Frank Parlato
Defense Fights Back Against FBI Tactics in Key Court Hearing
On July 3, 2024, Judge Diane Gujarati held a status conference in the US District Court in Brooklyn with attorneys for the government and the defense in the matter of USA v Nicole Daedone and Rachel Cherwitz. The defendants are former executives at OneTaste, the company teaching the controversial practice of Orgasmic Meditation.
At the hearing, defense attorneys Jennifer Bonjean and Duncan Levin argued for a dismissal of the indictment, which charged the two women with conspiracy to commit forced labor.
Dismissal Back on the Table
In contrast to this past May, when the defendants’ motion to dismiss was denied, Judge Gujarati put dismissal back on the table.
Levin and Bonjean presented evidence that the lead FBI case agent, Elliot McGinnis, instructed a key witness, Ayries Blanck, to delete her email account containing critical evidence from the case – including proof that she was lying to the FBI.
FBI Misconduct Allegations
The defense also raised the issue that the same FBI agent appeared in a Netflix documentary about the defendants and the company they ran, OneTaste, during the investigation.
The FBI denied this, but the film Orgasm Inc. shows a woman, Audrey Wright, calling the FBI and writing McGinnis’s name on a piece of paper while talking to him about Blanck’s allegations.
The defense also raised the issue that the government accepted a document marked ‘attorney-client privilege’ for this case from a former employee who stole it through the crime of computer trespass. The government characterized the document as something the employee possessed when he left the company. However, the document was not created umtil 18 months after he left OneTaste employment.
Privileged Document Controversy
The government admitted the document was stolen and privileged and that FBI Agent McGinnis and the former lead prosecutor for the case, Assistant US Attorney Lauren Elbert, had it for 30 months before revealing to the defense that they had it.
When challenged, the US Attorney’s office agreed it was privileged and they would not use it anymore. Former Assistant US Attorney Elbert recently left the US Attorney’s office and was replaced by Assistant US Attorney Kayla Bensing, formerly with the US Attorney’s conviction integrity unit.
Attorneys Bonjean and Levin charged the FBI and the US Attorney used the privileged document to craft the indictment. The US Attorney’s office initially denied they knew it was privileged, despite the document stating at the top of every page, “Attorney-client PRIVILEGED.”
Questionable Evidence Handling
Assistant US Attorney Gillian Kassner advanced the argument that on one of the 20 or so pages of the document, there is a question mark in pencil after the clear marking at the top, “Attorney-client PRIVILEGED,” so the government could not know if it was genuinely privileged.
The defense said the argument was unpersuasive since the one page with the question mark was deep within the document. The US Attorney is required to surrender any document marked attorney-client privilege immediately to a special unit called a “Taint Team” in the government that must determine if the document is privileged, and if it is, return it at once to the attorney without disclosing the contents to the prosecutors. The penalty for failure to do this includes dismissal of the indictment.
Protecting Attorney-Client Privilege
This strict policy of the US Department of Justice, to protect the sanctity of attorney-client privilege for all Americans as guaranteed in the US Constitution, contradicts AUSA Kassner’s argument that after reading the entire document, she found one page with a scribbled question mark.
Finally, the defendants brought up the FBI’s harsh attempts to find victims for the case, or so-called “victim-hunting.”
Victim-Hunting Allegations
Law360 recently cited one example: Alisha Price, a former OneTaste teacher, alleges in a recently filed lawsuit that FBI Special Agent McGinnis made a surprise visit to her home in Florida a decade after she left OneTaste.
In an exclusive interview with Frank Report, Price said FBI Special Agent McGinnis insisted she was a victim of Daedone. When she said she certainly wasn’t, he became insistent. He said if she continued to insist she was not a victim, he would compel her to testify before a grand jury, traveling at her own expense, from her home in Florida to Brooklyn.
Intimidation Tactics
He then handed the alleged victim Price a subpoena.
