 months, but the judge has already indicated he is considering an upward departure.
Bronfman pleaded guilty to both counts of a two-count Superseding Information. Count One charged that between October 2015 and January 2018, Bronfman, together with others, conspired to conceal, harbor and shield from detection one or more aliens for financial gain.
Count Two charged that between November 2016 and March 2018, Bronfman, together with others, unlawfully
transferred and used a means of identification of another person with the intent to commit and in connection with attempted tax evasion.
The recommendation for five years is contained in the prosecution’s “Sentencing Memorandum” that was filed with the court today.
What the judge will do is anybody’s guess but, based on available evidence, the sinister and ruthless heiress is likely to get more than the probation her attorneys want, more than the 27 months her original plea deal estimated, and it would not surprise anyone if she got the full five years the government is recommending.
Of course, it is possible, but not likely, that the judge will sentence her to more than 5 years. She faces an absolute maximum sentence of 25 years.
In subsequent posts, we will review more details that have emerged in this “Sentencing Memorandum”, a document so long and thorough that it runs more than 20,000 words.
Here is the government’s “Preliminary Statement” from the document:
*****
For over a decade, the defendant Clare Bronfman used her extraordinary wealth and social status to fund and promote a criminal enterprise led by her co-defendant Keith Raniere. She recruited individuals into Nxivm-affiliated organizations and brought them within Raniere’s orbit.
There can be little doubt that Raniere would not have been able to commit the crimes with which he was convicted were it not for powerful allies like Bronfman.
Bronfman spent millions of dollars of her inherited fortune on Raniere’s endeavors. She pursued Raniere’s accusers and critics by dispatching powerful teams of lawyers, private investigators and public relations firms to attempt to discredit them and dredge up information that could be used to undermine their claims.
Even now—after Raniere’s convictions for sex trafficking, forced labor, alien smuggling and child exploitation offenses — Bronfman continues to support Raniere.
Bronfman’s request for a non-custodial sentence of three years of probation ignores the seriousness of her crimes and the significant need for deterrence in the unique circumstances of this case.
The Court should reject Bronfman’s request for special treatment and instead impose a sentence that will demand respect for the law. For the reasons set forth below, the government respectfully submits that a substantial variance is appropriate in this case, and that the Court should sentence the defendant to a non-Guidelines sentence of 60 months’ imprisonment. The Court should also order payment of forfeiture, restitution, and a $500,000 fine.
*****
Frank Parlato 
Janine Morrison 
J.J. O'Hara 
Richard Luthmann 
Marie White 
Paul Serran
Please leave a comment: Your opinion is important to us!
Clare
You have not shown any signs of remorse. If you can’t be honest and admit full wrongdoing, you need to do all the time. I’m hopeful at some point you will be able to search your consciousness for how you’ve hurt others and make amends to them honestly. If you can’t do that, you will continue to suffer whether in prison or on the outside. You will also continue to find yourself the victim to the schemes of insidious, abusive individuals such as Raniere. God have mercy on you!
[…] Government Seeks Five Years in Prison for Clare Bronfman […]
Here is a wow frank …. seems EVERYONE in Nxivm has related bloodlines, EVERYONE of them …. https://youtu.be/CrsvyZ1wupU
{This is an ongoing discussion from the past few Tuesdays but today’s was really enlightening as to who is whom from where}
I wonder what tiny piece of 1% of it is true. LOL
She’ll get 3 and be out after 18-24 months. That’s my guess.
https://twitter.com/TaraNotTahra/status/1305754735476056064
“they only have 4 episodes aired (out of 10) and they haven’t gotten to their marriage but they have insinuated Kristin Kreuk bailed because someone “high up” hit on her. which was probably Raniere since she was his ~type~ already ewww.”
At what point did they say this in the documentary? Kreuk was still a member of NXIVM in 2016, so did Keith Raniere hit on her at that time? Or did she avoid Raniere while still a member of his cult? An earlier article by Frank Parlato states that Mark Vicente believes something sexual may of happened that may of started bad or became bad, or not at all.
Also, if she broke up with Mark Hildreth in 2013, what would he think about Raniere hitting on his girlfriend? Did he not get annoyed when Raniere hit on his new girlfriend around the DOS period?
The context of Mark Vicente mentioning Kreuk was — did she leave because maybe she freaked when invited to DOS. I’m sure Vanguard wanted her sexually so if he hadn’t “lavishly enjoyed” her by then, he surely tried to fu*k her through DOS.
Joe Biden is supported by child molesters.
Netflix TV star and Joe Biden campaign surrogate Jerry Harris investigated by FBI for soliciting sex with children.
FBI Raids Home of Biden Campaign Surrogate, Netflix’s ‘Cheer’ Star, After Underage Sex Allegation
Netflix Cheer star and former Joe Biden presidential campaign surrogate Jerry Harris is under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for allegedly solicited sexually explicit images and sex from minors, according to a report.
