James David Williams was sentenced to 18 months in prison yesterday for violating probation. NXIVM played a role in his incarceration.
He was convicted by the feds, and sentenced in 2018, for swindling investors out of $15 million on filmmaking scams.
He turned on his partner, Steve Brown, and got off with a sentence of nine months in prison and probation, while Brown got five years and is still serving his sentence.
One of their victims, Bill Busbice Jr., is the owner of a hunting company in Louisiana and was the star of a reality show Wildgame Nation.
During the scam, Williams told investors he was going to make a film starring Nicolas Cage, Harry Connick, Jr. and others. Instead of making any film, he used the money for lavish vacations, luxury cars, yacht loan payments, and a down payment on a $3.5 million home in trendy Calabasas, Calif.
Williams’ short stint in prison was spent at the Metropolitan Detention Center [MDC] in Brooklyn, in 2018. There he met and befriended a man awaiting trial named Keith Alan Raniere, who had been charged, and subsequently convicted of sex trafficking, forced labor and other crimes in connection with his life-coaching group, NXIVM, and its secret sorority, DOS, where women were branded with his initials.
At his December 2018 sentencing, Williams told Judge Kimba Wood of his remorse over defrauding investors in films never made.
“I fully accept the responsibility for my actions,” he said. “I will accept the sentence from this Court, and I will strive my hardest and commit to my fullest to work honestly to pay restitution to my victims and lead a law-abiding life.”
Lenient Judge Wood sentenced him to time served [nine months] and probation.
Out of MDC, on probation, with Raniere’s approval, Williams was greenlit to get $500,000 from NXIVM supporters to make a NXIVM film.
This was not illegal, especially if he handed over a fair share of it to the victims of earlier scams.
Williams chose not to disclose the $500k to the feds and lied to his probation officer, telling him he worked for Universal Yacht Management for $1,000 per week. Much like he made up films that would never be produced, he made up the yacht company and created phony paychecks. Williams chose to use the half-million to pay for yacht expenses, private school tuition for his children, luxury apartments, and lavish vacations, paying only $11,900 towards the $15 million he owed victims in restitution from his earlier scam.
We told the first part of the story in Fellow Inmate of Raniere at MDC Gets Into Hot Water By Not Disclosing $500K He Got to Make NXIVM Film
Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article256607131.html#storylink=cpy
As he did with other investors, Williams did not make any NXIVM film. The money is gone.
He might have gotten away with his lies, but the feds caught him on his phony company. And Judge Wood told Williams yesterday. “After I was lenient with you when I first sentenced you, you purposely violated important conditions of supervised release just four months after I sentenced you.”
She handed him 18 months in prison.
It might have been longer but NXIVM investors are not pressing fraud charges against him.
Eduardo Asunsolo Ramirez issued a statement to the media: “I gathered a group of investors to expose corruption and injustice in the NXIVM case including how federal agents may have planted evidence. Dave Williams was someone we tapped because of his filmmaking experience to bring this message out to a wider audience, his research was immensely helpful. I suspect the government’s attempt to imprison him after he completed his probation may have more to do with suppressing the release of his film than the probation infractions.”
Supporters of Raniere have long maintained that the FBI tampered with photos produced as evidence at his trial of 15-year-old Camila, which led to the jury finding of “proven” for Raniere’s predicate racketeering acts of possession of child porn and sexual exploitation of a minor.
Supporters of Raniere said they would file a motion before the trial judge, Nicholas G. Garaufis, showing new evidence of tampering, dating back to October 2020, just before Raniere was sentenced.
Ramirez told Frank Report that the film Williams was paid to produce was said to be for Apple TV or a similar platform.
“Williams always said he wanted to show what the government was doing. He knew that what we were saying was true,” Ramirez said. “He had good research… He was helpful to us. He helped us do a podcast and with editing.”
Ramirez stressed that none of the $500,000 paid to Williams was Clare Bronfman’s money. He also said it was not his money, but came from a team of investors, from the ranks of NXIVM, some contributing larger amounts and others making smaller investments.
Ramirez said that what Williams did with probation was stupid, and that he is off the project but that the NXIVM film project is still moving forward.
