Feds May Use Clare Bronfman’s $6 Million to Pay Raniere Restitution Victims

The US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York is asking for a continuance of the current stay of Keith Raniere’s appeal regarding the restitution awards until they have completed the task of trying to satisfy all the restitution awards out of the forfeited assets in the case – i.e., Clare Bronfman’s $6-million.

The judge awarded some 21 victims of Raniere a total of $3.4 million.

If the feds are able do this, it will moot Raniere’s appeal regarding the restitution awards because none of them will be paid with his money.

Here is the letter filed yesterday with Catherine O’Hagan Wolfe, Clerk of Court for the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, by Assistants US Attorney Kevin Trowel and Tanya Hajjar, on behalf of the US Attorney for the Eastern District of NY, Breon Peace.

Dear Ms. Wolfe:

The government respectfully submits this update in accordance with the Court’s September 17, 2021 order (the “Order”) holding the above-captioned case in abeyance pending the outcome of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York’s (the “Office”) request for remission or restoration by the Attorney General’s designee, the Department of
Justice’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (“MLARS”).

On December 15, 2021, the government submitted a request for remission or restoration to MLARS, pursuant to
18 U.S.C. § 1963(g), 21 U.S.C. § 853(i) and 28 C.F.R. Part 9, and the government’s request remains under consideration by MLARS.

Accordingly, the government respectfully submits that the existing stay is in the interests of the victims, the parties and judicial efficiency and should, consistent with the Order, be continued for 30 days, until March 18, 2022, at which time the government will provide a further update to the Court.

Footnote 1″ As set forth in the Motion, the decision to grant remission or restoration lies within the sole and exclusive discretion of the Attorney General and his designees at MLARS.

***

This is good news, for when there is a will, there is a way. With the civil suit potentially on shaky grounds, restitution to some of the victims may be all they will ever see. Should the judge find that the Bronfman sisters cannot be held to pay for DOS victims – [since they were not in DOS] and dismiss the civil claims against them – and since no other defendant in the civil case has any money – this might be spell doom for the civil lawsuit.

The saving grace for some victims could be the Bronfman $6 million.

Then they will wind up with something more than Raniere’s current $260 per month restitution payment.

It could be a life saver for Neil Glazer, their lawyer, also. He spent years bringing a civil lawsuit to fruition. In order to bolster the civil suit, as he gathered plaintiffs for it, he worked with the DOJ to provide witnesses who testified and, ultimately, buried Raniere – who wound up being sentenced to 120 years.

Glazer represents many victims – and will be paid. The restitution order speaks for itself, and the attorney’s fees awarded to certain victims are the only fees his firm sought and the only fees they will be paid for their work representing witnesses in the criminal case.

If this seems unfair for Glazer to earn any fees for restitution for victims of the criminal case, keep in mind that if it hadn’t been for Glazer, there might not have been any restitution at all. There might not even have been a case against Raniere.

Glazer brought the victims of Raniere – some greater, some lesser – together. He organized and, in some ways, controlled them. If that is too harsh a term – then he managed them, kept them together, inspired them.

Keep in mind he represented four crucial witnesses at the criminal trial of Raniere: Nicole, Jessica Joan, Daniela, and Mark Vicente.

He represented others who did not testify, who aided the prosecution, such as India Oxenberg, Sarah Edmondson, and numerous other DOS slaves.

Attorneys do not work for free. Glazer put in thousands of hours on the criminal case, representing victims, protecting some of them with agreements of immunity. He worked on the civil case on speculation – getting a percentage of any ultimate awards, but only if there were awards. His law firm, Kohn Swift and Graf fronted the expenses – of which there were many and by which now must be more than $1 million.

Yes, that’s right, but for someone investing $1 million or more to hire this bloodhound Glazer, who gathered, assiduously, all the plaintiffs together and kept them together – [just try managing 80 ex-NXIVM members someday] there would have been nothing more than Moira Penza shouting to the wind that Raniere is a bad guy.

Neil Glazer brought down Keith Raniere. He is the unsung hero of the NXIVM saga.

