Here is a supplemental report on Clare Bronfman’s sentencing.
Brooklyn, September 30, 2020.
Susan Dones was walking towards the Federal Courthouse, being filmed as she walked by a crew from HBO’s The Vow, [presumably for season #2] when she spotted Clare getting out of an SUV. She told the crew to film Clare instead of her. And they did.
Clare Bronfman arrives at the Brooklyn courthouse with her attorneys. Note her skinny neck, the result of years of a semi-starvation diet under Raniere’s direction.
Clare was wearing a face mask, and a pink sweater she had worn in a previous court appearance. She was also wearing her favorite necklace, [one which you can see in many of her photographs] which suggests her attorneys advised her that she would likely be given a future date to report to prison, sometime after the sentencing, which is the norm with white-collar criminals.
You can’t wear jewelry in prison.
Clare walked into court holding hands with her lawyer, Ronald Sullivan.
In the courtyard in the park across the street, about a dozen Nxivm/Clare supporters, including Danielle Roberts, Marc Elliot, Michele Hatchette, and others, including a Mexican contingent gathered.
Some of her supporters may have come up from Mexico for the hearing.
They came across the street and stood by the courthouse.
Esther Chiappone Carlson was there and in tears. Jim Del Negro, her longtime Nxivm boyfriend, had his arm around her, comforting her.
Michele and Marc, and possibly others, went inside the courthouse.
The hearing was held in the Hon. Jack B. Weinstein Ceremonial Courtroom, 2nd floor, North Wing, the largest courtroom in the building,.
There were also two overflow courtrooms: 2E North and 2F North, where the public and some members of the media could watch the proceedings live from TV monitors.
Inside the main courtroom, were about eight reporters, including Rob Gavin of the Albany Times Union, who had been pre-approved to attend the live proceedings. The Albany Times Union, the newspaper of Nxivm’s hometown, has covered Nxivm leader Keith Raniere and his heiress financier, Clare Bronfman, longer than any media.
Also inside the main courtroom was attorney Neil Glazer, who represents some 80 plaintiffs in a massive civil lawsuit against Clare Bronfman and 14 other Nxivm defendants. With Glazer was one of his clients, Daniella, the Mexican woman who testified so effectively at the trial of Raniere about how she was confined to a room for nearly two years because she kissed another man.
Also seen was Moira Kim Penza, the AUSA who was lead prosecutor in Raniere’s trial. She is now in private practice, and was in the courtroom as an observer.
None of Clare’s family attended the hearing. They had sought to watch and possibly participate viz teleconferencing, but the judge denied their request.
The proceedings began at 11 and, after a few remarks by Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis, he permitted statements from victims. Some of these spoke from the courtroom and some by prerecorded video.
AUSA Tanya Hajjar, who was part of the prosecution team in the Raniere trial, was there for the prosecution.
Bronfman sat between her most recent pair of high-powered attorneys, Ronald S. Sullivan, Jr. and Duncan P. Levin, and listened to her victims describe in excruciating how she and Keith Raniere ruined their lives.
Many of the victims ended up in tears.
Among these victims was Toni Natalie, who never met Clare, but considers herself a victim because Clare funded repeated litigation efforts against her and made multiple attempts to imprison her.
Toni was a former girlfriend of Raniere’s, back in the 1990s and Raniere never quite quit trying to destroy her.
She said, “Clare Bronfman was a pivotal part of trying to destroy my life” (Toni is the co-author of the book “The Program: Inside the Mind of Keith Raniere and the Rise and Fall of NXIVM”). She said that NXIVM employed a “scorched-earth” approach to all of the lawsuits that were funded by Clare.
“I was not scorched. I was incinerated,” Natalie said.
Barbara Bouchey, another former girlfriend of Raniere’s also spoke. She had been the financial manager of some of Bronfman’s funds. She had asked the judge for more time than the allotted 10 minutes so she could detail some 10 years of abuse. He denied her request.
In a fine effort to condense a decade of suffering into 10 minutes, she told the court how Bronfman destroyed much of the financial consulting business she had built up over many years.
“I have endured hundreds of headline news stories. All I did was decide to break up with Keith Raniere,” Bouchey said.
Bouchey said directly to Bronfman: “Clare, do you realize they lied to you? You thought you were in the inner circle. You were six layers out. He used you. He pawned you. He made you feel special.”