The criminal investigation is based on allegations that were reported separately to police by Varsity Brands, a private company that dominates the cheerleading industry and handles everything from uniform sales to major competitions. In Aug. 1 letters to police in Florida and Texas, Varsity’s chief legal officer, Burton Brillhart, said the company learned of “inappropriate sexual conduct” allegations against Harris and reported the information to authorities as required by law.
Brillhart included two screenshots in his communication with law enforcement. In one – a Snapchat message – a picture of the upper part of what appears to be Harris’ face is labeled with the message, “Would you ever want to ****”. The other screenshot – which is a series of text messages – indicates an exchange that began on Friday, May 3, 2019, when an individual named “jerry harris” wrote, “Hey btw I found a place for us to do stuff it’s actually pretty good haha.”
Law enforcement reportedly searched a Naperville, Illinois, residence in connection to the probe. The 21-year-old Harris has not been criminally charged and has not issued a statement. “The FBI is conducting court-authorized law enforcement activity in the area,” an FBI special agent told USA Today in a statement.
Cheer is a documentary series, which chronicles Navarro College cheerleaders’ plight to win a U.S. national championship and has scored six Emmy nominations since its release in January. In June, Harris made a cameo featuring now-Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden in a video in which he asked viewers to vote for Biden.
https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2020/09/14/report-netflix-cheer-star-jerry-harris-fbi-investigation-allegedly-soliciting-sex-minors/
Has the news reached Chicago that Fearless Leader knew the truth about Covid but lied to the country, and is responsible for most of the 200,000 deaths?
Communist China genetically engineered a bat virus to make it deadly to humans.
Communist China has blood on its hands.
And the pro-Chinese Communist Democrats have chosen to run Dementia Joe Biden for President, a man so senile that he is incontinent and he wears diapers.
Every county had to deal with the “China Virus” and most leaders lost a lesser percentage of their people than the leader of the richest, most advance country…because he lied to his people.
BTW your excuse…it’s embarrassing.
How fun, [redacted] on a site warning about crackpots. [redacted] pal.
Joe Biden’s voters tried to murder two police officers in Los Angeles.
Joe Biden is an anti-American Gangster.
I don’t get it. If all those other women are innocent victims (many of whom were sleeping with Raniere), why wouldn’t Clare also be a victim?
Of all the women in the organization, Clare is the one who Raniere would be most concerned about hiding the truth of his real personality and motives. She was his protection and financier. Why wouldn’t he hide his real view of women as “fuck toys”.
Yes, she was led to do wrong and believed she was acting ethically, but there should not be two standards of guilt.
If Clare was as uninformed as the other women, she should be considered a victim by the courts.
If Clare knowingly, provably harmed others believing she was acting ethically for her Vanguard, she is civilly but not criminally liable for reparations. Or no more so than all the other women.
She was no more a victim than Ally Mack was, no? Either way, it’s bullshit. They both committed crimes and they both will be going to jail for them. They exploited so many people that they won’t answer for that this is a drop in the bucket.
There’s still the civil lawsuit and Clare Bare has a lot more to lose. LOL
Exactly. Sara Edmondson says Clare didn’t know of DOS. Clare was also deceived by Mark Elliott. It seems she surrounded herself by lying, cheating manipulators like Keefe, Bouche, Russell, Salzman and the list goes on. Clare has been used and abused. She’s very naive and uneducated but her biggest problem is the simple fact that she is a liar.
Which “other women” are you talking about? There are five women who have been convicted of various felonies. Either the DOJ decided six total defendants was enough or didn’t have enough evidence to go after additional people. The main people who started the ball rolling probably cut deals to ensure they weren’t prosecuted, all of which is quite normal. LOL
I doubt she would be in a position to trust anyone in the organization except Raniere.
Years ago I had a client who was an incredibly wealthy and very eligible bachelor. I can’t begin to describe the amount of intrigue he was subjected to by the women surrounding him. The women back-stabbed anyone in their way to get close to the centre of money and power. It was embarrassing to watch.
I assume that was also the case with Clare, and Raniere as a fully trusted gate-keeper would definitely be advising her on who was relevant to the mission, and who not to talk to. She would be absolutely ripe for the picking by a cunning predator.
Raniere apparently let each woman know only certain things, which either makes him the smartest man in the world for having to keep track of who knew what, or the dumbest man in the world for assuming women don’t gossip with each other – I vote for the latter. LOL
“The Court should also order payment of forfeiture, restitution, and a $500,000 fine.” I wonder what kind of dollar figures the forfeiture and restitution amounts to? LOL
I wonder if the judge can take so much that the civil lawsuit is moot. LOL
5 years? Why not double digits? Perhaps triple digits, 666 years. Surely her crimes deserve more than five years.