Price said McGinnis told her, “If I failed to respond to the subpoena, local authorities would come to my door, arrest me, and then I would be taken to New York under arrest to be questioned.”
Despite the allegedly coercive efforts of McGinnis to persuade her to testify as a victim, which Price said included intimidating her into speaking with two FBI victim specialists, she continued to deny she was a victim.
Personal Impact
Price said she felt compelled to hire an attorney to help her explain how she was not a victim.
“The stress and trauma from the interactions with federal agents insisting I was a victim had a significant impact on my overall mental and emotional states,” Price told Frank Report. “It impacted my relationship with friends and family and ultimately resulted in termination from my employment as a master stylist at a Florida salon.”
Price said, though she was terrified by the FBI, she refused to lie and claim she was a victim of Daedone, and the pressure from the FBI was “intense.”
Allegations Against Neil Glazer
Price also alleged the attorney she retained to represent her, Neil Glazer from Kohn Swift, was working with the US Attorney to coerce her into becoming a victim so that he could ultimately represent her in a civil lawsuit after she helped the government convict Daedone.
Price told Frank Report she filed a civil lawsuit against Glazer and his firm, Kohn Swift, and planned to file a grievance complaint against Glazer with the New York and Pennsylvania Bar Associations.
Motion to Dismiss Scheduled
At last week’s status conference, the combination of allegedly improper conduct was sufficient for Judge Gujarati to set a motion schedule to review these issues and consider a motion to dismiss.
Judge Gujarati instructed the defense to file a 25-page brief by July 17 and the US Attorney to respond by July 31. The defense can make a final reply on August 14, after which Judge Gujarati will determine whether an evidentiary hearing is required and schedule one where witnesses, such as FBI Special Agent McGinnis and others, may be called to give testimony.
Media Attention
Sensing this is a burgeoning scandal of FBI misconduct, major media representatives attended the July 3 hearing.
Afterward, at a press conference outside the Brooklyn courthouse, Cherwitz’s attorney, Duncan Levin, told reporters what he believed was the actual reason behind the case.
Referring to Daedone’s teachings that their sexuality can empower women instead of being suppressed, Levin said, “The government is trying to criminalize sex.”
Read more:
3. https://www.law360.com/articles/1855771/ex-onetaste-staffer-says-atty-forced-her-to-play-the-victim
Frank Parlato is an investigative journalist, media strategist, publisher, and legal consultant.
Please leave a comment: Your opinion is important to us!
Again, to state the obvious,
OT has manipulated and groomed people into doing things they didn’t want to do.
What Alisha’s lawyer did is horrible and I hope she gets justice.
One of those things doesn’t prove or disprove the other. Stop conflating the two.
Ayries and Alisha both have gotten paid by OneTaste Inc. and both have been ungrateful.
Which one is the fatter cow?
Saying “I would cancel it” is hardly forcing her to delete evidence. She was merely a witness. She could do whatever she wanted with the email account. There was no telling AB to do anything. This is just lame.
I think you aren’t clear on the facts. Do you understand that Ayries Blanck *herself* accused the FBI of telling her to delete the account? Its a huge deal. She is the primary person who claims to have suffered the most out of anybody. Thats why she is blaming the agent.
ayries is obv s complete psycho if you believe her about anything you are prbly just dumb as hell
Merely the witness and ‘master’mind behind most of it. Yes deleting evidence is finee
“know purpose” – case dismissed.
When the fbi cheats no one goes to jail but the defendant. Dirty agent here
“Tue, Nov 8, 2022 at 12:51 PM Elliot McGinnis
wrote: I would cancel it if it’s only bringing emails like the ones attached.”
Seriously?
Not a smoking gun!
Speaking of smoke….
What are you smoking these days?
That must be some good weed!!
Sounds like this may be coming to a swift end – “ At last week’s status conference, the combination of allegedly improper conduct was sufficient for Judge Gujarati to set a motion schedule to review these issues and consider a motion to dismiss.”
