20/20 - True Crime Vault: NXIVM 

Episode Date: September 25, 2024

It was a company that offered so-called self-help programs. But some former members allege the leader of NXIVM, Keith Raniere, operated a secret sorority within the group; one that treated women as slaves and branded them – literally – for life.  Originally aired 12/15/17 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hi there, everybody. It's Deborah Roberts here, co-anchor of 2020. I always like to know how a story turns out, and something tells me that you as a 2020 podcast listener feel the same way. Welcome to the 2020 True Crime Vault, where we are revisiting some of the most memorable stories from our archives. We're also going to give you an update on what's happened since the story first aired. Take a listen. Coming up. It was the most inhumane, horrific way to treat anybody.

I'm not cattle. She says women were branded as initiation into a secret society. Now the focus of startling claims. Once I found out about the sex, the branding, the slave, the mom, I went nuts. And officials say part of a larger group. We take you inside NXIVM and the strange rituals former members describe. It's one gigantic hypnotic induction. I think brainwashing is a wonderful term

In terms of trying to define what happened to me Who is this charismatic, controversial life coach? A former salesman and self-proclaimed genius Is this thing alive? Is this thing thinking? Could you dumb that down just a little bit? Did Keith Raniere seduce Smallville actress Alison Mack Into doing his bidding? I actually want to cry.

It's beautiful. And did she, in turn, try to recruit other stars, going after Emma Watson? Sort of exciting, isn't it? She was reportedly looking out for fresh blood, new women. The show business links go even deeper. Dynasty's Catherine Oxenberg

trying to save her daughter from the group. I'm India Oxenberg. She's in danger. She's in grave danger. How will it all end? You got half of it right. I will see you dead or in jail. I'm John Quinones. It started in 1998.

A company offering so-called self-help programs and drawing thousands eager to learn its secrets of, in their words, inner resolve and external success. For years, NXIVM operated largely under the public radar. Then word leaked of an alleged secret sorority within the group. Some former members started speaking out publicly, and authorities started taking action. In 2017, Elizabeth Vargas met with some of those who had left NXIVM. One told of a ritual she says left her scarred, literally, for life. We are told the rendezvous was a secret. Five women summoned to a house outside Albany, New York.

Sarah Edmondson says she was one of them, willingly participating in a secret sorority. A strange initiation ritual led by a woman who told everyone to take off their clothes and put on a blindfold. Led us in blindfolded and sat us in a semicircle, buck naked, no clothes, on a sheepskin rug. Like, could you, could that be any weirder? No, it could not be any weirder. We were all, you know, my goodness, what's going on here? This is so weird. Weird doesn't begin to cover it. Sarah told authorities she thought they were there to get tattoos.

Instead, she says they found out they were all going to be branded. It sounds like a horror movie, what you're describing. It was a horror movie. It was the most inhumane, horrific way to treat anybody. What was that like? It was worse than childbirth. It was worse than childbirth. It was worse than childbirth? Yeah. It was, imagine, a hot laser

dragged across your flesh for 30 minutes without anesthetic. At this point, you're probably wondering how in the world did this happen? Sarah seems so normal. She lives in Vancouver, where she is a wife and mother with a successful film and television career. Do I know you? I don't think so. Oh, no, no. I'm forgetting so much recently, but I never forget a face. But her life changed after she crossed paths with a secretive self-help

group called NXIVM and its charismatic leader, Keith Ranieri. I'm an interesting person. I'm a controversial person. But most importantly, I'm an unconventional person. According to promotional materials, even as a child, Ranieri was destined for greatness. Speaking in full sentences at age one, reading at age two, judo champ and concert-level pianist at 13. I was told that he was one of the smartest men in the world and just an incredible man. With that, I'm going to pass the microphone over to Mr. Ranieri.

So incredible, it seems, that an ordinary name just won't do. Participants say they're taught to call Ranieri Vanguard. Vanguard. Yes. Vanguard is the name that we refer to Keith as because he is a leader of a philosophical movement. The second highest ranking member of NXIVM is a woman named Nancy Saltzman. Former members say she is known as Prefect. So Keith and Nancy, Vanguard and Prefect.

