Frank Parlato
After a five-year investigation by the FBI, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of NY (Brooklyn) filed an indictment charging the founder of OneTaste, Nicole Daedone, and a former employee of the San Francisco company, Rachel Cherwitz, in a one-count indictment in April 2023.
OneTaste is a woman-owned company that teaches classes on “sexual wellness” and that there is a spiritual and not merely physical connection with “female orgasm,” which the company purports to teach both men and women.
In the US, even in Brooklyn, where no classes were taught, it is not illegal to teach these ideas. The US Attorney in Brooklyn did not charge Daedone and Cherwitz with teaching untrue philosophy.
No Forced Labor Charges
In general, the media seems to report this case as a forced labor case. But it is not. The US Attorney did not charge Daedone and Cherwitz with forced labor.
The Forced Labor Statute (18 US Code § 1589(b)) makes it illegal to force someone to work against their will through threats, physical harm, or other forms of coercion.
The US Attorney in Brooklyn charged the women with only one count: Conspiracy to Commit Forced Labor (18 US Code § 1594(b)), which makes it illegal to “conspire” (agree with another) to force someone to work against their will.
They need only plan it with someone else to be guilty of conspiracy to commit forced labor. A conspiracy is a “non-substantive” crime, usually the planning and scheming of a crime, and actions taken in furtherance of committing the “substantive” crime. A defendant does not have to force someone to labor.
Rare Charge
Research by FR shows there have been 27 cases since Congress enacted the law in 2000, where US Attorneys charged defendants with forced labor conspiracy – in effect, of planning to commit forced labor. That’s about one case per year nationwide.
In 26 of those 27 cases, the US Attorneys charged more than a single count of “conspiracy to commit forced labor.”
In 25 of the 27 cases, the indictments came with the substantive charge of forced labor. In other words, the government not only charged these 25 defendants with conspiring to commit forced labor, but also alleged the defendants pulled it off.
In one case – the prosecution of Keith Raniere – the US Attorney charged him with forced labor conspiracy, but not forced labor. However, the US Attorney charged Raniere with a raft of substantive crimes, such as sex trafficking and racketeering.
In only one of the 27 cases, the US Attorney in Brooklyn’s indictment of Daedone and Cherwitz, was forced labor conspiracy the only charge in the indictment.
That makes this case a first in American legal history. Every other time the government charged conspiracy to commit forced labor, the indictment included other crimes, like actual forced labor or related offenses.
It will not surprise many that of all the 27 cases, this indictment is not only the first time the conspiracy charge stands alone, but also the first time in the history of the conspiracy to commit forced labor law that only women were charged.
In every other case, it was either men or both men and women.
How Come No Forced Labor Charge?
The reason why there was no other charge against the women, significantly no charge of forced labor, is apparent.
After a five-year investigation that began in 2018 and ended in 2023, the FBI did not uncover sufficient evidence that Daedone and Cherwitz forced anyone to labor.
This is obvious, because if there was evidence, the US Attorney would have charged them with forced labor, instead of being the first US Attorney in the nation to charge conspiracy to commit forced labor as a stand-alone — as the only — charge in a federal indictment.
It is also obvious that because there is no charge of forced labor, but only a conspiracy to commit forced labor, there can be no victims of forced labor.
It is rare in any state or federal prosecution where prosecutors charge only the non-substantive crime without a substantive crime, which means without a victim.
Imagine such things as conspiracy to commit racketeering, where the defendants did not commit any racketeering.
Or a conspiracy to sex traffic where no one had sex; the men only planned to make women have sex.
The main reason the feds always charge a substantive crime along with forced labor conspiracy is that there is allegedly a substantive crime and alleged victims.
This is the first case where the government alleged the defendants conspired, but failed to force anyone to labor.
The Time Frame
The US Attorney in Brooklyn is Breon Peace. President Joe Biden nominated him and the US Senate confirmed his appointment on October 5, 2021.
He alleges Daedone and Cherwitz conspired to commit forced labor “in or about and between 2006 and May 2018.”
In the indictment, the US Attorney in Brooklyn does not allege this is an ongoing conspiracy. He dated its end as May 2018 – six years ago.
The alleged conspiracy began and ended without evidence of forced labor.
The indictment makes that clear. The indictment states that two women, Daedone and Cherwitz, conspired for 12 years to force people to labor. They gave up six years ago, having failed in the object of their conspiracy – having failed to force anyone to labor.
These are facts. Not opinions.
If the US Attorney in Brooklyn had the evidence to prove forced labor against these women, he would have charged them with forced labor, not just conspiracy.
After all, he is not their friend.
There is additional proof in the government’s filings.