[…] NXIVM Spokesman ‘We’re Not Pressing Charges’ Against Dave Williams’ for $500K – Say Feds W… […]
Really interesting the totally different takes on this from the pro-Nxivm side and what appear to be the facts. In prison, the “cleverest man on the planet,” KR, a con-man himself, decided it was a good idea to collaborate to make a film with a man who cons people by pretending he is making films for them and just runs off with the money. Now, the “filmmaker” is back in prison for violating the terms of his probation. The facts should be easy to show. Does the “filmmaker” have the money in the bank to hand back to Nxivm investors or not?
Talk about a crook cluster fuck. Frank, is this the guy you were talking about (and with) in July 2018, you said was framed by the FBI in the CA central district over film deals gone sideways?
Wasn’t he part of the NX film project you pitched to my Ex? Btw, interesting that he happens to be NEIGHBORS with Jeff and Kym in Calabasas, ain’t it?
No. He is not. I never heard of him. Though I did meet his partner – just coincidentally while I lived out in Malibu. But I did not know the connection at the time.
A wise, old sexy Sicilian man once sternly warned me about how a number of “Coincidences make a fact.” I can’t recall what the precise number was. What would you put it at, Frank? And would you care to elaborate on this clandestine, ‘coincidental’ meeting with William’s partner and/or Jeff Apple when you were my honored houseguest in Malibu?
He was looking for help, trying to stay out of prison, and told me who Williams had ratted him out and Busbice had sought to impale him. I met him through another friend – just like I meet lots of people – and heard his story. This time Heidi I actually think it was a coincidence.
If something looks like a duck and acts like a duck and quacks like a duck and swims like a duck, then it is most likely a duck. And if the duck has real feathers and is not plastic and does not have a valve to inflate, it is most likely a real duck and not a bathtub duck.
Vanguard trusted James David Williams.
But did Vanguard have “tested trust” with James David Williams?
Isn’t that the concept that Keith blamed for Lauren and Allison deserting him and pleading guilty?
For the world’s smartest child pornographe,r Keith sure is a sloooowww learner.
Little Keith(y) Raniere and Vanguard wannabe probably has a little learning disability that he has not overcome since his earliest childhood. Vanguard should have brought that up in his defense in court, that would have made the sentimental Judge Garaufis more lenient.
Patriot God is in the Christmas Spirit!
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CXrCyLKgs8z/?utm_medium=copy_link
Love the high fence to keep him in the yard.
So Williams allegedly took NXIVM to the cleaners to the tune of $500,000? Disproves the old saying “You can’t con a con man.”
Williams conned the dead-enders. They are as easy of a mark as any person on the planet.
Williams didn’t con Keith – it wasn’t his 500K. In fact, it probably gave Keith a good chuckle seeing the 500K vanish.
Of course you side with Alanzo!
Brilliant statement. Care to explain what you mean? Care to agree or disagree with my take?
If Nxivm dead-enders were/are inner circle and have ALREADY claimed that they have all the information and know everything about Raniere’s trial and the alleged proof of corruption on his criminal case…
Why did they need to pay a total stranger to do “research”?
And IF this con man really did such incredible “researc,h” why are the dead-enders just sitting on his “data” while their cult leader rots in prison?
And how can 1 dude speak on behalf of all the alleged small and large donors? Maybe there’s an ex-DOS slave somewhere who wants her 10 bucks back?
The spokesperson’s whole – new last name same cult game – defensive quote sounds like utter bullshyte.
$500,000 for a vanguard movie sent to a convicted con man that predictably ripped you off, but only $2,510 to help save Danielle Roberts’ career? Well done, nxians.
Hey Danielle, time to get better friends, you think?
Ice-Nine,
Typical anti-cultist and tribalistic rhetoric from “Chief Nine Spearchukka”. You retards always heating up your hot-pokers; keep on attacking a woman who has done nothing to you. She wants to simply practice medicine. Where are the supposed moderators?!?!? I took care of Nice Guy and now I’m taking care of you.
Danielle has many friends and I’m one of them. You blind-retard!
She’s a dangerous, delusional idiot who branded women with a hot cauterizing gun and has no business ever seeing actual patients again. She got exactly what she deserved. You need to make better friends. I don’t know what a blind-retard is, but surely you qualify as the blind retard in this thread, second only to Alanzo.