If I showed you all the early emails between him and I – emails sent and received while Raniere was at large – before there was a Moira Penza even interested in the case, emails which show Glazer methodically planning the takedown of Raniere, with unerring calculus, and side by side, his plan to make the Bronfman sisters pay for funding the monster, you would see this man is not only a superb lawyer but a master strategist.

Beware all those who cross him. [That means you, Suneel and Michele, and others.]

***

Now a happy day is likely to occur.

Judge Nicholas Garaufis’ restitution order lays out who gets what.

Here is his list of victims and how much they will get – if the feds figure out how to tap into that lovely Bronfman $6 million.

Nicole: $412,779.18

Nicole was a victim of a sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy and forced labor conspiracy in connection with her membership in DOS.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Jessica Joan AKA Jay: $116,568

Jay was a victim of a sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy and forced labor conspiracy.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Audrey: $142,017.96

Jane Doe 6 was a victim of forced labor conspiracy in connection with her membership in DOS.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sylvie: $25,809.78

Sylvie was a victim of covered sex trafficking conspiracy and forced labor conspiracy offenses in connection with her membership in DOS.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

India Oxenberg: $298,476.65

India was a victim of sex trafficking conspiracy and forced labor conspiracy and entitled to

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sarah Edmondson: $27,408.35

Sarah was a victim of forced labor conspiracy.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Amanda: $257,617.51

Amanda, [who is an attorney] was a victim of forced labor conspiracy.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Souki: $244,680.03

Souki was a victim of forced labor conspiracy and sex trafficking conspiracy.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Valerie: $241,247.50

Valerie was a victim of forced labor conspiracy.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Pam A.: $172,354.18

Pam was a victim of forced labor conspiracy.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Jane Doe 14: $53,286.69

Jane Doe 14 [a well-known Mexican actress] was a victim of forced labor conspiracy.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Erika $59,720.25

Aa victim of forced labor conspiracy.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Allison W. [Not Allison Mack]: $44,215.20.

Victim of forced labor conspiracy.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Paloma: $71,320.45

Forced labor conspiracy.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Jane Doe 35: $127,504.98

Forced labor conspiracy.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Kristin T.  $94,215

[Not Kristin Keeffe or Kristin Kreuk] a victim of forced labor conspiracy.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Rachel: $49,748.10

Rachel was a victim of forced labor conspiracy.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Camila: $507,997.45

Camila: The court found that Camila was a victim of Raniere’s racketeering and racketeering conspiracy offenses, because she is the victim of the predicate racketeering acts relating to child pornography.

The judge wrote, “Camila’s sworn affidavit describes how, when she was an underage girl, the Defendant induced her to submit to pornographic photography sessions by initiating and maintaining an extended sexual relationship with her. Her account corroborates evidence that was presented at trial, which made clear that Mr. Raniere’s commission of child pornography offenses occurred in the context of a sexual relationship that began when Camila was 15 years old. Her affidavit describes the physical pain, and subsequent bleeding, that she experienced during one of their initial sexual encounters. In light of the fact that she was a minor, the court finds that her experience of physical pain occasioned by unlawful sexual intercourse constitutes a ‘bodily injury’ within the meaning of the MVRA [Mandatory Victim Restitution Act]. Accordingly, Camila is statutorily entitled to recover the cost of past and future mental health care
proximately caused by the Defendant’s conduct.

“Camila also seeks nearly $100,000 in restitution for uncompensated work that she performed for organizations and events related to Nxivm, over a period spanning 2011 to 2017. In its May 21 decision, the court found as a general matter that uncompensated labor that was not directly related to a victim’s membership in DOS was beyond the scope of compensable losses under the MVRA. However, the court finds that in the case of Camila, there is a clear causal link between the offense of conviction and the victim’s performance of unpaid work. Camila’s sworn affidavit powerfully describes how Mr. Raniere’s sexual exploitation of her, from the time she was 15 years old, made her completely dependent on him, submissive to his whims and directions, and unable to form the independent judgment necessary to take ownership over her choices and time. The court therefore finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the offense of conviction was a proximate cause of Camila’s performance of unpaid work as a young adult in a continuing relationship with the predator who had abused her since her childhood.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Daniela: $249,200

Daniela is a victim of Raniere’s racketeering and racketeering conspiracy, because she is the victim of the predicate racketeering act relating to document servitude and trafficking for labor and services.

