In theory, there must a nexus (direct link) between the one who is claiming to be a “victim” and the crimes(s) that the defendant has been convicted of committing. In practice, however, prosecutors and judges sometimes bend the rule in terms of who is allowed to make a “Victim Impact Statement” at the sentencing hearing of a convicted defendant –and/or to submit a restitution claim.

In the case of Clare Bronfman, several people who were not directly connected to the two crimes to which she pleaded guilty were allowed to read “Victim Impact Statements” at her sentencing hearing. Insofar as I can recall, Clare’s attorneys did not raise any objections to any of those people being allowed to make those statements.
The same thing happened in the case of Keith Raniere. Once again, I do not recall Keith’s attorneys raising any objections to any of the people who were allowed to make “Victim Impact Statements” at his sentencing hearing.
In Clare’s case, Judge Garaufis ordered her to pay $96,605.25 of restitution to Jane Doe 12 (Sylvie). He also fined her $500,000, ordered her to pay a Special Assessment of $200, entered a money forfeiture judgment of $6,000,000, and sentenced her to 81 months in federal prison (Per the terms of her plea deal, Clare can only appeal the portion of her sentence that is above 27 months).
In Keith’s case, Judge Garaufis fined him $1,750,000, ordered him to pay a Special Assessment of $700 and a $15,000 assessment pursuant to the Justice for Victims Trafficking Act of 2015, and sentenced him to 120 years in federal prison (In addition to appealing his conviction of committing the seven crimes with which he was charged, Keith can – and likely will – appeal several aspects of his sentence). The judge also allowed those who claimed to be “victims” to submit their claims within 90 days of the date of Keith’s sentencing.

If Judge Garaufis utilizes a narrow definition of the term “victim”, only those people who were directly affected by the seven crimes of which Keith was convicted (and the sixteen predicate acts underlying the Racketeering conviction) will be awarded restitution. If, however, Judge Garaufis uses a broader definition of that term, then even those who were not directly affected by those crimes and predicate acts will be awarded restitution.