NXIVM IT Guru Ben Myers’ Letter on Behalf of Lauren Salzman – Was It Lie By Omission? Was He Trying to Sabotage Sister-in-Law Who Informed on Him?

In our coverage of NXIVM-related news, Frank Report would be remiss is we failed to provide readers with the letter to Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis on behalf of Lauren Salzman written by her brother-in-law, Ben Myers.

It has a rather large omission in it.

While Myers advocates for Lauren, he fails to mention he was a member of NXIVM, a man who very well could have been charged as part of the so-called NXIVM/Keith Raniere inner-circle racketeering enterprise.

Myers wrote to ask leniency for his sister-in-law’s crimes of racketeering in a conspiracy he himself participated in.

If we buy into the racketeering charges against NXIVM, and some legally knowledgeable people doubt its application in the NXIVM case,  then Myers is part of that conspiracy.

Perhaps the most serious predicate act Myers engaged in was participating in a conspiracy to alter the results of an official proceeding by another one of his omissions – a massive one, of not telling police he was a NXIVM member, and pretending instead to be an independent computer expert weighing in on evidence given to New York State Police Trooper Rodger Kirsopp about the location of a NXIVM server that was supposedly accessed without permission – which led to the false indictment of Joe O’Hara, Barbara Bouchey, John Tighe, and Toni Natalie.

Four people were indicted largely or partly because of Myers’ lie by omission – and each of them suffered a great deal of pain and financial distress as a result of that indictment.

The charges were finally dropped because Clare Bronfman and Ben were caught in their lie. But they were not dropped until the eve of trial and a lot of time and money spent and personal suffering endured.

This was a far worse racketeering crime than altering a video in the Sutton civil lawsuit.

Myers had to lie to get the above-named indicted because the Saratoga County District Attorney, and the NYS Attorney General, who both had jurisdiction because of where the server really was located, refused to indict the enemies of Raniere on bogus charges.

Happily, Albany County Attorney P. David Soares was willing to help and this now-intrepid hunter of Andrew Cuomo’s scalp was able to accommodate the Bronfman-Raniere litigation lust.

While Albany DA P. David Soares was willing to help Keith Raniere out any time, he is now after Andrew Cuomo for allegedly abusing women.

After Myers lied about the location of the server and failed to disclose his NXIVM affiliation, he, next, according to one source, actually helped secretly move the server to a location in Albany County after the fact to give jurisdiction to Soares.

Soares then assigned a special prosecutor – a former assistant of his who was then in private law practice – to indict Raniere’s enemies.

It worked out splendidly. Clare Bronfman hired another one of Soares’ former assistants, also in private practice, to represent her and the special prosecutor [Soares’s old assistant] and Bronfman’s lawyer [Soares’ old assistant] were off to the races.

The reason Soares had to refer the case to a special prosecutor to bring bogus charges against the enemies of NXIVM was because that would allow him to avoid being criticized like he was when he indicted O’Hara once before on behalf of Clare Bronfman – and even allowed NXIVM member Kristin Keeffe to secretly work in his DA offices as a Legal Intern to help with that indictment – a huge conflict of interest and an act for which he should have been removed from office, especially considering his eager and close ties to NXIVM including having relatives who attended NXIVM courses.

In short, Myers acted as if he was part of an independent computer server company when, in reality, he was deep-NXIVM, and dating Michelle Salzman, the daughter of the president of NXIVM, Nancy Salzman (He later married Michelle – and they are now awaiting the birth of their first child).

Michelle and Ben Myers

In sum – Myers’ predicate act was that he – as a supposedly independent computer expert – stated that the server that hosted NXIVM’s website and other NXIVM-related materials was in Albany County when, in reality, it was in Saratoga County. This allowed one of NXIVM’s chief enablers, Albany District Attorney P. David Soares, to appoint his former assistant as a special prosecutor to indict four of NXIVM’s enemies.

While Judge Garaufis exclaimed at Lauren Salzman’s sentencing that he was astonished that law enforcement in Albany did nothing to stop Raniere and NXIVM, Ben was part of the process of helping law enforcement do nothing to stop Raniere. And then, he ironically sends a letter to Judge Garaufis asking him to go easy on Lauren – while, once again, failing to disclose he was in NXIVM up to his eyeballs.

Good or bad – Myers was in NXIVM and the case was about NXIVM – and he did not disclose it.

Another thing Ben failed to disclose. He was the one who Daniela kissed – and for whom she committed her so-called ethical breach – and got herself confined to a room for two years. I always found it puzzling that Ben would sit by and not wonder what happened to Daniela – or confront Raniere – and how the years passed with Daniela confined in a room – and he made no inquiries about how the women he kissed and was developing a relationship with just disappeared.