The judge wrote, “While the Defendant kept Daniela confined to a room for almost two years, she repeatedly requested medical care for a toothache. The Defendant denied her requests for six weeks, and relented only after part of her tooth eventually broke off.  On that basis, court finds that Mr. Raniere’s neglect and deprivation of medical care, which was one component of his document servitude of Daniela, caused her bodily injury within the meaning of the MVRA. Accordingly, Daniela is statutorily entitled to recover the cost of past and future
mental health care proximately caused by the Defendant’s conduct.

“Daniela is also entitled to recover for unpaid work that she performed in connection with the defendant’s trafficking of her for labor and services. Like lower-ranking members of DOS, she was expected to be ‘on call’ around the clock and to immediately perform any work assignments that were given to her. Accordingly, the Government reasonably approximates the value of her labor at $26.51 per hour, the mean hourly wage of an executive administrative assistant. The prosecution estimates that she performed 80 weekly hours of unpaid labor during the period of her confinement. On that basis, they estimate the value of her labor at $121,650. The court finds this figure to be a reasonable approximation of the Daniela’s losses for uncompensated labor.

“Accordingly, I find that Daniela is entitled to $121,650 for uncompensated labor and services. I also find that she is entitled to $127,600 for future mental health care. In total, I order that the Defendant pay $249,200.00 in restitution to Daniela.”

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

James Loperfido: $5,625

James Loperfido is a victim of Raniere’s racketeering and racketeering conspiracy offenses, because he is the victim of a predicate racketeering act relating to identity theft.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sutton Family: $250,000

The judge wrote, “The court finds that Stephanie Franco and the estates of Morris and Rochelle Sutton, referred to here as the Sutton Family, are victims, within the meaning of the MVRA, of Mr. Raniere’s racketeering and racketeering conspiracy offenses, because they are victims of the predicate racketeering act relating to a conspiracy to alter records for use in an official proceeding.

“The Sutton Family seeks over $2.8 million in restitution for the legal expenses they incurred fighting litigation brought by Mr. Raniere over the course of fifteen years: litigation in which Nxivm, at Mr. Raniere’s direction, fraudulently altered evidence.

The Government recommends that the court award them $250,000 for losses directly attributable to the unlawful alteration of evidence. This encompasses legal fees that the Sutton Family paid for their lawyers to review the altered videotapes, as well as legal fees for their lawyers’ preparation and filing of three summary judgment motions that concerned factual disputes that the unaltered videotapes would have resolved, according to the Sutton Family’s counsel.

“The court finds this to be a reasonable approximation of the losses caused to the Sutton Family by Raniere’s alteration of evidence.

“Accordingly, I order that the Defendant pay $250,000 in restitution to the Sutton Family.”

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Conclusion

The judge concluded: “In total, I direct Mr. Raniere to pay restitution under the TVPA in the amount of $2,447,513.61, and to pay restitution under the MVRA in the amount of $1,012,822.45. In addition to this monetary restitution of approximately $3.46 million, I order Mr. Raniere under the MVRA to return to former DOS members all original and duplicate copies of their collateral – and, while such obligation is stayed, to preserve any original or duplicate copies of collateral that are within his dominion or control. I find that this is the mandatory restitution that Mr. Raniere owes under the relevant statutes.

Frank Report had previously written in our post Details; Breakdown of Restitution of 21 Victims of Raniere — but Will They Ever Get Paid? “There is, however, $6 million that Clare Bronfman put up in lieu of forfeiting any of her other assets – and that money may be available for restitution. We will follow this matter more fully to see if anyone gets paid and, if they do, how soon that occurs.”

So, it would be perfectly normal for Clare Bronfman to pay Raniere’s legal obligations. She had been doing that for years and it’s one of the reasons why she currently sits in prison.

Things are looking up for the victims.

Viva Executive Success!

Frank Parlato