Although she did not mention it at the hearing, Bouchey had asked the court to award her $14-million in restitution as a result of Bronfman’s destructive actions against her.
Susan Dones, who never had any sort of personal relationship with Raniere, told the court how the cult doggedly pursued her in various legal actions after she resigned – including an attempt to interfere with her bankruptcy proceedings. [read her statement here.]
Bronfman tightly held her lawyer’s hand as Dones criticized her in a powerful and riveting speech.
Ivy Nevares, another victim who had a personal relationship with Raniere, spoke by video [read her speech here.]
Sally Brinks, who left in 2016 after 13 years in Nxivm, spoke in the courthouse.
She said to Clare, “As long as you support KR (Keith Raniere), there is no forgiveness for you. You’re not going to heal with KR in your life. You have to take back your power. You have no sense of self without him.”
Sarah Edmondson was heard on a video.
Sylvie, Clare’s immigration fraud victim, who testified during the Raniere trial, was heard by video, as was another former DOS slave.
Another former DOS slave, a Mexican woman, [I believe Jane Doe 12] spoke in the courtroom. She chastised Clare for bringing her into the country and cheating her out of money.
Kristin Keeffe, another former high-ranking member of the cult, who fled when she became concerned about the way in which Raniere was raising their son, also spoke.
(Raniere was the founder of the dangerous childhood experiment, Rainbow Cultural Garden, a combination daycare and school program that was premised around the idea of having children raised by several nannies – each of whom would speak to the child in a different language each day).
Keeffe said, “I saw Clare mentally descend over several years into a dangerous megalomaniac.”
She also claimed that Bronfman launched a financial attack on her when she protested litigation against Barbara Bouchey.
Bronfman began billing her rent for a Nxivm townhouse she and Raniere’s son lived in and slashing her $55,000-a-year salary to $13,000.
“She was trying to psychologically break me,” Keeffe said.
Meanwhile, Keeffe said, Clare “rode a $1 million horse, bought a 6,500 square foot mansion and flew in her $11 million private jet.”
Keeffe also spoke about how Keith never offered to support their son, after she left, while providing hundreds of thousands of dollars [of Clare’s money] for his youngest son, three-year-old Kemar. [Kemar’s mother is Mariana, the sister of Daniella, the woman who had been confined to a room.]
Keeffe was the last victim to speak.
[No one spoke on behalf of Clare]
After Keeffe gave her emotionally charged speech, the courtroom fell silent.
Surprisingly, the judge himself was speechless. He observed a long period of silence, perhaps lasting three or four minutes. He just sat there staring at Clare.
Then the judge ordered a half-hour break.
After the break, some of the Nxivm-5 burst into the overflow courtroom where people could watch the proceedings on TV monitors. They were almost not admitted. They had to split up and sat apart, acting as if they did not know each other.
In the main courtroom, AUSA Tanya Hajjar spoke, arguing for five years of prison time for Clare.
The defense spoke, arguing for 36 months of probation. Her attorney spoke of how Clare invested millions in the Ethical Science Foundation, and of how it helped people suffering from Tourette’s Syndrome.
When Marc Elliot, who believes he was cured of Tourette’s Syndrome by Nxivm teachings, heard this in the overflow courtroom, he was beaming.
Clare’s attorney said that she never funded DOS, the sex-slaver sorority, though she faithfully lent money to Keith, some $65 million in fact for losses he incurred in his commodities market investments.
The judge asked, what’s this about commodities? When was this?
Sullivan leaned over to Clare and asked her and then told the judge “2005.” [That information is incorrect – the losses occurred well before then].
The judge said something to the effect of, “Anybody who would lend somebody $65 million in commodities and he lost it, I don’t care how much money you have, you would think that that would raise some questions about this person’s character.”
The attorney also had the audacity to say that all of Clare’s litigation was valid litigation. Saying this in front of a group of women who have all suffered from Clare’s litigation created an odd and awkward moment, an insensitive moment.
Next, Clare rose to speak. She looked like she weighed under 100 pounds. Her voice was very soft and hard to hear. She was crying at times, feeling quite sorry – not for those she hurt, but for herself.
She said at one point to Judge Garaufis, “I’m immensely grateful and privileged because all over the world people are praying for me because they know my goodness. I hope you see a glimmer of what they see in me.’”