Did he know she was languishing in a room for almost two years? Did he simply not care? Perhaps he was onto new game – the president’s daughter, Michelle.

This is of significance for he likely will be sending another letter on behalf of his mother-in-law, Nancy Salzman, who is due to be sentenced in September.

The letter is also interesting for another reason. In an astonishing paragraph in the sentencing memorandum for Lauren Salzman, the prosecution praises her for informing on her close friends, family members, and even her own mother – as if this is praiseworthy in and of itself.

Lauren Salzman leaves Brooklyn federal court.

The paragraph in question is

As set forth above, Lauren Salzman provided extraordinary assistance to the government’s investigation and prosecution of this case. She met with the government on dozens of occasions, both in proffers and in preparation for trial testimony, and answered all the government’s questions, including questions about crimes she committed, as well as criminal activity engaged in by her close friends and family members, including her mother.

The prosecution used the words “family members” – as in plural. There were three of Lauren’s family members that I know were in NXIVM: her mother, Nancy Salzman; her sister, Michelle Salzman; and her brother-in-law, Ben Myers.

It appears that Lauren very likely told the feds about crimes Ben allegedly committed [racketeering] and for which he was not charged.  If you read his letter – between the lines – and I could not resist making some editorial comments [in bold and brackets]  you might wonder if Ben was trying for payback.

[BTW, we will be looking into the role that P. David Soares played in keeping NXIVM alive and well in an upcoming series.]

Ben Myers

Letter from Ben Myers to Judge Garaufis [My comments are in bold and bracketed]

Dear Judge Garaufis:

My name is Ben Myers.

I’m currently the lead product manager and senior software engineer for a company focused on increasing equality and diversity in professional opportunities in music.

I’ve known Lauren for over a decade now and I’ve been her brother-in-law for three years. I’m very well-aware of her situation, as well as how she has handled what has happened over the past years.

As the legal events played out, I saw Lauren crumble. At one time in her life she would have steadfastly supported Mr. Raniere, yet when she became aware of what Mr. Raniere was actually doing and what his intentions were, she went through a devastating recapitulation of the prior two decades of her life.

Through her reassessment of herself and her actions, I’ve seen her take a deep responsibility for the resulting pain that she’s caused in others’ lives. [Ed. note: Good left-handed compliment, Ben].

Through an incredibly painful journey, I’ve seen her come to understand the pain and destruction that her actions have caused people and that understanding weighs on her conscience every day. [Another good left-handed compliment – remind the judge of all the pain and suffering she caused others but do not mention the pain you caused O’Hara, Natalie, Bouchey, Tighe, or for that matter, Daniela.]

Over the past year, she’s begun to rebuild her life with deep humility and an intention to contribute positively to her community and her family. At over 40, she has committed to learn a new profession and with her new trade, she is starting a business through which she will
contribute in very positive ways to her community.

I’ve always found Lauren to be caring and well-intended and she has always acted with peoples’ best interest at heart. On a personal level, I honestly could not wish for a better, more caring sister-in-law.

Since my wife and I have been married, I’ve always experienced her to be entirely supportive and she’s always held our partnership in the highest regard.

What Mr. Raniere did to Lauren and others was an unconscionable betrayal of trust. Through his deceit and dishonesty with Lauren when she was barely an adult, [She was 24 years old! When does a woman grow up and become responsible for her actions in Ben’s eyes?] he took over two decades of the prime of her life away from her, [Doesn’t she have any responsibility for staying for two decades? This barely adult woman of 24 stayed through her entire {barely adult} 30s and into her 40s] and because Lauren has recognized the subsequent effects she’s had on others’ lives [another left-handed compliment] and her own responsibility [go for it, Ben, that’s five times now you mentioned the pain she caused others] in that, she continues to experience that pain on her conscience every day.

As you consider Lauren’s sentencing, it’s my hope that you can consider how she has humbly taken responsibility for her actions, [something you have not yet done Ben] how she continues to feel the pain she’s caused in others’ lives, [this is the sixth time he’s mentioned the pain she caused others and still counting] and how she is a humble, positive and valuable member of family and her community.

Sincerely,

Ben Myers

Ed. Note: Wow with a family member like Ben, no wonder Lauren informed on him and all the rest of ’em. 

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Frank Parlato

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  • Democrat Senator Arrested for Raping Multiple Children

    Democrat Arizona state Senator Tony Navarrete was arrested on Thursday night for raping multiple underage children, according to reports.