At the heart of NXIVM training is something called intensives, which former members say are like group therapy, running as long as 14 hours a day for up to 16 days. Edmondson says she attended her first in 2005 when she was 27. I left my five-day, my initial training, as if a veil had been lifted and I could see things more clearly in my life. I could communicate better with people. That sounds fantastic. Yeah, it was great. Classes are invitation only and they are not cheap.

A five-day intensive will run you $3,000. A 16-day is $7,500. In promotional videos and materials, it claims more than 16,000 people worldwide have taken NXIVM courses. Many testify to its effectiveness. I learned through the tools that there was a different way. Sarah was recruited into the group by filmmaker Mark Vicente. What was it that was so compelling to you? Just a way to break down and understand certain things in my life in a way I never had before.

Ranieri is fiercely protective of his teachings, requiring participants to sign confidentiality agreements. Everyone signed it, and if you didn't sign it, you couldn't take the curriculum. Rick Ross studies groups like NXIVM. In my opinion, it's basically copied from other sources, specifically Scientology, Ayn Rand, and Est. So there's all of that mixed together, and that becomes NXIVM. Very unoriginal. Original or not, Ranieri's teachings were good enough for Sarah and her friend Mark to spend more than a decade rising through the NXIVM ranks and becoming ever more willing to follow their leaders.

If you're told the world could be so much better if you weren't quite so screwed up, you're like, you're right. Let me get more unscrewed up. And pretty soon you're spending years unscrewing yourself. up. And pretty soon you're spending years unscrewing yourself. Sarah says she devoted 12 years to NXIVM, recruiting hundreds of new members, rising through the organization, even opening and running a center in Vancouver. Along the way, becoming best friends with Nancy Saltzman's daughter, Lauren, who was maid of honor at Sarah's wedding. She's like my therapist, and in the ranking system, she's also above me. Then, in March 2017, after all their years together in NXIVM, Sarah says Lauren approached her about a new and mysterious opportunity.

She said, I want to invite you to something that totally changed my life. It was a secret sorority for women only. Life-changing, but top secret. And the first step is making a vow of obedience to her as me being a slave and her being my master. Slave? She used the word slave? She used the word slave. Did you object? Of course, yeah. I objected every stage of the way.

And she said, it's just a metaphor. It's a guru disciple. a metaphor. It's a guru disciple. Then came the night that Sarah says she and four other women submitted one by one to being branded. And the woman on the table screamed out in pain, you know, twisted and turned and yelled. And the woman I was with holding her legs down, we looked at each other and we just wept. Why didn't you let go and run out of there even naked? other and we just wept. Why didn't you let go and run out of there even naked? It didn't seem like a choice at the time. She points to years of NXIVM training. And all the indoctrination, all the years of women are weak, women have no character. Now is the time to prove I can do it. Sarah gives another explanation for her obedience. Before she joined the secret sorority and got branded,

she says Lauren Saltzman had demanded highly compromising collateral. You need to provide something to me that I'm going to hold forever, just to confirm and to solidify that you'll never share the secret. So what did you give her? So I gave her a written confessional. She says Saltzman's demands for collateral grew more extreme. She told me to get the deed to my home, notarized in her name.

Wait a minute, wait a minute. Sorry. She told you to put the deed of your home in her name? Yes. She didn't do that, but she says she did give in to Lauren Saltzman's demands for a nude photo. So understand, when women do that, it's very difficult to say,

no, I'm not doing this, because the person has something of you with them. Instantly, all my alarm bells are going off. So why did you do it? I did it because I trusted her. And can you just stand up and point on your body, through your clothes, where the brand is? So it's right here, under my... It's right here. Yeah, right there.

Right under my underwear line. She gave us photos. In a complaint to the New York State Department of Health, she says she was told the brand was a Latin symbol, but realized it really included the letters K and R, which are also the initials of Keith Raniere. I lost it when I figured that out. You're stamped as property of somebody?