The indictment does not name a single victim – not even a John or Jane Doe victim.
In the US Attorney’s court filings, he explained, “the instant case charges a conspiracy and not a substantive offense. The defendants could be proven guilty if they never forced any victim to do anything—so long as the evidence proves beyond a reasonable doubt that they agreed to do so.”
In Brooklyn, two women who never lived in Brooklyn stand indicted for conspiring to commit forced labor without committing forced labor.
First Amendment Issue?
On its face, the indictment gives clues that this is a morality prosecution. The charges are not suitable for a liberal place like San Francisco, where the women lived and operated the business. But a Brooklyn jury might decide differently.
Some words the prosecutor used in the indictment might arguably make intelligent jurors question whether the prosecutor just does not like what the women were teaching, and may be trampling on the First Amendment.
The indictment includes words such as “association,” “teachings,” “ideology,” and “enlightenment.” If you examine these in context, which we will do in a subsequent post, the indictment is exposed. at least in part, as an attempt at morality policing.
When you consider OneTaste did not operate in Brooklyn or the Eastern District, that Daedone never had “association,” “teachings,” or taught an “ideology” there, or suggested there was such a thing as “enlightenment” in Brooklyn, the case becomes more hazy.
As far as the record shows, Daedone may never have been inside the district until the US Attorney charged her with conspiracy and she had to appear in court.
Behind the Curtain
The secret to the Brooklyn charge is that when the US Attorney thought he had a forced labor case, he had two women who lived in Brooklyn. These two women appeared repeatedly in the media and were able to cry on cue, which is always a requirement for a female victim. Unfortunately for the prosecution, the two so-called victims in Brooklyn have been exposed as liars and worse (more on that later).
However, after spending five years on the case, how could the EDNY drop it? The EDNY is short on conviction stats. In the highly competitive world of prosecutors, conviction stats are the gateway to judgeships and promotions in the DOJ. To spend five years and come up with nothing is a hard pill to swallow.
So the US Attorney charged a conspiracy anyway, hoping the jurisdictional problem would go unchallenged.
But there are other problems with the case.
The indictment states the two women began their 12-year conspiracy “in or about and between 2006 and May 2018.”
Evidence in the public record indicates Cherwitz did not meet Daedone until 2007. One can argue that the indictment is only off by one year. But a year is not insignificant. It suggests the government has many hazy allegations that, once placed in the sunlight, won’t glitter but stink.
From Victim to Conspirator
There is another curious element.
This was an unsuccessful conspiracy. There are successful conspiracies. Some people conspire to commit crimes and do them.
Taking the indictment as true, we can conclude that the women conspired to force “OneTaste members” by subjecting them to work under the required legal elements of forced labor for 12 years and failed. Because they failed, the only option for the US Attorney was to charge conspiracy. But like a tango, to have a conspiracy, you need two.
Evidence suggests he picked Cherwitz as the conspirator only after the FBI tried to persuade her to be a victim.
Many people within the OneTaste community discussed it at the time. This occurred during the lengthy time of the investigation, when the FBI targeted Daedone, seeking a forced labor charge.
Cherwitz flatly told the FBI she was not a victim and could offer no help in their quest to charge Daedone with forced labor falsely.
They told Cherwitz she was a victim, who did not know it. But they were there to help her once she realized it.
The US Attorney, stuck without a forced labor victim, decided to shift his case and make Cherwitz the necessary second conspirator.
To show the kind of promised help the government had in mind, he authorized 20 SWAT team agents and a helicopter overhead to arrest the woman, who was a victim but did not know it, and haul her in handcuffs to a jail cell to await an arraignment and a bail hearing.
As it stands today, Mr. Breon Peace, the US Attorney in Brooklyn, charged Nicole Daedone and her alleged victim-turned-co-conspirator, Rachel Cherwitz, with conspiring for 12 years, almost exclusively in California, to force people to labor, but never pulled it off.
Sure, we know they taught objectionable things about sex and enlightenment. Bad things. Things which in Brooklyn might be very bad, though not so much in San Francisco.
But they failed.
And we all know why they failed. No one wants to say it. You conspire for 12 years to force someone to do labor, and you never succeed once. Yes. We know why they failed.
They were women.
Frank Parlato is an investigative journalist, media strategist, publisher, and legal consultant.
Please leave a comment: Your opinion is important to us!
“Rachel Cherwitz, with conspiring for 12 years, almost exclusively in California, to force people to labor, but never pulled it off.”-
Frank Parlato
Summarizes the case brilliantly
Intent and actual wrongdoing….
Is someone guilty if they did not actually break the law.