    Police officials say Navarrete was arrested for multiple pedophile-related crimes, including the rape of a child that occured in 2019.

    The Senate Democrats confirmed his arrest via a statement that read:

    “We are aware one of our members has been arrested and are awaiting further details and for law enforcement to do its job. We will not have further comment at this time.”

    Fox10phoenix.com reports: On Tuesday, Navarrete confirmed he tested positive for COVID-19 despite being vaccinated, and he was recovering with mild symptoms at home.

    https://newspunch.com/democrat-senator-arrested-for-raping-multiple-children/

  • Lol your insecurity around another person having more value for doing what’s right, after having been led to do wrong, is laughable. Because if it was Frank’s mother or another family member instead of Frank, Frank would have sat on it and let it all continue. The irony in Frank thinking someone being willing to do the appropriate thing, which he is incapable of doing, as not being praise worthy, is laughable and incredibly sad. Frank and his mafia like loyalties are above all else.

    • I disagree with your post. But I’m also not on board with Frank on this. Lauren thought she doing good things in the world. She thought her mom was, too. “Ratting” on mama isn’t correct. Lauren, honestly spilling the beans, had to happen to give a clear picture of what transpired. AND, could actually help Nancy by giving perspective on moma’s misdeeds.

  • I also want to mention that thanks to Keith, we all know that Keith’s cock is bigger than Ben’s.

    Ben in all aspects is a beta man

  • Has Ben Myers quit being a devout Raniere and/or Nancy Salzman follower and zealot? Or not?

    Has he personally disavowed his commitment as an active Nxivm student, worker bee and acolyte? How many different sides of what streets could he, Ben Myers – and Nancy Salzman’s former, if not present, underling & son-in-law
    have been sweating and moaning all over, for years? What is Ben Myers possibly still trying to hustle? For these are legitimate questions, under the circumstances and specifically about Ben Myers.

    His name has been printed in the Frank Report quite a few times over the years, with Ben Myers knee-deep in Nxivm, including its messes as a corporation, an entity, as well as his more personally entangled involvements.

    Especially well-featured has been the recounting of the troubles which beset a fellow Nxivm member, Daniella, after she and Myers had shared a flirtation between themselves, and Raniere was punitive to Daniella over their kissing each other, she and Ben, which Daniella admitted or confessed to Raniere.

    As is already common knowledge, Raniere demanded a totalitarian one-way street of fidelity, seemingly insistent upon being the only rooster in his henhouse of slavishly besotted and unsculpted and hopefully for Raniere, skinny- boned bushes, aka chickens.

    Evidently, Ben Myers was not punished for taking part in any kissing. However, Myers might have gotten himself married off, and not so eventually, to Nancy Salzman’s merrily unindicted offspring, Michelle Salzman. The salty dog? Who is Ben Myers? A fooling fool or what?

    To err is human, but then go ahead and bury all of the nasty bones, deep down in the all-too-obvious dirt? Does Myers delude himself that his poker face has not draw for anyone who watches Nxivm closely, and also, no reality?

    As a direct result of confession to having kissed Myers, Daniella lost a good slice of her young freedom and was neglected socially, psychologically, emotionally.and simply as a human being. She was maintained captive in a room, with her parents’ cooperation as well, for two years, her Mexican passport and identifications being withheld from her. Her parents, three daughters of theirs,who all had sex with or for Raniere and one son, (or Daniella’s brother,) were all living in Raniere’s group, hook, line and sinker. And Raniere’s demands fractured their entire family.

    Since Ben Myers does not refer to himself as a member of Nxivm in his letter quoted here from start to end, does anyone know, outside of his Nxivm trio of in-laws and wife, what is his stance or what are his intentions?

    Now Ben Myers is about to become a father, unless the shoe has already dropped. His wife, Michelle, is one of the fortunate Nxivm members who was never arrested. Apparently Michelle has been an artist and a designer, among doing other Nxivm tasks, whose graphic talents have been used by Raniere and company.

    This letter of his written on behalf of his sister-in-law, Lauren Salzman, is as disturbing, in many ways, as the similar letter from Nancy Salzman about Lauren deserving leniency upon sentencing amidst the whole Nxivm/DOS saga. Scoundrels and skullduggery?

    Noteworthy is that Myers admits or claims to have known Lauren Salzman for a duration of more than ten years. Obviously Lauren Salzman was professionally and personally all Nxivm, all of the time, for the majority, if not all of that “more than a” decade cited by Myers in his letter addressed to Judge Garaufis. Yet Ben Myers writes his letter as if it were honest and forthcoming and keeps mum about himself, as to his being in Nxivm.