In the overflow courtroom, Michele and Marc Elliot wept as Clare spoke,
Clare also made some sort of apology to Jane Doe 12, the Mexican woman who had spoken earlier.
The judge seemed displeased by the apology and interrupted her to roundly chastise her.
He angrily said, “I see you and I see what you did just now.”
Jane Doe 12 didn’t like the apology either.
The judge was so angry at Clare, it took him a couple of minutes to compose himself. Clare was pretty much silenced at this point, and sat down having spoken for only a minute or two.
In the overflow courtroom, Michele and Marc used hand signals to communicate with each other, while waiting for the sentencing.
Then the judge read his sentencing memorandum [read here] wherein he recited a litany of Clare’s crimes. He concluded by sentencing her to 81 months in prison, three times the high end of the Sentencing Guidelines range.
When he gave the 81 month sentence Clare looked shocked. Everyone was shocked.
Michele Hatchette, in the overflow courtroom, started crying. Marc Elliot seemed to be in a daze, almost comatose. The funder of the cult would be out of commission for years, not months.
Inside the courtroom, after the initial shock wore off, the victims seemed elated and relieved. They knew that their two worst fears – Raniere and Bronfman – would be tucked away for years – and that they would be safe – for a time.
In the main courtroom, there were six US Marshalls. The judge said he was remanding Clare into custody.
[Quite likely the judge did not want to risk a woman with a $200 million net worth – and a surprisingly high sentence – to be free to possibly flee the country.]
The judge also added that Clare, while in prison, was to be monitored at all times, her finances watched, and that she was not permitted to put money in any prisoner’s commissary – a common ploy that rich prisoners use to buy service and favors from other prisoners.
Somehow, Clare did not understand what the judge meant by remanded. She got up as if court was over and she could go home and rest after what was probably the worst four and half hours of her life.
Her attorneys understood and protested her immediate incarceration asking the judge that she be allowed to go home to settle her affairs and then report to prison on a certain date. The judge snapped that she had plenty of attorneys who could settle her affairs.
The marshals led Clare out of the courtroom and handcuffed her.
Everyone else left the court.
The Nxivm diehards were standing outside the court. Danielle Roberts, Marc Elliot, Michele Hatchette, and the others.
Times Union reporter Rob Gavin asked them if they wanted to comment. They declined.
They just remained standing outside, waiting for Clare to come out with her attorneys.
Toni Natalie came out and saw them. She called out to the Nxivm members and told them bluntly, “She’s not coming out.”
And she wasn’t.
Clare went that night to MDC in Brooklyn, the prison where her Vanguard resides, as well as Ghislaine Maxwell.
She will likely be there for a few months, while she awaits a permanent prison assignment.
Prior to her sentencing hearing, her attorneys informed the court that Clare had a liver ailment and should not go to prison since she needed medical treatment.
While the judge disagreed that Clare should not go to prison, despite her last-minute liver problem, he still wanted her to get proper medical treatment.
On the day following her sentencing, he issued this order:
ORDER: On September 28, 2020, Defendant’s counsel filed a [933] letter apprising the court of the Defendant’s recent medical testing. The Government is DIRECTED to advise the MDC of this letter and request that the MDC arrange for medical follow up to determine if further tests and treatment are warranted. Ordered by Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis on 10/1/2020. )
Assuming Clare doesn’t do anything to lose any of the “good time” she would otherwise accumulate, she could knock off about a year of her 6.75 year sentence. She is 41, and could be out when she is 47 with perhaps much of her money intact.
Of course, she may get out sooner. Clare will undoubtedly appeal her sentence – at least the portion of it that’s over 27 months – because her plea deal agreement gives her that right.
What her chances are is anybody’s guess. There are some possible legal arguments, possibly good arguments she could make, which we will try to explore in a later post.
Nationally, about 4% of the appeals in federal criminal cases are upheld.
But that percentage has been slightly higher in the 2nd District – which is where Clare’s appeal will be heard [The same is true for Raniere].
Unfortunately for Clare, she can only appeal the portion of her sentence that is above 27-months. That’s because she signed a plea deal agreement that eliminated all of her other appellate rights.
Frank Parlato 
Janine Morrison 
J.J. O'Hara 
Richard Luthmann 
Marie White 
Paul Serran
Please leave a comment: Your opinion is important to us!