I'm not cattle. I'm not owned by Keith. Still ahead, the man called vanguard, Keith Raniere, the secrets of his attraction, and what some say can happen if you cross him. If you question Keith Raniere, the s*** hits the fan. Stay with us. On I Was Prey,

the podcast, listen to the life-or-death experiences of people who have survived animal attacks, natural disasters, and deadly parasites alike. Hear how a triathlete is attacked by a shark while training and manages to escape after being pulled underwater. And how a hiker in Alaska survives a 1,000-pound moose attack after the animal crushes her limbs. I Was Prey features audio from hit shows like This Came Out of Me, Nature's Deadliest, and Still Alive, and Monsters Inside Me. Listen to I Was Prey wherever you get your podcasts. Before he was the smooth-talking sage in a v-neck sweater on YouTube.

When you get to something that's authentic, you experience this type of creativity, this soul. Before he founded the strange and secretive group with a name like a Roman numeral, Keith Ranieri had a checkered past as an alleged schemer and rip-off artist. His first big idea was hawking memberships in an ill-fated network marketing company called Consumers Byline. His name is Keith Ranieri. His idea is called Consumers Byline. Consumers Byline may help you. This promotional video for Consumers Byline from the 1990s features the late Eddie Albert of Green Acres fame

and a painfully awkward pitchman, 31-year-old Keith Raniere. Keith, happy to see you again. Yes, happy to see you too. It's an amazing idea. Yes, well, sometimes it even amazes me. But Consumer's Byline is wonderful, and it's working. And it really was a brilliant idea. It was based on the premise of, a group collectively we can buy in bulk and

we can save a lot of money. Tony Natale knew Ranieri before he was vanguard. She even appears in this 1993 American Spotlight program lauding consumers by line. Traditional markups are between four and eight hundred percent in the cosmetic industry. Tony says she fell for Keith Ranieri's pitch which included the astounding claim that Ranieri was one of the smartest people in the cosmetic industry. Tony says she fell for Keith Raniere's pitch, which included the astounding claim that Raniere was one of the smartest people in the world. He scored one of the three highest IQs ever recorded. When you met him, did he seem like a genius? He seemed like a geek.

And I sat down and I asked him, I said, so you have a 240 IQ. Why are you doing this? Why aren't you curing cancer IQ. Why are you doing this? Why aren't you curing cancer? Why aren't you really making a difference? And he said, this is the platform that I'm going to use and I'm going to change the world. Unlike the man from Green Acres, attorneys general in several states didn't think Ranieri's idea was quite so amazing or honest. We first told you about Consumers Byline last May when the company was accused

of being an illegal pyramid scheme. Consumers Byline settled without admitting wrongdoing, but promised to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to the states. After that, the company went bust. By that time, Tony Natale says she was on her way to becoming one of Ranieri's first casualties. She had left her husband and moved to Albany with her young son to be with Keith. They were together for nearly six years until she left in 1999. She says in all-night talks, Keith drew out all of her secrets.

Here's the smartest man in the world willing to help you through your emotional issues. And the reason that you're stuck in this world and the reason that you can't move on and the the reason you can't grow, is because you haven't learned how to heal that thing inside of you. I'll help you make it all better. I'm going to help you heal sexually. I'm going to help you heal intellectually. I'm going to show you the path. Tony saw the early days of Ranieri's partnership with Nancy Saltzman, the creation of NXIVM teachings known as rational inquiry and methods that in court filings she later likened to brainwashing.

What Keith does, he elicits all that information from you. My opinion is that what they do from there is they take that information and they utilize that. Where can I not build you up but break you down? Like other empowerment groups, NXIVM has its own lingo. Students are taught about overcoming disintegrations to become more potent and less suppressive and avoiding people termed parasites or Luciferians. avoiding people termed parasites or Luciferians. According to former members, the sessions came to involve practices such as bowing and a special handshake. At NXIVM's Albany headquarters, people inside can be seen wearing sashes.

Former members say different colors denote rank. Former coach Margo Joy Leviton says anyone unwilling to go along with the rituals... To Vanguard. Thank you, Vanguard. ...would be scorned. We would just suppress them and be like, oh, they just don't get it. They just don't get it. I mean, if you step out of line, you get punished.

