Nicki Clyne: What Led to My Leaving Keith Raniere; 30 Controversies to Consider

By Nicki Clyne

After sharing my recent statement, announcing I was leaving Keith Raniere, I did not have any follow-up posts planned.

However, I want to acknowledge the body of evidence I finally confronted that convinced me to leave Keith and not look back. 

Previously, I had ignored most of it or, to be more accurate, I believed Keith’s defenses and that the allegations against him were lies, fabricated by his enemies, and further distorted by Frank Parlato on this website.

While I don’t agree with everything published in it, the Frank Report was by far the most influential in the break up of NXIVM, even before the New York Times story, and the subsequent criminal prosecution. His exposure led to people leaving NXIVM and DOS almost immediately after his first story about DOS in June 2017.

I thought it would have greater personal significance to Keith, and to his remaining supporters, that I announced my departure on the Frank Report over any other publication.

I understand that many of Keith’s supporters despise and fear Frank and believe he (not Keith) is the cause of Keith’s woes, the destruction of NXIVM, and the reason some of their lives are in shambles.

I used to feel the same way.

In this post, I intend to share with those who still think Keith means well some areas of my research that led me to change my view.

Many have sacrificed years of their lives, as I did, believing Keith had noble intentions and was a victim of the government, powerful and vengeful enemies, dishonest mainstream media, scorned ex-lovers, and more.

I encourage those who have an interest to examine the subsequent 30 controversies and question whether each is a falsehood, conspiracy, or misinterpretation, as Keith alleges:

1. The fantastic claims, lies by omission, and outright embellishments found in Keith’s biography  (and this one) and public statements about himself.
2. The context of his self-administered (take-home) IQ test and his assertion that he is one of the top three problem solvers in the world.
3. The claims of statutory rape made by various accusers over decades, and Keith’s defense that all these unrelated accusers are lying.
4. The numerous allegations of intimidation, aggression, and violence from Keith’s ex-partners, as well as his refusal to let women end relationships with him amicably.
5. The story of his failed MLM company, Consumers’ Buyline, and the circumstances surrounding its collapse.
6. The circumstances surrounding his loss of over $66 million of other people’s money in the commodities market.
7. What was the purpose of his civil litigation against multiple targets, primarily those with little to no wealth, fueled by almost unlimited funding? He often spent exponentially more in legal fees than the amount of damages he sought to recover, showing that the ostensible purpose of the lawsuit – monetary damages – was not the real purpose of the litigation.
8. His use of well paid and politically-connected lawyers to convince prosecutors to investigate and indict his “enemies,” most of whom were former friends, ex-lovers, and past business associates.
9. How does one man initiate so many lawsuits and criminal complaints against people he once claimed to care for? How might this have psychologically affected the people closest to him when considering whether to stay or leave?
10. The boomerang impact of his litigation on his own companies and the people in them: Negative press starting in 2003 hindered ESP’s growth due to revelations during lawsuits he brought against multiple parties. Most of these lawsuits were unsuccessful, but exposed many unflattering details about Keith’s life through the discovery process, depositions, and at trial. Much of the most damaging disclosures became public due to his intervening in the bankruptcies of four women, all of whom prevailed, and where the amounts at issue were far lower than the legal fees. This adversely affected the main company he led because an online record developed that made recruitment increasingly difficult.
11. His lawsuit against AT&T and Microsoft, in which he claimed to have invented teleconferencing technology, and the subsequent sanctioning by a judge for lying under oath.
12. Keith’s advice to the Bronfman sisters to invest more than $26 million in a Los Angeles real estate venture, and how it collapsed because his chosen developer (a personal friend) stole millions of dollars. Note the developer was the same person who was the commodities broker who previously handled Keith’s commodities loss of tens of millions of dollars.)
13. As you examine Keith’s track record, consider whether he can be seen as an innocent victim when he initiated so many activities that led to significant failures — mostly to the detriment of others.
14. Concerning his firstborn child, Keith and others lied about the identities of the parents to the rest of the community. What honorable father denies his paternity? Not only that, he instructed the mother to deny she was the mother of her own son. Was this extraordinary parental denial based on some hard to understand ethical reason, or was it so he could maintain the lies he told other women with whom he was intimate?
15. After the mother left him, Keith refused to provide financial support to his firstborn son because he claimed the mother was crazy and a liar. Even if he didn’t want to give money directly to the financially struggling mother, he could have provided funds for the child through a trust to ensure he was properly cared for.
16. His relationship with Camila: Was his “mentorship” an act of goodwill or abusive and selfish? Even if you ignore the evidence that he began an illegal relationship with her when she was 15 (and he was 45), their adult-age relationship, as evidenced by chat, email, and text messages, shows a manipulative dynamic between the leader of a community and a young woman who lived and worked in the community, who was 30 years his junior.
17. The ethics and circumstances surrounding Daniela’s stay in her bedroom for almost two years. Even if the door was unlocked, what type of man allows a young woman to languish indoors, in a bedroom for over 22 months? Even if it had been, as Keith said, “a battle of wills” between him and Daniela, shouldn’t he have been the wiser, more humane, and mature leader and encouraged her to leave her room? As Keith has good reason to know, being confined indoors without fresh air, sunlight, and exercise harms the health of the body and mind. Daniela’s hundreds of letters to him, most of which he did not read, showed her mind was becoming increasingly unstable and her health was waning. Almost any other form of discipline or punishment would have been preferable, and likely more effective.
18. The false promises Keith made to women regarding motherhood, monogamy, and spirituality, and his harsh and deceptive tactics to prevent them from leaving when they were unhappy or discovered his lies.
19. His feigning illnesses so others would sacrifice for him and feel guilty about not prioritizing his needs. Keith told women he had everything from cancer to life-threatening heart conditions. If he was so close to death, as he often told women, how has he survived the harsh prison conditions for five years?
20. His creation of DOS and his deception about his role as the leader. Even if some aspects of DOS helped some women, his plans and the execution of those plans show extreme recklessness and poor judgment.
21. Keith’s secretive lifestyle choices brought controversy to his organization. Simultaneously, he propagated a belief system that he was infallible. The record shows his judgment was often wrong and destructive to others.
22. His claims of mystical powers and control over nature were dubious, at best. They were more likely told to manipulate and confuse followers and create a myth-like persona.
23. He demanded secrecy and monogamy from his partners while having numerous relationships, condemning most women to a lonely life, and denying many women the opportunity for motherhood.
24. Was his sexual relationship with three sisters for his welfare or theirs? He kept his relationship with the youngest a secret from the oldest and, at times, pitted one against the other. He promised Camila a child and, instead, had a child with her sister. Without listing all the sordid details, his conduct caused a 10-year plus schism in the family that exists still today.
25. Keith had sexual relationships with more than two dozen women who worked for his company. This created impossible dynamics and inequities, especially since many didn’t know about each other, and it was withheld from the rest of the company and the public.
26. He claimed to some that sex with him provided spiritual growth, and that his semen had mystical properties. He told women that having sex with another man could have fatal consequences for him. Yet, many women left him and had relations with other men, seemingly without directly impacting his health.
27. The promotion of the belief, through organizations he founded and their leadership, that questioning his teachings stemmed from personal weakness or issues, and the ensuing culture of shunning and punishment for dissent. Was this meant to enhance lives or manipulate individuals into compliance and self-doubt?
28. Since his arrest, he has shown a lack of concern for his followers’ welfare. Instead, he demands they focus intensely on his issues, and sacrifice their own well-being, finances, and reputation.
29. The high percentage of people who relocated to Albany to work with the company and pursue spiritual growth under Keith’s guidance, but ultimately became less productive, earned less, and accrued significant debt. Where was the “Executive Success”?
30. The numerous individuals who claim to have been severely harmed by him, even before his arrest and exposure by the Frank Report, the New York Times, and subsequent media coverage. While many historically significant saints or prophets have faced persecution in their time, how many have left so many disillusioned former disciples in their wake?

Individually, some of these points may not be compelling. However, when considered together and weighed against the word of a man who promotes himself as the epitome of ethics, wisdom and nobility, they create a conflict.

If you dig deeper and consider the above controversies carefully, as I did, I think you will find that the only resolution to the conflict is that Keith Raniere is not the man he claims to be.

Nicki Clyne