Hearing Denied, Bronfman to Be Sentenced Wednesday – May Be Spending Last Weekend Outside of Prison

Wednesday is D-Day for Clare Webb Bronfman.

On that day, she will be sentenced for some of the crimes she committed while being Keith Alan Raniere’s enforcer and financier.

Most recently, she tried to get a postponement of sentencing so her lawyers could contest certain alleged conduct in her Pre-Sentence Report.

The judge denied her motion.

The argument her lawyers made in requesting the hearing is that it appears Bronfman may be sentenced to a longer-term than the two felonies she pleaded guilty to would normally deserve.

They’re concerned that claims in her “Pre-Sentencing Report” that allege she committed other crimes for which she was not charged might influence the judge.

Under normal circumstances, where the defendant had no prior record and no allegations of other, uncharged crimes, Clare’s two crimes of conviction  – harboring an illegal alien [Sylvie] and identity theft [enabling Raniere to use the late Pamela Cafritz’s credit card] – would bring a sentence of 21-27 months.

The prosecution is seeking five years.

The government claims that in addition to the two crimes she was convicted of, Bronfman used Nxivm affiliated organizations to sponsor women in order to obtain visas and that she provided false or fraudulent statements in connection with those visas.  She also wrote and received email communications meant to intimidate DOS slaves who wished to leave DOS.

A judge may consider evidence of uncharged crimes even after someone takes a plea deal.

After the feds got Clare to take a plea deal for two felonies, with sentencing guidelines of 21-27 months, they unofficially accused her of the other crimes, getting them into the “Pre-Sentencing Report” [marshaling alleged victims to make impact statements].

The goal was to more than double her sentence to 5 years.

Clare Bronfman being led to slaughter by her attorney Mark Geragos. He made a terrible plea deal since, while it appeared on the surface to be a two-year prison sentence deal, it really provided no assurance at all as to the length of the sentence. This weekend may be the last weekend that Clare is outside of prison walls for years to come.  She has been on home arrest for more than two years on $100 million bail.

On Wednesday, she will go to the Brooklyn federal courthouse. The government will make their arguments that Bronfman should go to prison for five years – for she is really much worse than the crimes she was convicted of – and that she is still a loyal follower of the beastly Raniere.

Her attorneys will argue that she should get probation since none of the other crimes were proven and that the nation is in the midst of a pandemic where prisons are so infectiously dangerous that even violent criminals are being set free.

The judge will likely hear from victims and alleged victims – and perhaps from some of Clare’s supporters.

Clare herself will stand before the judge and ask for leniency.

The judge will then deliver her sentence.

It is unlikely to be more than the government is asking for – five years.  Based on a comment the judge made last year, it is unlikely the sentence will be much less than five years.

It is all but impossible that Clare will get probation.

After delivering the sentence, the judge might order Clare to report to prison at a future date – anywhere from two weeks to three months  – which is what usually happens in white-collar cases, and she will be allowed to go home to get her affairs in order. Or, he might order her remanded immediately.

In that case, the moment the judge concludes the hearing, US Marshals will handcuff and possibly shackle Clare and lead her off to a holding area until she is transported to either the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) where her Vanguard is currently being held or the Manhattan Correctional Center (MCC), where Jeffrey Epstein supposedly committed suicide (She’ll stay in one of those facilities until the Bureau of Prisons decides where she will serve her sentence – a process that usually takes a few weeks).

Clare will not likely know in advance if she will be handcuffed and led away until after she is sentenced.

So, she has to plan as if she is going away on Wednesday – and arrange her affairs as if she won’t be coming back to her Manhattan apartment for several years.

Under normal circumstances, Clare would most likely be assigned to a low-security United States federal prison for female inmates, like the one in Danbury, Connecticut.  But if the feds plan on charging her with additional crimes, she will likely remain at MDC or MCC until those matters are resolved.

Even if she is assigned to MDC, it is unlikely she will see Raniere for he is housed with the men and is likely to be leaving there soon after he is sentenced on October 27.

If she gets five years, Clare will get out when she is about 45 years old – with at least $100-$200 million remaining of her inherited half a billion fortune. If she is careful, she might be able to live in quiet solemnity and rectitude.

Unless, of course, she finds another Vanguard.

. GARAUFIS

Frank Parlato