You know, you get a lot of, like, strong thought control, you know, leveled at you. And you get told... What does that mean, strong? It means basically like using intellect to try to out-logic you, to basically say you're the problem. This problem you're bringing us, no, no, no, you're the problem. If you question Keith Raniere, the s*** hits the fan. From filmmakers to fledgling actors,

NXIVM seems to have had a special attraction for rising stars. You can see how someone coming along and saying, I think you're special. I think you're amazing. All those doors that are slamming in your face, all those auditions you're getting rejected from, I've got the secret to make that all turn around. It can seem pretty appealing. No, you can borrow mine. Jen Kobelt is an aspiring actress in Vancouver, but when she joined NXIVM, she says her classmates treated her like a star. It was like I was a celebrity.

Like, I walked in and everyone was like, who's that girl? And they were so nice to me. She says members were encouraged to socialize with other members. Outside friends faded away. We were told things not directly, but subtly about, you know, who do you want to surround yourself with? Do you want to be surrounded by people who are, you know, just living their life? Or do you want to be surrounded by people who have an ethical mission to change the world? Nexium claims a 10-year study shows extraordinary

psychological benefits and results from its teachings. And Margo, the former coach, says Nexium changed her life in positive ways. But she also describes feeling bullied and manipulated by some of the training, which, she says, caused her psychological trauma. It feels like they got in there and they messed with my wiring or how I think or my perceptions. Coming up, claims that Keith Raniere is not just interested in the mind. With Keith, sex and his having a relationship with you is how he shares his energy. With how many people is Keith Raniere sharing his energy? Stay with us. If you go in search of NXIVM founder Keith Raniere,

you may get a glimpse of him taking one of his legendary long walks, as we did in 2012. Or you might find his followers enjoying an extended celebration of Ranieri's birthday at this resort, an annual tradition known as Vanguard Week. Wishing Vanguard a happy birthday. Because it takes a week to celebrate his birthday. People would fly in from all over the world, from Mexico, Canada, Europe, and spend 10 days, 12 days now together celebrating Keith.

Vanguard is the name and he's our conceptual leader. Keith Raniere is his name. I loved V-Week. I loved it. It was like my favorite time of year. I missed my best friend's wedding. It still makes me emotional because I thought that's more important to be a V-Week. I missed her wedding. I was so in. You were deeply in. I was deep in. Sarah Edmondson says one of Ranieri's favorite pastimes was holding court, literally on a volleyball court, at all hours of the night.

So volleyball was his passion. If there was enough people there, he might stop volleyball and do what he called a forum where people could ask questions and he would answer them. They hung on his every single word. And he'd say something and then they'd go out and think, okay, well, he said blah, blah, blah. I wonder what that means. What if it's this? And they'd spend, I don't know, weeks trying to understand that statement.

One thing Sarah Edmondson says was taught consistently was Ranieri's philosophy of women's empowerment, a theory he called genesse. One of the key principles in genesse was understanding that the main difference between men and women was that men are designed genetically to not be monogamous, spread their seed, and women genetically are designed to be monogamous.

The look on your face. And not only that, but subservient to men. Subservient. Subservient. Tony Natale says that attitude toward women certainly came through in her experience with Keith. In a federal court filing, she alleged that NXIVM was a cult presided over by Keith Ranieri and that he raped her repeatedly. Keith's need to share what he calls his energy became pretty aggressive. His energy?

With Keith, sex and him having a relationship with you is how he shares his energy. So when I no longer wanted to have relationships with him any longer, he would force, he would rape me. In their filings, NXIVM lawyers say her allegations are false. They call them scurrilous, scandalous, and slanderous. But the philosopher, some former followers say, was also a philanderer, with what amounts to a harem of women around him. Unlike allegations about other slaves,