[…] According to The Frank Report, which is a site dedicated to taking down NXIVM, former member “Susan Dones was walking towards the Federal Courthouse, being filmed as she walked by a crew from HBO’s The Vow, [presumably for season #2] when she spotted Clare getting out of an SUV. She told the crew to film Clare instead of her. And they did.” […]
Frank, near the beginning of this report you write,
“Some of her supporters may have come up from Mexico for the hearing. They came across the street and stood by the courthouse. Esther Chiappone Carlson was there and in tears. Jim Del Negro, her longtime Nxivm boyfriend, had his arm around her, comforting her.”
I am curious how Esther came to be named specifically. I’ve been watching the HBO show The Vow and have seen her in nearly every episode. I’ve seen her husband Jim as well who can be seen as a trainer in a couple of the episodes. HE IS mentioned in the 5th episode as a Protector and a leader of SOP and close with the group’s legal team who threatens to legally pursue Sarah Edmondson to leave the group. He had been a good friend of hers.
May we know what was Clare’s apology in Court and the judge’s response to it, please?
Should be able to provide that soon.
A riveting read from beginning to end, thanks Frank, well done.
Very telling details … “She’s not coming out” …
My call: the judge fully recognizes that this is a live, active and extremely dangerous cult, capable of stirring up all kinds of trouble, including harassing and threatening the prosecutors and launching public campaigns to question the fairness of the courts. Really smart moves.
But for me, what stands out in this whole story are the international connections: not the least of which was Sara Bronfman’s husband trying to overthrow the American-backed government in Libya:
https://frankreport.com/2020/08/23/how-sara-bronfmans-husband-basit-igtet-tried-to-overthrow-libya-with-ranieres-help/
It seems this unbelievably idiotic escapade was masterminded by none other than Keith Raniere himself.
This cult is also deeply enmeshed with the nastiest elements of Mexican politics, which are probably the nastiest politics in the world — will the other shoe ever drop, on that side of the border?
If you read Cathy O’Brien’s “Trance-Formation of America”, you will know how she was used as a courier to politicians like Carlos Salinas during the negotiation of the NAFTA agreement. According to her, NAFTA was as much about human trafficking and control of the drug trade as it was about anything else. She says she was the actual courier who took the Presidential Seal of Approval to the border at Juarez, to formally open the gates for the trade in slaves and drugs. Her description of a truly scary Mexican border official confirming bank numbers over a walkie-talkie with “George Bush Jr.” is, for me, one of the most convincing and compelling parts of the whole story.
You can find this account on p. 206 of the book, available in full here:
http://www.charlesjajarvis.com/GreatWhiteLodge/trance-formation-of-america-cathy-o-brien.pdf
Now that NAFTA has been scrapped, I’m wondering if it wasn’t this particular and completely unique insight from Cathy O’Brien — into the truly appallingly criminal nature of NAFTA — that led to her being allowed to escape and tell the world the story. There’s no doubt that “white hats” helped keep her alive. If you go and look at the detail in the book, in the scores of names that are named, from town sheriffs to country musicians to local politicians and their wives, and you check out those people, you’ll find they are all for real.
So there is plenty of unbelievable dirt waiting to be revealed, south of the border. This story is still just beginning.
But the sentencing of Clare Bronfman has to be a turning point in the whole game. This judge was sending a message: that truly dangerous cults which meddle in world politics and try to stage coups, which rope in figures like the Dalai Lama to boost their profile, which have millions of dollars at their disposal to stir up trouble … need to locked away, not just to teach them a lesson, but to keep the world a much safer place.
Clare Bronfman can count herself very, very lucky. In my opinion.
One of the timeless Hindu-based understandings about reincarnation is that little batches of “souls” reincarnate together more than once, through unresolved desires, motivated by love or by vengeance. Ah cha, vengeance.
Yet underlying our individualized desires, the wheel of karma/dharma rotates, unimpeded. Also, the Old Testament said it well. “Vengeance is Mine, sayeth the Lord.” But how we disrupt ourselves, seeking vengeance.
Magnetic attraction, magnetic repulsion and so it goes. One neglects to remember that one is attracted, not only by what we call love but also by hatred. And we try to ignore that awareness, by editing the self examination of the self.
“Each year in prison takes two years off an individual’s life expectancy.” PPI publication, June 26, 2017. Um, “Prison Policy Initiative.”