It could be double digits, but a judge normally sentences somewhere between what the prosecution wants and what the defense lawyer requests. LOL
This judge is known for light sentences, but perhaps Clare Bare pushed his button. LOL
Triple digits are out of the question, she didn’t commit severe enough or enough crimes for that. LOl
Five years would certainly seem appropriate as a minimum.
Attorneys are going to profit from the use of their usual adversarial bullhorn$, to sustain Clare Bronfman’s most likely protracted appeal process. That is, unless the Judge decides to lowball her sentence at or below 27 months. This was Clare’s magic number, with its very kaballah-worthy totality of the number nine, as in 2+7 might equal 60 or more.
Then Clare, the shoulda coulda warty but merciful, unkempt Nun, according to her sister, will continue to pony up for civil suits and for unvisited leaky swimming pools.
She might even be supporting a bunch of broke sex slaves and/or down on their luck prostitutties, if one looks into it. Dancing by alleyway dumpsters doesn’t buy groceries, not for Vangourd groupies anyhow. Even the Hare Krishnas knew enough to bring lots of chow with them.
If Clare Bronfman really wanted to go for her freedom rather than for a possibly 60-month sentence, she has sabotaged herself right up the yazoo by declaring her ongoing loyalty to Raniere in a letter to Judge Garaufis, among other things.
So, she is no Joan of Arc but perhaps she is a Clare of Jerk. Her whole so-called adult life, at the very least resembles self-sabotage, playing out in various clumsy acts, including her already reported upon last-ditch stabs at her father, even as he was seeing his final days as Edgar Bronfman. Not that Edgar was all that marvelous, but jeez, Clare and her poorly thought-out agendas.
What about Miss Incognito # 12 who apparently helped with the hacking? Why does she get a free pass?
Apparently the DOJ was satisfied with the NXIVM 6 or they didn’t have enough evidence to go after Miss Incognito #12. LOL
The government is essentially admitting its plea bargains gave away the store.
It gave the store to win a few measly guilty pleas.
Former AUSA Penza screwed the pooch, to borrow a phrase from the Air Force.
It’s actually a phrase that probably originally came from Yale: https://slate.com/human-interest/2014/01/screw-the-pooch-etymology-of-the-idiom-dates-back-to-nasa-and-the-military.html
Hey, Frank,
This isn’t the right post, but…I‘m watching Part 4 of the Vow. I have an observation and a couple of questions.
First of all, Mark Vicente married the prototype badass warrior woman. With Bonnie, there is no whining, no wheedling, no bargaining. She saw what was going on and she called Bullshit on NXIVM, DOS, Nancy and Keith. She was willing to say goodbye to her marriage to break away from an organization that she initially loved but came to see as toxic and dangerous. When Bonnie saw what was going on, she was clear, strong, unrelenting. She was NEVER ugly about leaving NXIVM. She was also clear about saving India. I hope India sees the love that was behind all of Bonnie’s concerns. Bonnie saw that India didn’t look healthy. She looked like a bobblehead doll (just like most of DOS, where the women were becoming so emancipated their heads looked disproportionately large) because her “Master” was expecting her to starve herself.
Is Rachel really Michelle Hatchett? Michelle WAS an urban farmer, was she not? Michelle was one of the few, if not the only, black woman in DOS. What did Michelle see in DOS that was so great? Her business is gone. Her work in the NXIVM organization is gone. How is she sustaining herself? Not just physiologically, but financially?
How is it that after two years on, since Keith almighty was arrested, so many of these people are still hanging on to NXIVM? In the US, for the people who went belly up financially when NXIVM went belly up, how are they sustaining themselves? Nicki Clyne gave up her career. Michelle Hatchett isn’t urban farming, Brandon Porter’s medical license has been revoked, and the lovely crotch scorching Dr. Danielle no longer practices medicine (THANK GOD). So what is keeping them afloat…in NYC…with no jobs….during a pandemic? Is Clare paying them? How are they staying afloat? NYC ain’t a cheap place to live, especially when you have no job. None of these women are homeless. What’s going on?
Clare is funding them. That’s why they sent letters of support. Clare is their employer
Is there a letter from Michelle Hatchette?
Michelle, Nicky, Dani, and Eduardo have not yet come to terms with reality; they prefer to stay in their delusion. Who’s paying the bill? Eduardo has a translation business. I thought Dani was back on L.I. working as a doctor? Nicky is a bartender/waitress. Not sure about Michelle? The problem with Clare paying their bills right now is that she’s forbidden by the court to have contact with inner circle Nx members.
9/2 Clare Bronfman Month, told you so
She’ll get a slap on the wrist and be back at it again by this time next year.
And while she is in the slammer, Sister Sara will be calling the shots from France.
Right, Nicki?
You are now liable for an ass paddling for making such a statement!