Sarah says she did not have sex with Ranieri. I've spoken to five different women who were in the harem, and they've all said that he was kind and gentle, and it was like having a normal boyfriend, except you didn't know when you were going to see him next. And then he'd go off with another woman the next day, and that was incredibly painful and very hard. There's all these adoring women,

and they're all skinny beyond belief. They don't seem to do anything without his permission. How does he do it? Because to be honest, he looks like a schlub. Right, right. My personal belief is that it's one gigantic hypnotic induction. You're stripped away from everything, so you're isolated in the fact where, from my experience then,

that the only people around you are the people that foul his philosophies. Barbara Boucher joined Keith Raniere's self-help group almost 20 years ago. She was a financial planner. I was grossing about a million a year. My client minimum was a million and I was financially independent. In spite of her success, it was a difficult time in Barbara's life. She was in the middle of a divorce and had lost a close friend to suicide. She says Raniere's teachings really helped. It didn't hurt that Keith was paying special attention to the latest convert. Told me that he had dreams for two or three years,

and visions before I came that someone like me was coming. When they became intimate, Barbara says she thought she was Keith's one and only, but she was actually one of many. Worse than a broken heart, she says she feared Keith would leave her financially broken. Boucher alleges in court filings Raniere convinced her to invest with him, saying he had invented a mathematical formula to get rich in the commodities market. Within two months, it cleared through $1.6 million of my money. In litigation, Keith blamed his broker for the losses. Barbara says he and

others around him also tried to blame her bad karma. And it can't be Keith. He's a mathematical genius. It can't be his formula. And they're like, you know, what if your emotional issues are causing the stock market in this case to fluctuate? What if you're in a mystical, spiritual way bringing this on to yourself? I've had people killed because of my beliefs and because of their beliefs and because of things that I've said. In 2009, Barbara Boucher was one of nine women, they call themselves the NXIVM9, who confronted Keith about the running of the organization. Are you saying that you don't think that we're in a very critical state?

They recorded two days of their own intensive, in which they attempt to turn Keith' own rational inquiry method against him. Most of it has been sealed by a judge, but a short clip remains online. The effects are our company is falling apart. You don't have the experience of leadership. You don't have the experience of preserving people's lives with what you say. And the truth of the matter is, if it takes me... In a way, neither do you. Yes, I do.

The NXIVM 9, including Barbara, all quit the group shortly after that confrontation. But NXIVM is always recruiting new members. Coming up, Vanguard goes Hollywood. Why are so many young actors following the guru of Albany? Why do you think that's... So emotional for me? Yes. And one star's fight to get her daughter back.

She's in danger, in my opinion. She's in grave danger. Stay with us. Keith Ranieri may have been NXIVM's leader, but there was another member very much in the spotlight. Once again, here's Elizabeth Vargas. When I first came, I had on the surface something that seemed to be like the perfect life for a pretty good life. Allison Mack didn't need coaching to sound convincing on this NXIVM testimonial. After a decade-long run as Superman's best friend Chloe Sullivan on TV's Smallville, she's a pro.

Chloe Sullivan on TV's Smallville, she's a pro. Allison playing Chloe was essentially Superman's best friend. She loved him desperately, but was never going to get him. Well, that explains the walking magnet theory. Why didn't the doctors flag it? There are some very clear parallels that you could perhaps draw between Chloe's relationship with Clark Kent and Allison's relationship with Keith Raniere. Allison Mack was playing a young woman who is desperately devoted to a very charismatic, very powerful man. Yes, I know Allison Mack very well.

Sarah Edmondson says when Mack came to a weekend event in 2008, she quickly became the favorite of management. Why was she desirable? I believe she was another bright light, and she had a huge following and lots of fans. I think that they thought this would be another big fish to catch. Took a private plane from the West Coast and landed and came straight to volleyball

to meet everybody and she was super excited to be there and you know talked to everybody and then ended up eventually you know moving there. Moving to Albany. Yeah and I don't remember exactly when she moved but there came a point in her life when she thought that's what she's going to do she's going to just dedicate her life to to being here. No more acting? Very little Very little. Plenty of fellow actors have at least dabbled in NXIVM. Aren't you tired of waiting? There was Mac's co-star on Smallville, Kristen Kruk. Her boyfriend, actor Mark Hildreth. And Hawaii Five-0's Grace Park appeared in this video with Keith Raniere.

There's this incredible warmth, incredible type of love. Of these, however, Mac is the only one confirmed to have stayed with NXIVM long-term. That kind of leads me to my next question, which has to do with authenticity. She became so close to Vanguard, she appeared in this video conversation with him. So one would say authenticity is being as you are. His words literally moved her to tears. I don't know why. It makes me want to cry.