This vital “disintegration” is despite the commissary snacks. So there’s that. But who, other than WHO, can feel good about the American prison system? Especially that joint in Colorado, 22 hr lockdowns per day is only the beginning of the treats in store there. Study the Federal Supermax, H unit.
Maybe read Alan Prendergast, July 3, 2018, “At the Federal Supermax: When Does Isolation Become Torture?” By the way, that Colorado Joint calls solitary confinement “restrictive housing.”. Good golly Miss Molly, the euphemisms!
Shivani, your writing is poignant an beautiful. Thank you.
What happened with the apologies?
It seemed that pushed the judge to the edge?
If I were Clare, I would have left the country months ago, or faked my death.
She has billions to do this. Any idea why she didn’t? Maybe she is not that smart and for everyone else it was better to have her in prison?
I imagine that just as what has been shown in those types of situations on the HBO show “The Vow,” she likely chose words that, in reality, are gaslighting
…further victimizing the person instead of apologizing
Ok, since I’ve already cast Gary Busey as Vantard, let’s continue…
Meryl Streep as Clare, definitely.
Halle Berry as Hatchette. Yesoyesoyesoyes.
Laura Dern as Bouchey,
Diane Lane as Danielle Roberts,
Ashley Tisdale as Mack,
Vanessa Hudgens as Nikki
and last but not least…
Kathy Bates as Dones
Hilarious! Except as I cast movies often and imaginarily, I would like to see Glenn Close in here boiling a rabbit as SOMEBODY. Close is a bit elderly, so how about if she plays Nancy Ballzman?
Esther CC should get at least a cameo representation as Gladys Kravitz, the nasty, gaslighting, vicious neighbor of Samantha’s on Bewitched.
And what is Samantha LeBaron doing now? Cult born and bred, there.
🤣. Well done, Niceguy. Missed your calling as a casting agent. Who plays Frank?
De Niro
Bruce Willis as Frank
Oops, sorry, moniker mix-up. Both good calls but I’d go with Al Pacino to play Frank.
Anthony LaPaglia.
This was a great read, gripping from start to finish.
I am no fan of the Supermax facility. Since it exists though, put Raniere in for at 2 years in isolation. Even in there, his conditions will be better than what he provided Dani in that awful room.
Any organization, especially one based on “science ” , must be upheld under scrutiny.
Suing your way to shut criticism up should be a giant red flag that the corporation is not legitimate.
First, so well written Frank. When you’re on, you’re on. (You know, I’m a sucker for talent.)
Second, HIS HONORABLE MAGISTRATE MAESTRO, SIR NICHOLAS GAURUFIS must be nominated to replace RBG on the US Supreme Court, pronto!
Also, Toni what is UP with those eyebrows, Chula? And I thought Joan Jett held a patent on that shag cut? I have some black vinyl from the eighties your size if the lawsuit doesn’t pay off right away.
Barb, you look stunning. Sorry you didn’t get more (any) time. Ever get that ‘secret’ recording you got on me and Frank in Malibu transcribed? It’s illegal in Cali, btw. Nancy, sell you her special slide show teaching method rights, yet? …Still, I can’t thank you enough for stepping up on those bogus computer trespass charges when they needed the 5th element (the “unidentified” social calendar log-in user) to stack JT’s charges and hold Joe at MDC. Shoulda turned my ex in on that count, myself.
Or should I thank my sister’s dear, old BFF, Kristin Keeffe, aka “The Rat,” or “Juno” as she’s known in Albany legal circles and over at the Bureau…Of Unemployment.
Kristin’s in a tough spot on child support and I do hope for her son’s sake (only) she sees some justice there. I can only imagine how Dani – she (and Lauren’s) Mexican captive – felt listening to her impassioned plea for Clare to pay, pay, pay from the “real” Avatar baby mama who diabolically arranged for her to be abandoned alone on foot just over the hostile border with little cash and no ID after bringing her to the brink of a psychotic breakdown through isolation, starvation and mental cruelty for over two years prior, while letting Keith rape both her sisters, one underage, and convincing Dani’s parents she’s a natural-born thief.
IDK who to credit for apparently staying Kristin’s hand on using RAT poison, Clare’s goons, or the Buddhist reincarnate Goddess suicide scheme on Dani but she and the Mexican Jane Does were the only true victims I’ve yet heard of in that courtroom yesterday.
