Prosecutors revealed a decades-long pattern of grooming , sexual abuse of girls and women, physical and psychological punishments against dissenters, and hacking and vexatious litigation against enemies. On June 19, , Raniere was convicted on the top charge of racketeering and racketeering conspiracy as well as several other charges and was sentenced to years imprisonment. By , 3, people had taken part in ESP classes. NXIVM claimed its training was a trade secret , subject to non-disclosure agreements , but reportedly used a technique the organization called "rational inquiry" to facilitate personal and professional development.
Ross Institute , alleging copyright infringement for publishing excerpts of content from its manual in three critical articles commissioned by cult investigator Rick Alan Ross and posted on his website. Ross obtained the manual from former member Stephanie Franco, a co- defendant in the trial, who had signed a non-disclosure agreement not to divulge information from the manual to others.
They were especially upset by remarks made by Bronfman, who told Forbes that he believed NXIVM was a cult and that he was troubled by his daughters' "emotional and financial investment" in it. NXIVM has been described as a pyramid scheme , [ 66 ] [ 67 ] [ 68 ] [ 39 ] a sex-trafficking operation, [ 69 ] a cult, [ 70 ] [ 71 ] [ 72 ] and a sex cult.
NXIVM has been associated with several related organizations. Jness was a society aimed at women, while the Society of Protectors was aimed primarily at men. Starting with reports by Frank Parlato in June [ 80 ] and bolstered by an October article in The New York Times , [ 68 ] details began to emerge about " DOS ", a secret society of women that started in within NXIVM in which female members were allegedly called slaves, branded with the initials of Raniere and Mack, subjected to corporal punishment from their "masters", and required to provide nude photos or other potentially damaging information about themselves as "collateral".
Edmondson alleged that DOS participants were blindfolded naked, held down by Mack and three other women, and branded on the lower abdomen with a cauterizing pen by NXIVM-affiliated doctor Danielle Roberts. In March , Raniere was arrested and indicted on charges related to DOS, including sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy , and conspiracy to commit forced labor.
