Clare Bronfman, a daughter of late enterprise mogul Edgar Bronfman Sr. and heiress to the Seagrams liquor fortune, was accused of financing what turned out to be unlawful conduct after assembly Raniere in 2002 and changing into, first, a NXIVM acolyte, and finally a board member, in addition to Raniere’s benefactor and authorized advocate who allegedly financed lawsuits on his behalf in opposition to perceived enemies.
In 2003, Bronfman’s father estimated to Forbes that she had loaned NXIVM $2 million, which she denied on the time. “I believe it is a cult,” stated Bronfman Sr., who died in 2013.
On April 19, 2019, Bronfman pleaded responsible to conspiring to hide and harbor an undocumented immigrant for monetary acquire, and fraudulent use of identification for serving to Raniere use a deceased particular person’s bank card. A part of her sentence referred to as for her to forfeit $6 million.
“I’m really remorseful,” Bronfman advised U.S. District Courtroom Decide Nicholas G. Garaufis. “I endeavored to do good on this planet and assist individuals—nevertheless, I’ve made errors.”
She was sentenced on Sept. 30, 2020, to 81 months in jail. Explaining the hefty penalty, Garaufis said that he was “troubled by proof suggesting that Ms. Bronfman repeatedly and persistently leveraged her wealth and social standing as a way of intimidating, controlling and punishing” individuals who had left NXIVM or had been perceived to be its adversaries.
Bronfman was launched from jail right into a midway home in Might 2024, per the Albany Occasions-Union.