…”Downs,” who? Congrats on your new Directing career, Susan. I knew you had it in you on “The Lost Women” shoot and publicity tour.
“Epoch Times” full of “Vice,” indeed.
Will we be seeing any of these dainty Grand Dames at Keith’s sentencing? I want to color coordinate and may need to rent a bulletproof vest for the occasion.
Says the woman who uses a 30-year old picture on this blog…
It was I who used the older picture of Heidi taken in the days when she was being harassed by Nxivm. If you have seen recent pictures of Heidi – and I have seen her in person – she is a very attractive woman – and I can attest – for we have been out to dinner and I stayed as a guest at her Malibu hilltop home, and worked together with her in filming – that men – younger men too – seem to find her irresistible.
Heidi is exuberant, and as W.Blake said “exuberance is beauty”
Frank,
Are you still letting Richard Branson aka Bangkok write the forward to your book like you promised?
I am considering it.
Thanks Frank, all. But how sad it is for Schlock when discussing his nemesis is the only response his comments ever get. Tsk, tsk.
Lonely in that “hungry ghost” realm are you, Schlocker? Have you dare tried haunting other blogs, yet?
When Heidi refers to Schlock, she means Scott [AKA LOL] one of our most prolific commenters. He used to use his name but then changed to posting anonymously but concludes most sentences and almost every comment with LOL.
Clifton-
Says the guy who has time to comment on a blog. How’s life treating you?
???? Picture = credibility? Frank picks the pics. Mine looks like shit. May we see one of you?
Oh, and I forgot: Value is all about one’s appearance or lack thereof, correct? What about other human attributes?
Look, my friend, if you are fortunate enough get to be 90+ years old (and I hope you are), you will likely not look like a super model. But there is value in life just the same. Honesty, kindness, intelligence, and discipline – they make the world go ’round..
I just love when Heidi writes and would also love to make her some yummy Cuban coffee, offer her some appetizers and to enjoy conversations together, unlimitedly. My beach or yours, dear Heidi! Astral travel or just via an airplane? But I haven’t left our house once since mid-March. Astral it is, eh?
Heidi – I hadn’t noticed Toni’s eyebows! She must have a Fuzzy Felt set. 😳😁🤣
🤣, Pyriel.
This is worth listening to…….
This is such a voice of common sense you’ve posted here through the airwaves, and WOW! She highlights just how Judge Garaufis, who has been the representative voice reflecting the decisions of the jury and ideally, of we the people, perceived the crimes and the unrepentant character (and words) of Clare Webb Bronfman.
And this wisewoman is soooo right about what it is that comes out of Clare’s soiled eyes.
Now let’s muse over Mutha Salzman, under the light of her potential sentencing, whatever will come. Maybe some of us have mused, and deeply, regarding what Nancy Salzman either demanded or “allowed” to happen to her two daughters with Keith Raniere, the hairy sperminator. Let’s also recollect her choice to, without qualification, dispense pharmaceuticals to some group participants, as has been reported. Then there is the Snyder disappearance back in Alaska, unanswered and never resolved to this day.
Who called the shots for so long, who ran the overseeing of the intensives? It was Nancy Salzman, whom Flabturd had finally designated as the frigging reincarnation of Adolf Hitler, speciously running sideshow as Flabby’s current life underling?!
Oh, that’s right. It was the theatrical Prefect, a servant who loved getting fat off of Raniere’s spotlight. Nancy Salzman. There is a lot to consider beyond Nancy making the first plea deal, albeit a supposedly unprotected deal.
Now Nancy wants the world to know. She can’t stand Raniere anymore. But don’t let that deceive anyone. Salzman and co. have been onto Raniere’s out-of–control intentions and many, many, of his strategies for years. Nancy has glorified herself in ingodly ways, by riding on Keith Raiere’s coattails, both consciously and exploitatively, from what can be observed. My evaluation of Nancy Salzman is that she profited as a user and knew what she was doing, for many years.
Dear Judge Gruffus, That was s’posed to say Raniere.
Judge G is a mean fucker. His sentencing tactics are guided by emotion rather than reason. And, his emotion is based on reaction.
