Most people who know about Nxivm know about Susan Dones. She is one of the whistleblowers and great fighters against Keith Raniere. She was part of the Nxivm-9, the nine women who left Keith Raniere (Susan experienced a great deal of retaliation in response to her leaving).
Her story is classic. Being with Nxivm for years had bankrupted her and she filed for bankruptcy protection after she left. Nxivm intervened and tried to block her bankruptcy and that of her spouse, Kim Woolhouse.
While Nxivm had a battery of attorneys, funded by Clare Webb Bronfman, Susan, broke, had to represent herself and help her spouse Kim [She also had the help of Joe O’Hara – who was being barraged at the same time with several NXIVM-related lawsuits].
Susan even cross-examined the likes of Jim Del Negro [who couldn’t remember what companies he was president of] and Bronfman. She literally tore them apart [read the transcripts] and won the case.
Kim won too.
In the Dones case, Bankruptcy Judge Brian D. Lynch said, “NXIVM’s claims and litigation tactics were disproportionate and largely lacking in merit,” in dismissing nearly all claims against Dones.
In the Woolhouse case, Judge Lynch actually chastised NXIVM. He wrote: “Her ‘sin’ was to attempt to walk away after discovering that NXIVM was not what she thought or hoped. In return, she was labeled as ‘suppressive,’ a term that NXIVM applies to former associates who leave the company or whom NXIVM perceives to be its enemies, and subjected to protracted litigation from two large law firms and a phalanx of attorneys.”
But the cost was heavy for Dones. She could not work at a job to learn about the law and how to do cross-examination. One woman defeated probably $500,000 worth of billable lawyers’ hours.
Now, in light of the Nxivm-5 presenting their case on Frank Report, Susan has taken to Twitter to give her opinion about their evidence of alleged misconduct on the part of prosecutors in the Raniere case.
One of her Tweets was: “#KeithRaniere still has his claws deeply into Believers called the #NXIVM5 who are attempting to prove misconduct on the part of the DOJ. The spin doctor Raniere has been working hard to do whatever to get out of prison. Poor Believers…No real life.”
And another Tweet: “5 Fools who could have testified for #KeithRaniere under oath are now speaking up right before his sentencing about corrupt prosecutors putting their Master behind bars. Their evidence is WEAK.”
Susan has a comment for the Frank Report. Since she has been in the trenches and had a real hand in the Nxivm takedown, I think readers will be glad to hear what she has to say.
By Susan Dones
I sent Marc Elliot a Tweet and let’s see if he responds.
If this group is really interested in JUSTICE, don’t you think they should be interested in the INJUSTICE of all the NXIVM legal cases against the defectors who left the cult?
Most likely not. They are too narrow-minded to know the real truth and cannot stray that far from their Master’s wishes. The NXIVM-5 is going to remain blind to how NXIVM, their Master Keith Raniere, Nancy Salzman, and the Bronfman sisters spent years F*****g over people in legal cases. For what? – Speaking about the hidden truth, the NXIVM cartel!
Money Laundering.
Tax Evasion.
Cash coming from Mexico in the millions.
Sex with underage girls.
Running a Ponzi scheme, patent denied in 2003.
The manipulation to get women to have sex with him.
Doesn’t it seem right that the NXIVM-5 should want to know the misconduct within their own backyard before they go calling the kettle of the DOJ black?
Maybe the claws of their Master are still too deep for them to be so open minded as to get counter data than what they have been told for years? Their eyes are too glued shut with Kool-Aid.
Maybe they can only serve their Master and cannot deal with the whole truth. Their entire world will crumble and they will be left as empty shells with nothing to hold onto or believe in.
Like the fact that Keith Raniere is nothing but a very smart dangerous conman.
When there is only a handful left and hundreds who once believed have left the sinking ship, how can you be the only ones left that are “correct” (to put it into understandable NXIVM terms).
Aren’t all of the NXIVM 5 dependent on Clare for their survival ??
I think the DOJ is watching her money closely and she is to have no contact with anyone who was in NXIVM while she is in prison or on probation. How they plan to get around that is beyond me if she is going to write them checks.
Is Clare’s sister Sara still supporting NXIVM or was she one of the “family members” that Clare referenced as thinking she should not support Keith anymore? Because if Sara is still supportive that means they still have access to lots and lots of money for lawsuits and lawyers.
Susan is correct in her message to the NXIVM-5. However, when Keith is put away for life, the NXIVM-5 will move on with their lives.
The more important point is that even if every single person on the planet disavowed Keith, today, Keith would eventually make a comeback and begin ruining the lives of new people. This is why it is so important to get him away from society.
The antics of the NXIVM-5 are a perfect example to judge as to the influence Keith demands over people.
Well said. If they have spare resources and are keen for justice to work well, they would be better starting with the 40 almost vexatious lawsuits which show litigation at its worst. There was much greater injustice done in those.
Has there ever been an attempt to bring ethics complaints before the NY State Bar Association against the attorneys who represented the Bronfmans in their baseless and vindictive litigation?
I’m watching the HBO series while I read Frank Report. I found it hilarious Raniere is seeking you out to “help” clear him! The man that with the heiress’s money tried to destroy you, and your reputation, and tried to get YOU put in prison, & had the FEDS after you. He needs some electroshock therapy from a cattle prod! 😹
I want the judge to make the right decision and schedule a hearing. And I want the prosecutors to finally do what is overdue, which is to finally get rid of Nxivm and all these criminals.
I think these idiots need to be careful about what they ask for. They might find themselves all arrested on charges of conspiracy themselves. Nicki Clyne can find herself sent back to Canada where she belongs in a Canadian prison – and where the hell is her mother? Why isn’t Clyne’s mother fighting for her the way Oxenburg fought for India?
Perhaps the last ones standing have the most damning collateral and must continue giving value to their masters.
Are these the winners of the fright experiments? Unflinching indifference in the face of sadistic violence. That’s the goal, right? Whomever pulls this off wins the magic scarf?
‘Are these the winners of the fright experiments? Unflinching indifference in the face of sadistic violence.’
I’ve always believed that of the remainers; Porter’s Pod I call them.
I have one correction on Frank’s report of me. I was cleared of all of the NXIVM charges against me. The only thing I was not allowed to do was to do is show footage of the three days of video I shot with my own camera of the three days of meetings with Keith Raniere before we left.
NXIVM claimed the video was their’s, the Judge ruled in my favor. However, NXIVM convinced the judge there were trade secrets on the video. Not wanting the video entered into evidence as it could make it public information, I am subject a gag order right now.
My plan has always been that once NXIVM is taken down to return to my Judge and get that ban lifted. Otherwise, I was cleared of all charges.
Frank, in the future, please be more clear when writing a story about my court case, people can make up all kinds of crap about ‘she was cleared off most charges”. I won my case against them except for showing the video – for now. But what is mine is mine and Kim, my wife, wasn’t banned.
Thank you for the clarification about the video. I’ve been wondering why you wouldn’t release it.
I read you agreed not to release video before it was recorded. LOL