Clare Bronfman pleaded guilty last year to credit card fraud and hosting illegal immigrants. (File)
New York:
Heiress to the Canadian beverage empire Seagram was sentenced to more than six years in prison by a New York court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to a cult-linked sex trafficking scandal.
The 81-month sentence imposed on Clare Bronfman, 41, was seen as particularly harsh, with prosecutors themselves only calling for five years in jail.
Bronfman pleaded guilty last year to credit card fraud and hosting illegal immigrants on behalf of the “self-help” group Nxivm, whose founder Keith Raniere was convicted in June 2019 of having kept between 15 and 20 sex slaves for years.
Prosecutors said Bronfman had spent tens of millions of dollars supporting the group, known as Nxivm – pronounced “Nexium.”
“There is no doubt that Raniere would not have been able to commit the crimes for which he was convicted if it had not been for powerful allies like Bronfman,” the prosecution said.
Her defense had hoped that she would be able to avoid a prison sentence and requested a three-year suspended sentence.
Her lawyers said that although she had pleaded guilty to credit card fraud and hosting illegal immigrants for the group, she was unaware of Raniere’s sexual abuse in a parallel group to Nxivm called DOS , which was made up of “masters”. and “slaves”.
They said she only knew about the beneficial side of the Albany, New York-based organization that purported to teach women’s empowerment classes.
Of the six people charged in the scandal that erupted in 2018, Bronfman was the first to learn his sentence.
Prosecutors have asked for life in prison for Ranière, who will discover his conviction on October 27.
Four others have pleaded guilty, including “Smallville” actress Allison Mack, who admitted two counts of racketeering in April 2019.
The dramatic story has been the subject of two screen adaptations: HBO’s recently released documentary “The Vow” and “Escaping the Nxivm Cult,” a 2019 Lisa Robinson film focused on the testimony of a mother working to save her daughter from the organization. .
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