Clare is despicable by many standards. She committed severe crimes and was not accountable for her wrongdoing which is an enormous problem for her but sentencing her to 3X the agreed upon guidelines is a serious breach of trust and betrayal by the legal system. I agree she was not fully charged initially by EDNY but for the judge to give payback without the right of trial and counsel transcends the normal boundaries of our legal system. It is frontier justice to satisfy the bloodlust of the mob, not civilized behavior and discourse.
Are you Nicki Clyne? Why are you defending Keith Raniere? What do you think is a sufficient punishment, if you think he deserves to be punished? Fuck everyone who was Nxivm.
The ALWAYS says it all. Possessed. So to speak. Most unfortunate.
Also, Clare’s finances are going to be watched from now on, more than ever before. In fact, one could say that from now on, Clare Bronfman’s finances are going to be controlled by implacable supervision.
KAR sucks, Bronfman sucks but it’s about more than them. When our legal system starts functioning like a vengeful Clint Eastwood in a Sergio Leone spaghetti western, we’ve got bigger problems than Clare and Keith. Maintaining democracy and the ‘accepted’ rule of law is essential. Giving someone a sentence 3x what was previously negotiated is a transgression of accepted norms.
I think the sentence was warranted, measured and the correct way to deal with the ‘mean f*cker’ who as Ivy put it, amplified her malice with her immense wealth. Judge Garaufis seems to me far from mean.
Garaufis informed Bronfman that he could sentence her at, below, or above the guidelines. If she pled guilty, she would only be able to appeal a sentence that was above the guideline. That was the extent of the agreement, other than the $6M.
He has now sentenced her above the guideline and she’s appealing that…or will soon. Both sides are acting within the agreement.
What was it about the apology the judge didn’t like??
I’m intrigued to know that too!
Add me to the list…
What was the judge upset about?
Lack of sincerity?
Yes. hashtag me too. Im thinking it was one of those: “Im sorry if YOU THINK I etc….
At any point in all of these frivolous, vexatious, vindictive, asinine lawsuits did any lawyer tell Bonfman or Raniere that their course of conduct was ill-advised or possibly illegal?
Or did these shysters say, “I need to pay the rental on my BMW”?
Sullivan looks more like he’s spending his Bronfman paydays on chocolate eclairs, pork dumplings and baked alaska. Perhaps he is depressed. Hope he recovers. He is kind of a likable guy.
His current state is veddy, veddy unSagittarian. Shocking! He didn’t look this ill at ease, even five months ago.
If only Mr Sullivan could lose those unnecessary 150 or so pounds. Fifty or so pounds of himself and the surplus 100 or so pounds of the miserable Bronfman. I feel sure that he wants to go off and un-hem and un-haw and to recover his good humor.
“Susan Dones was walking to court, being filmed by HBO’s The Vow [presumably for season #2] when she spotted Clare getting out of an SUV. She told the crew to film Clare instead of her, and they did”.
Omg. They are actually filming season 2? These Nxivm snakes are really milking this for all they can. Absolutely zero scrutiny or negative press for their own roles in the criminal cult of Nxivm, just reward after reward. To go from watching these creeps doing all their Nxivm shit years ago, surviving Nxivm shit storms, to now being hailed as heroes is annoying. It is so fake and manufactured.
I agree, it disgusts me that certain people are trying to cash in over and over with that shit. It’s okay to tell a story once, but at some point it is time to move on.
Or to simply acknowledge what they knew about and ignored and for the press to actually go after them like they should of years ago.
Also, to give back the money they conned outta people on false narratives. Sarah Edmondson and Mark Vicente are suing their beloved criminal sex cult, saying the cult was a scam. Well they spent twelve years doing this [redacted] coached it, recruited people into it, profited [redacted] won’t give the money back, are profiting from media exposure…. and want “compensation” from the lawsuit. The information was out there for years. They carried on by choice.
Sick of all this BS in social media retard land: “You’re so inspirational!” “You’re a hero!” “Sending you kisses!”.
Yuck.
And they bathe in the attention and limelight. They still benefit from the criminal nxiscum cult. They just do it differently than before.
…he says in a comment on a website dedicated to telling this story every day for years.
(Not complaining about the site, btw. I’m fascinated by the story, and I think The Vow and Frank Report are great.)
“None of Clare’s family attended the hearing.”
This speaks volumes.
But no need to feel any sympathy, for Clare had some of her NXIVM “family” there to support her money…[cough]…I mean her. Gee, I wonder why people call it a cult.