DOJ’s View of NXIVM #4: Identity Theft and Unlawful Surveillance

Raniere and his co-conspirators engaged in unlawful surveillance and investigation of his and Nxivm’s perceived enemies.

The targets of these efforts included federal judges overseeing litigation in which Nxivm was a party, high-ranking
politicians, reporters who had published articles critical of Raniere or Nxivm, Nxivm’s own lawyers, legal adversaries and their families, an accountant (government witness James Loperfido) who worked for an attorney who had previously done work for Nxivm, and Edgar Bronfman Sr., the father of defendant Clare Bronfman.

On multiple occasions, Bronfman approached Stephen Herbits, a colleague of her father who testified at trial for the government, whom she believed to have political influence, in an attempt to persuade him to use his influence to help her intimidate individuals perceived to be hostile to Nxivm or Raniere.

herbits - Frank Report — Stephen Herbits testified at the trial of Keith Raniere

After the publication of an October 2003 Forbes article in which Edgar Bronfman was quoted calling Nxivm a “cult,” Raniere considered Edgar Bronfman an enemy of his and of Nxivm.

As a result, Raniere tasked Daniela with creating keylogging software in order to access and monitor Edgar Bronfman’s email account. Bronfman installed the keylogging software on her father’s computer, and Daniela was thereafter able to access and monitor Edgar Bronfman’s email account.

EdgarBronfman - Frank Report — Edgar Bronfman Raniere had Clare spy on her father by hacking his computer something which Clare was only too glad to do

For years, Daniela reported the results to Raniere. At Raniere’s direction, Daniela also created and installed keylogging software on the computer of Loperfido and Daniela’s sister Marianna.

Raniere directed Daniela to install key logging software on her sister’s computer after Raniere suspected Marianna of rekindling a relationship with an ex-boyfriend. Daniela provided Raniere with information about Loperfido and Marianna obtained using the keylogging software.

Marianna Fernandez DOS - Frank Report — Mariana Keith Raniere had her sister Daniela spy on her in case she was cheating on him something that Daniela was only too glad to do

On behalf of Nxivm, Bronfman hired several private firms, including Canaprobe and Interfor, to investigate perceived enemies of Nxivm and Raniere. Between approximately 2007 and 2009, Canaprobe sent Bronfman the results of purported “bank sweeps” for bank account and balance information belonging to Nxivm’s adversaries.

ohara r - Frank Report — Joe OHara was spied on by NXIVM but the spies they hired were so incompetent and dishonest that they provided phony bank statements to NXIVM

On March 27, 2018, a search warrant was executed on the residence of Nancy Salzman, where law enforcement agents
recovered, among other things, a large box containing what appeared to be private banking information of many individuals perceived to be Nxivm enemies, including Edgar Bronfman, Joseph O’Hara, Rick Ross… the author of the October 2003 Forbes article and prominent New York politicians and lobbyists.