Hope so
Looks like Alisha got her job back! (with Onetaste) https://www.instagram.com/alishaprice.art.life.beauty/
How much they are paying her to stay quiet?
OneTaste is not paying me to file a lawsuit.
I filed this lawsuit because it’s important that Neil and his law firm face justice and don’t do what they did to me to other people. End of story. Everything I’ve said in the complaint is accurate. If you think anyone “made me” file the suit- you clearly have no idea of the realities of legal proceedings and how serious they are. Sit down and be quiet, you’re drunk.
*I am not in this for money. If I were, I would have taken Neil up on his offer to sue Nicole and onetaste in a civil suit*
Who ever you are “anonymous” hiding out.. keyboard warrior LOL… your comment is wildly out of touch. -Alisha
Gang
Were you groomed to do this lawsuit?
Was there coercive control exerted by the lawyers? I look forward to more stories on this
(I accidentally posted this as a comment on another post, meant to post it here.)
Off topic a bit, but relevant
Alisha-
It was something you said to me in a course many many years ago that tipped me off to the dangerous, destructive side of onetaste. To be clear, I’m NOT saying you did anything dangerous or destructive. I’m saying you said something that made me realize that OT was trying to manipulate me (via you in that instance though i don’t think you did it intentionally. I think you were being manipulated too). )
Because I recognized what was happening I was able to leave OT with only good memories and experiences.
I remember one time I got really triggered by an experience I had there and you sat with me and talked to me until I was ok again. Thank you for that. Some of the best memories in my life are from OT and I associate you with that as much as anything else.
All That being said, I feel bad for others who didn’t see the warning signs until it was too late and got harmed as a result. I really hope OT is held accountable and prevented from causing further harm. And I hope you don’t let them manipulate you too.
On the subject of your lawsuit. What your lawyer did is horrible and I hope you get justice.
Thanks for taking the time to express your support regarding the lawsuit.
I genuinely appreciate it.
Also, I must speak directly your well wishes hoping I not be “manipulated by OneTaste” This is a subtle/not so subtle projection that I was victimized. I wasn’t. It’s important because you’re using language that implies a narrative which I did not experience and will not indulge in. It’s the same narrative that Neil Glaser and Cohen Swift hoped I would participate in as a money grubbing opportunity to profit off of the federal criminal investigation. It’s not right.
Onetaste was and is a bunch of people who came together to learn, grow, share and experience life together- all parts of it both those very best, deeply cherished memories and all the messy ones too. There’s no “they” that needs to be held responsible for every minutia of everyone’s experience. We all agreed to show up fully as adults, self possessed and with personal agency, and stay connected no matter what. We sat with each other just as I did with you, when we were all deep in our erotic practice. Some parts of it were triggering of course, but Im clear that Iarrived and left exactly when I wanted to, not because I needed to escape anything dangerous or criminal.
Look. You’re just in a cult, is all. You’re back in a cult. You were in a cult before, and then you left, and then a whole ton of shit went down that you can’t speak to one way or the other (but I sure can!), and now you’re back in a cult. Who knows if it’s money or just plain ol coercive control running your shit, but you sure haven’t deconstructed. You also are in no position to speak to what did or didn’t happen to the defendants in the case, bc you weren’t there. It doesn’t mean that they didn’t happen, it simply means you were gone by then, and you don’t actually know. You could have actually healed from being in a cult, but you didn’t, and so now you’re back in a cult. Babygirl, one thing is crystal clear: you’re being played now. The sad irony is: that play is about convincing you that you were being played by the feds.
With respect, you have no clue what you’re talking about. Wishing you all the best.
That part. Also, Alisha was gone for about a year before anything that’s in the suit went down. She left like mid-way before CP5, before NYC really got rolling, before Ayries was part of OT. So I just don’t see how she’s relevant at all, in the first place.