Ice-Nine is an a-hole!
“ Dave Williams was someone we tapped because of his filmmaking experience”
Williams’s filmmaking experience consisted of formerly defrauding investors for $15 million for a nonexistent movie. For which Williams was prosecuted and convicted by a jury.
Eduardo then gave Williams $500k to make a movie, despite Williams’s prior conviction being in the public record.
Real smart move.
Eduardo loses the entire $500k, which Williams spent on boat payments and other private expenses. (Surprise, surprise)
Eduardo doubles down, defending the man who just defrauded him.
This is delusional thinking.
And a perfect illustration of the thought process of people who join and stick with cults. They’re not rational people.
This is why Raniere’s followers believed, and some still believe, that Raniere was an ethical genius. That he was fucking everything in sight and lying about it made no difference. His women believed he was empowering women by branding them as his slaves, ordering them to pose naked for him, and servicing him sexually at his command. How could they believe this? They are not rational people.
So it is fruitless to look for reasons why people follow cult leaders like Manson or Raniere. Reason has nothing to do with it. There is no thought process behind it. It’s impulsive and irrational.
Which is not to say these people are insane. We all do irrational things. We are not Spock. Some of us do more irrational things than others. And a few of us do many, many irrational things. To the point where they make up the Eduardos of this world.
And this, I have concluded from the example of Nxivm, is why people join cults. It’s not that cult leaders are evil geniuses, or possess some scary mind-control technique. People join cults because some people are highly irrational. Gullible, naive, and simply stupid. It’s a very small subset of the population, these “special people” who join cults. Fortunately.
There are said to be at least 10,000 cults in the USA. Then you wonder how small this minority of people is.
Very small. Most cults do not have that many members.
Paradoxically, the smaller the cult, often the more dangerous the cult.
But yes, there will always be “followers”.
Unfortunately, a human conundrum is that those humans most qualified naturally to lead other people, do not want to be in charge.
Often, those seeking power over others are the very last people to whom one should trust with people’s lives.
Indeed. Browse the organization index here some time. There’s like two dozen entries under every letter of the alphabet. Truly astonishing how many people get sucked into high-control mind fucks.
https://culteducation.com/group.html
Eduardo has some time to fundraise for the movie. Williams should be out in a year or so with good behavior. Enough time for ERA to rally the troops and come up with another 1.5M. Maybe Salzman will chip in from her hidden funds?
I’m so confused. How are the feds responsible for someone else’s actions?
Like, that makes zero sense. And is the absolute opposite of everybody taking full personal responsibility and having agency.
This con man is another ultimate victim?
The dude violated his probation. He set up an elaborate lie about his employment. He kept money from his victims when he was supposed to pay restitution. How are the feds responsible for any of those things?
These people might actually just be insane. This criminal actually really harmed people. And he was treated very leniently. The justice system was more than fair to him and he completely took advantage of that generosity.
And before long he’ll be free again to cause more harm. He’s a repeat offender. And the whole reason he was even on the Justice systems radar is because of the wrongs that he did previously.
Ramirez said the money but came from the ranks of NXIVM who wanted their true story told. But one ex-NXer didn’t want her story told. Kristin Kook gave him a better offer — not money — she paid in “trade.” That’s why Williams is smiling.
What does Kristin Keeffe have to do with anything? She left this cult years ago.
Hey Eduardo, I’m a filmmaker too. I can make it for only $250k though. So just go ahead and wire the money and I’ll get right on that.
Get away. I already called it. Eduardo has my resume and wiring instructions.
Their idiocy is exposed so they double-down and claim it wasn’t a scam.
Oh NO! It’s the Fed’s committing fraud to cover up a brave warrior bringing NXIVM data to light.
Anticult retards who think that these guys are “deluded” or “brainwashed” or ‘out to con people’ simply don’t understand human nature.
No one keeps going through everything’s that’s been thrown at these people without a genuine belief that the truth needs to be exposed. Only that sincere conviction can provide the energy and motivation necessary to put up with the years of what these guys have had to put up with.