    He omits certain facts; unquestionably Myers eschews being forthright about a huge facet of who he himself, Ben Myers, is and has been. As a Nxivm acolyte and loyalist, Myers doesn’t offer a crumb.

    These letters from what look to be some self-satisfied liars who are unconflicted about continuing to lie, whether by omission or commission, seem to be tacitly, implicitly and perhaps complicitly useless drivel, right from the belly of the Nxivm beast itself.

    Ben Myers sounds as if he is interested in exploiting musicians business-wise now, from what I might be observing from his letter shown here at the Frank Report. A high-tech WHAT is this guy?

    Is there anything genuine about this Ben Myers man at all? What is in it for him?

    From what can be seen here, there’s everything to question about this character, and there’s nothing to take at face value or to trust. This propounded invisibility to which he treats himself as a Nxivm diehard schmuck, as well as an “activist” against Nxivm proponents, renders Myers’ letter to any judge, and in any instance, meritless.

    These are merely the words of a person who is, at the very least, a liar, and a dissembling sort of a “man,” by omission. Or more than by omission.

  • Yuck. This guy reminds me of the dossier women. Why do they all open a conversation with an elevator pitch about their work experience? Don’t any of them understand that the world doesn’t care what they do for a living? What we care about is their participation in organized crime and human slavery.

    He’s just another of these ones taking no accountability for his lies and deception which are pretty substantial by this report. What sneaky, slimy and manipulative behavior! So gross.

    Really good point too about Daniella. I wonder what really happened there … a young girl suddenly vanishes from the world and … ???

  • Great analysis, Frank. For me, what stands out is that he does not spend time explaining the good that Lauren has done. I think he could have even talked about Thanksgiving dinners he had with Lauren and the good heart she has, or speak of how Lauren is now a dog groomer, a humble job that shows she cares for others, blah, blah, blah.

    There is nothing. Ben Myers sounds like a superficial asshole. Also, great point, Frank, that his behavior is very questionable in supporting Nxivm’s lies (which helped bring terror to people) and also not giving a damn about a person you knew and kissed suddenly disappearing. To me, it sounds like Ben lacks critical thinking skills. He was and is a sheep. He never questioned Nxivm. He did what he was told and rose up the ranks by kissing the well-positioned women.

    Daniela deserves a stronger man, not a weak ass like Ben. He is a beta man. He can’t even attack you to your face. He goes behind your back to attack and all in a subtle way.

    Ben Myers is a beta man.

  • Ben probably kills 100 people on Call of Duty every day without any remorse being the IT geek he is. Come on, Ben, show some proper loving for your sister-in-law!

About the Author

Frank Parlato is an investigative journalist.

His work has been cited in hundreds of news outlets, like The New York Times, The Daily Mail, VICE News, CBS News, Fox News, New York Post, New York Daily News, Oxygen, Rolling Stone, People Magazine, The Sun, The Times of London, CBS Inside Edition, among many others in all five continents.

His work to expose and take down NXIVM is featured in books like “Captive” by Catherine Oxenberg, “Scarred” by Sarah Edmonson, “The Program” by Toni Natalie, and “NXIVM. La Secta Que Sedujo al Poder en México” by Juan Alberto Vasquez.

Parlato has been prominently featured on HBO’s docuseries “The Vow” and was the lead investigator and coordinating producer for Investigation Discovery’s “The Lost Women of NXIVM.” Parlato was also credited in the Starz docuseries "Seduced" for saving 'slave' women from being branded and escaping the sex-slave cult known as DOS.

Additionally, Parlato’s coverage of the group OneTaste, starting in 2018, helped spark an FBI investigation, which led to indictments of two of its leaders in 2023.

Parlato appeared on the Nancy Grace Show, Beyond the Headlines with Gretchen Carlson, Dr. Oz, American Greed, Dateline NBC, and NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, where Parlato conducted the first-ever interview with Keith Raniere after his arrest. This was ironic, as many credit Parlato as one of the primary architects of his arrest and the cratering of the cult he founded.

Parlato is a consulting producer and appears in TNT's The Heiress and the Sex Cult, which premiered on May 22, 2022. Most recently, he consulted and appeared on Tubi's "Branded and Brainwashed: Inside NXIVM," which aired January, 2023.

IMDb — Frank Parlato

Contact Frank with tips or for help.
Phone / Text: (305) 783-7083
Email: frankparlato@gmail.com

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