1. If I try to swindle someone out of money whether successful or not I committed a crime.
2: If I attempted to hack into someone’s email account and was unsuccessful I committed a crime.
3. If I asked someone to suck dick, over the course of 12 years, as part of their employment is a crime committee ?
(No fellatio was performed)
This case is quite conundrum….
Commonsense says One Taste did not commit a crime.
The Legal system has another interpretation of events or lack there of.
“2: If I attempted to hack into someone’s email account and was unsuccessful I committed a crime.”
Ben Myers actually accomplished this and he got no prison term!!! I guess Michelle Salzman was also side fuxking the right politicians and law enforcement ppl to save her husband Ben?
Frank I love the update on the precedence. It puts the whole case more in perspective.
What comes to mind for me now is that they aren’t actually being charged with a labor law at all. The labor charge must only be something the jury can convict them of in the event they find them guilty of the actual charge, which isn’t stated. The lack of substantive charge makes the case very hard to prove, yes, but it also makes it very hard to disprove. A jury, or judge, could therefore use the charge to punish the defendants without worrying about anyone disproving the conviction due to some sort of factual evidence. It would be very difficult for the defendants to defend themselves against the actual accusation of conspiring, because it might be impossible to prove they never conspired about anything.
So what is it then that they are actually being accused of? It could be simply the sexuality and women’s power under attack, but most jurors are probably no longer afraid of witches, nor could they claim women’s power is bad, but what people are really afraid of are cults? While religious organizations, as I understand it, are protected from being accused of being cults, us individuals, and our company’s, are not protected from such accusations. I’d be curious to know if an approach like I’m describing has been used by the federal government before.
Dear Editor at Large,
I request updates on the following:
Limp Dick Raniere
Clare(Woody Allen)
Nancy ‘Cancer’ Salzman
Catherine Oxenberg (GILF)
Anthony Nippy Ames aka Big Dong
Floridian NutJob Dieter Extraordinaire
Pedo Pam Cafritz’s Cadaver
Homeless Scott Johnson
***
Have you hunted any boar this year?
Catherine Oxenberg [Instagram]
https://www.instagram.com/catherineoxenberg/p/C6g6vE5uYpW/?hl=de&img_index=1
He’s back!!!!
https://www.alonzomartialarts.com/blog
Alonzo has reinvented himself!
You’re lucky you never challenged him to step outside. But come on Alonzo, everyone knows jiu jitsu is the rage. Jocko even wrote best selling children’s books telling them to take jiu jitsu. Poor Alonzo can’t seem to get out of his own way.
Alonzo – for the the sake of your reinvention project and your pocketbook, please consider different ways you can offer jiu jitsu classes for kids.
That can’t be him. He’s Alanzo – not Alonzo. And do you really think he moved all the way to California? What if he misses Flag and wants to swing by for a visit?
You keep saying that there was so forced labor. Not true. There is no charge of forced labor. They may have evidence, but it may not be enough to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. What does it matter that it’s never been charged against women. So what???? There could also be men cooperating….. wouldn’t shock me. As much as OT says at was all about women, there were men at the top who know everything.
Frank-
The One Taste Debacle reminds me of an old story…..
Some 30 years ago, on a sweltering summer day I was walking my dog along Grove Street in Beacon Hill. I stopped to wipe the perspiration from my brow and saw an old, feeble woman walking along the cobblestone walkway clutching a cat.
When all of a sudden
the cat sprung out of her arms and ran into the street. The cat was immediately struck and killed
by a speeding motorist.
The motorist stopped, exited his vehicle and started yelling profanity, at the demur old woman. Passers-by gathered around to see what the commotion was about. The police were called. Quite the hubbub. The offending motorist eventually offered the woman the sum of $200 dollars, which she sheepishly accepted.
Then immediately, without any provocation, the police, arrested, cuffed and threw the old woman into the squad car and drove off.
I asked the nearest onlooker if he heard what transpired. He looked at me coldly, matter-kof-factly, and after a long melodramatic pause said, “cops arrested her for selling pussy.”
Laws are open to interpretation, and subjective by nature; one person’s cat is another person’s pussy.
***
Written in the tradition of
James Thurber.
I am incredibly hurt no one read my story…:
FU all!!!!!
The descriptive words like feeble, cobblestone, sweltering, and demur gave away the fact that you weren’t the one who wrote the story. Next time, modify your copy/paste job to be on a 3rd grade reading level and we’ll take it more seriously.
NutJob-
The joke is an old one. This “story” is my take on it. I purposely chose words with an old world feel, principle the 1920s onward.
As Frank will attest I have horrible writing skills. However, if I take the time – I’m not 1/2 bad.