That these guys will never quit is evidence that they should be listened to. Everything possible has been thrown at these guys and they are still going. Why don’t you STFU and listen to what they have to say?
I say Bravo to Eduardo, and all the rest.
Keep going.
Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth. – Buddha
Alanzo
Alonzo, you sweet naive man- THEY KEEP GOING BECAUSE THEY ARE TRYING TO SAVE FACE! They can’t admit they were WRONG about Van-douche. The truth has ALREADY been uncovered and they refuse to “TAKE IN THE DATA”. Wait, what?? Is everyone lying?? All of the victims from KR’s wake? Do the math.
Didn’t you mean to type “blind retards”?
You are getting sloppy in old age, Alanzo.
“ No one keeps going through everything’s that’s been thrown at these people without a genuine belief that the truth needs to be exposed.”
True. See the January 6th rioters. They genuinely believed the election was stolen from them. But the fact is the elections were the safest in history. There was no fraud. Same with the prosecution of Raniere.
Exactly, Alanzo.
People are uncomfortable outside of their tribal village boundaries. They are afraid of the forest of truth because the path isn’t obvious.
It is refreshing to see people who are brave enought to challenge the status quo.
Remember Galileo.
“Remember Galileo.”
I remember Galileo and I’d love to drop both my balls down on [redacted]’s chin.
…And place my ‘leaning tower of pizza’ in his mouth. [Redacted] loves 🍕.
[Redacted] practices, feminine Kegel, lifts with beer kegs.
Incredible he can do a ‘Urban Kegel Drop’ with an NFL linebacker.
🏈 🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈
Bahahahahahaha, this sounds like a big fat Raniere lie to me.
Follow the money? Well, you can’t now because no charges were filed.
Where did that money go?
Some went into Williams’s pocket, but where did the rest go…. into Raniere’s pocket, possibly.
Who set the movie scam up? 2 guys at the MDC maybe?
The movie is going forward, ya sure, ya bet ya. Just like the Rule 33 motion we have had shoved up our ass for how many months, years now.
All smoke and mirrors.
Another $500,000 – gone into thin air
Grifter upon grifter, double con artists playing bad boy games.
All built on FBI tampering bed of lies once again poping its silly little head up.
Ding dong, this witch isn’t dead; yet, high ho the merry go.
So when Williams was in jail with Raniere, he buddies up with him and realizes Raniere’s followers must’ve been prime Grade-A suckers to fall for Raniere’s clumsy grift. Decides he’s gonna get himself some of that loose money.
It’s an easy scam. He takes them for a cool half million. Like candy from a baby.
At least a baby would have the good sense to cry. These dead-enders are such fools they’re on the side of Williams, the con man who took them for $500K!
Hey Eduardo, I got this bridge in Brooklyn I can sell you cheap…
Re “Hey Eduardo, I got this bridge in Brooklyn I can sell you cheap…”
What is the price? I buy …
I go on vacation for a few weeks and what do I see when I return here? An idiot who has clearly never understood a page of Artistotle playing the black vs. white simple minded blame game.
If you believe the Feds, you’ve already bought the Brooklyn Bridge and all of Manhattan!
If you could buy Manhattan from the Indians for 60 guilders 395 years ago, you can find a buyer today who will pay $20 million for the Brooklyn Bridge.
What a tard you are.
You go and blame someone for playing the “black and white game”, yet it’s the dead-ender fools like you who play such an “all-or-none” corrupt fantasy with the feds because your grifter control-artist was the dumbest “smartest and most ethical” man in the world, who got himself caught and thrown into prison because of his own egotistical coercive scam he thought he could fool others with got him caught — by the very women who he put down. The only daylight Raniere will ever see again is from the inside of a prison cell.
Ex— I love the way your entirely senseless comment includes a statement about an idiot not understanding Aristotle.
I think you left your voice of reason languishing with your self-awareness, on vacation.
Still, happy holidays— how does that black vs. white simple-minded blame game compare with say, Monopoly? Looking for something a bit fresh, a bit new for Boxing Day. Also, does it come in a family edition?
“Hey Eduardo, I got this bridge in Brooklyn I can sell you cheap…”
Yes, keep mocking the brave man with your hot poker, you witch hunter!