{"id":14447,"date":"2019-04-20T06:00:01","date_gmt":"2019-04-20T10:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=14447"},"modified":"2019-04-20T06:01:13","modified_gmt":"2019-04-20T10:01:13","slug":"nxivm-seagram-heiress-clare-bronfman-pleads-guilty-in-sex-cult-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2019\/04\/20\/nxivm-seagram-heiress-clare-bronfman-pleads-guilty-in-sex-cult-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Nxivm: Seagram heiress Clare Bronfman pleads guilty in ‘sex cult’ case"},"content":{"rendered":"

US heiress Clare Bronfman has pleaded guilty to her role in an alleged sex trafficking operation.<\/p>\n

Bronfman, the 40-year-old heir to the Seagram alcohol fortune, was accused of using more than $100m (\u00a377m) to fund the suspected sex cult Nxivm.<\/p>\n

She pleaded guilty on two counts – conspiracy to conceal and harbour illegal immigrants for financial gain, and fraudulent use of identification.<\/p>\n

She told the court in Brooklyn that she was “truly remorseful”.<\/p>\n

“I wanted to do good in the world and help people,” she added. “However, I have made mistakes.”<\/p>\n

Six people in total have been accused of being involved with Nxivm, pronounced nexium.<\/p>\n

Bronfman is the fifth to plead guilty, with just one defendant – the suspected cult leader Keith Raniere – due to go on trial next month.<\/p>\n

Bronfman will be sentenced on 25 July. She could face up to 25 years in prison, although sentencing guidelines suggest it could be up to only 27 months.<\/p>\n

What is Nxivm?<\/h2>\n

Nxivm is a group that started in 1998 as a self-help programme and says it has worked with more than 16,000 people, including Smallville actress Allison Mack, who pleaded guilty earlier this month.<\/p>\n

On its website, Nxivm describes itself as a “community guided by humanitarian principles that seek to empower people and answer important questions about what it means to be human”.<\/p>\n

Despite its tagline of “working to build a better world”, its leader, Mr Raniere, stands accused of overseeing a “slave and master” system within the group.<\/p>\n

\"Keith<\/span>
Keith Raniere, the leader of Nxivm, goes on trial next month<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

According to the group’s website, it has suspended enrolment and events because of the “extraordinary circumstances facing the company at this time”.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors allege the group mirrors a pyramid scheme, in which members paid thousands of dollars for courses to rise within its ranks.<\/p>\n

How was Clare Bronfman involved?<\/h2>\n

Bronfman, a philanthropist and former showjumper, is the daughter of the late Canadian businessman Edgar Bronfman, whose net worth was estimated to be about $2.6bn (\u00a32bn).<\/p>\n

Bronfman was on Nxivm’s executive board.<\/p>\n

The millions of dollars she was accused of giving to the group were thought to have been used to pay for fake identities and court summons against perceived enemies.<\/p>\n

Female recruits were also allegedly branded with Mr Raniere’s initials and expected to have sex with him, as part of the system.<\/p>\n

Appearing at a court in Brooklyn, Bronfman admitted knowingly harbouring a woman brought to the US on a fake work visa in order to exploit her for labour.<\/p>\n

As part of her plea, she agreed to forfeit $6m (\u00a34.6m) and not to appeal any prison sentence of 27 months or less.<\/p>\n

Mr Raniere, 58, was arrested in Mexico last year on sex trafficking charges, and is being held without bail.<\/p>\n

He has pleaded not guilty to charges against him.<\/p>\n

His defence team has argued that the alleged sexual relationships with women were consensual, and says he has denied child abuse charges against him.<\/p>\n

More on Nxivm:<\/h2>\n