I enjoyed the shot of/Soma
Soma is a reference to Huxley.
***
Thanks to ShadowState1958
I read “Keep the Aspidistra Flying”
by George Orwell. It’s a RomCom MM novel with a political thread. It’s a lesser known work.
Nutjob-
The point of my rambling: I read old books so writing in that vein….
Thanks for the shot of dopamine!
Yeah, this is very clearly a morality case. When women have orgasms they start getting the idea they might be people too, with inalienable rights to pleasure and, oh god forbid, their own bodies. Women can have sex! Women can do what they want with their bodies?! We know where this leads and we know what this government thinks about women having bodily and sexual autonomy. Better shut that down immediately! Well done, Frank, thanks for exposing the fraud here.
Is this the Legendary Shivanie?
Thanks for the thorough investigation into the prosecution of theoretical crime. 20 SWAT agents and a helicopter – really? To anyone who knows Rachel or has been in her presence that is not only laughable but outrageous. We can only hope good sense and sanity prevail.
gulp
Our fiend Mr Joe Vee was a little too obvious in his sarcasm . But he has a point. Women should not be promiscuous. Whether the law should step in is another matter. I think this case is a precedent. It’s one thing to be a sex worker. It’s another to encourage women to behave like sluts. Should it be illegal? Intelligent people can disagree.
I think it should. Others may disagree. It is necessary to use the laws at our disposal to prosecute in libertine times. Brooklyn does not wind up like San Francisco. That is why US attorney in Borrklyn used the novel approach of conspiracy.
He like many of us believe women should be chaste and tis helps society and keeps men faithful to their wives. There are plenty of good reasons for that. This prosecution is a protection to men and women to help restore faithful women
You cannot have monogamy with the kind of teachings One Taste offers. That is why the media takes offense and why the US attorney is working to prevent this teachings from corrupting women.
Thought Joe Vee probably does not believe this and was being sarcastic the truth is women are running “amok”. US attorney Peace is patriotically helping to get them back on track.
I’m really disappointed the 304s didn’t reply to this comment. That’s the whole reason I come here.
I think women should not be allowed to teach about women’s orgasm. Men’s orgasm yes. But women don’t need to talk about the female. Women are borny enough as it is.
You’ll having them out running amok. Remember women are essentially a warlike creature.
Kudos to US Attorney Breon Peace. The last thing we need is horney women romping all over Brooklyn making women think it’s ok to have orgasms whenever they want.
Who died and made this Nicole woman God. Women should have orgasms when their husbands give them permission.
What’s wrong with these women. They are one step from the gutter.
Eh, give ya a 2 for sarcasm.
Thank you for reporting the facts so clearly and continuing to keep the light on this investigation that is very obviously not based on anything substantial.
I’m disappointed that the government is wasting time and money on this witch hunt.
Thank you for outlining the case so clearly. We can see from this that the case has no substance. What a waste of taxpayer money, and tragically, what a cost to two women who have dedicated their lives to making the world a better place!
Thank you for your attention on this case! As someone who actually worked with OneTaste(at times directly for Nicole) during these years, this allegation is worlds away from my experience. I cherish these women’s impact on my life and am grateful for your contribution here. Thank you Frank!
We all know sex is bad. Conspiracy to engage in bad stuff should be prosecuted. I’m surprised some of the regular commentors aren’t sharing their close calls:
Love the lists!
good sneak preview of what goes on, what you missed out on NJ –
Let the gloved up stay loved up!
That’s Theo from The Challenge!!! He actually broke the entire process down really well.
Interesting. When women stand in their sovereignty and own their choices, nobody likes it much. We are not victims to be played with. And these women are definitely not playing that game. And they’re teaching other women to do the same.
It must be a conspiracy.
Women standing up for their self-ownership and being arrested for it. Go figure. LMFAO
If this cult were about a buncha dudes dipping their stick, it’d be laughed out of court.
women stand in their sovereignty.- LOL!
Women standing up for their self-ownership.- Now that’s what I come here for.
I’ll be laughing for a few days now. TY!
Blistering review of the facts and legal evidence of the case. Grateful for your in-depth research here.
Great article!
Wow, I don’t know what else to say expect “the utter madness!”
Thank you Frank for breaking it all down very clearly. Sounds like the feds had such a shoddy case, they really wanted to double down so as not to lose face after that long investigation. Oh the perils of the ego.
Just sitting here hiking to see our legal system serve up actual Justice, and leave the rest alone. In case I ever got some reason get swept up in a legal net, I’d like to know it all makes sense! Because what’s happening here makes very little sense at all.
And to think
They have you to thank for it
Viva Frankenstein Success