It's beautiful. But why do you think that's... So emotional for me? Yes. I don't know. I think because it seems like it's something that I just, I feel like I want it.

Authenticity. Sarah says she heard Allison Mack was a high-ranking member of the secret sorority, a master in fact. Those brands on the women's bodies? Edmondson says they don't just have KR for Keith Raniere, they also have AM for Allison Mack. That she fawns over him and deifies him and looks at him like he's the answer to all of life's problems. It makes me want to barf, to be honest. In 2016, Mack began tweeting at former Harry Potter star and outspoken women's advocate Emma Watson.

You! You foul, loathsome, evil little cockroach! Hermione, no! I'm mining, no! Allison repeatedly tweeted at her that she loved what Emma stands for, but that also she is a member of a human rights group, a women's movement group, that she thinks Emma would be very interested in, and to just let her know if she's free to chat. Mack tried three times to get Watson's attention on Twitter, apparently with no luck. Another lesser-known actress was more

receptive, however, to the lure of NXIVM. Hey, welcome to Teen Talk. I'm India Oxenberg. India Oxenberg joined NXIVM and the then-secret sorority. She may even have those initials branded on her body. Oxenberg's mother is a better-known actress. branded on her body. Oxenberg's mother is a better-known actress. Catherine Oxenberg is best known for her role in the 80s hit drama Dynasty. My name's Amanda. Amanda Bedford.

Later, she appeared with a very young India in this movie. I trapped him in the closet! And a reality show called I Married a Princess. But what she says is the reality of NXIVM is something she now wishes she never shared with India. Once I found out about the sex, the branding, the slave, I went nuts. Oxenberg hasn't seen her daughter in months and is both gripped with fear and wracked with guilt because she herself brought India into NXIVM. They went to an introductory session together in 2011. I just couldn't wait to get

out of there and I said to India, what do you think? And she said, this is for me and I was in shock. How old was she at that time? 19. So pretty. Pretty young, pretty impressionable. She says trouble started when India, seen here in this NXIVM video, started taking classes to become a coach. During this time, Oxenberg says her daughter burned through her entire inheritance. Largely, she believes, to pay for those classes. Once she moved to Albany, she became very secretive. A defector called me and said, you need to save India.

Oxenberg says this was the first time she heard about that secret sorority. I mean, you must have been out of your mind with worry. I did. There was a period of time, probably a week, where I thought I was going to lose my mind. But a month later, a rare opportunity to confront India when her daughter came home for a birthday celebration. How did she look to you? She looked sad. She looked tired. She says her daughter had become very thin, a characteristic of many

NXIVM women, we're told. Oxenberg says India also revealed she had not menstruated in a year. Concerned, Oxenberg tried an intervention. I said, darling, I believe you're brainwashed. And she said, I'm not brainwashed. And I said, yes, you are. And she said, no, I'm not. So it was like we didn't get anywhere. Oxenberg says her daughter denied having sex with Keith Raniere, but did admit she was branded. I said, try and convince me that this is a good thing. And she said, it's character building. And she's over 18, and so legally there's nothing I can do. Keith Raniere, vanguard, has not responded to our requests for an interview. In a letter posted on the group's website, R Ranieri says there is no merit to the allegations that we are abusing, coercing or harming individuals.

Ranieri says that secret sorority is not part of NXIVM and I am not associated with the group. The letter also says our experts say members of the sorority are thriving, healthy, happy, better off, and have not been coerced. India has not responded to our request for comment, but she posted a public rebuke on Facebook to anyone questioning her condition, saying, I'm absolutely fine. Great, actually. She's anything but fine. She's in danger, in my opinion. She's in grave danger. So grave that Oxenberg is speaking out everywhere she can. It's kind of grotesque that they would refer to it as a social club when women have been coerced into thinking that recruiting other women to be branded is a positive, empowering experience.

It's abuse and it has to be stopped. But the more she protests, the more she could be leaving herself exposed to NXIVM's most relentless counterattack. When the man known as Vanguard goes to war with his enemies, court filings allege he does it with quite a war chest, thanks in part to an empire that alcohol built. The Bronfmans, Claire and Sarah, who are the heiresses to the Seagram's liquor fortune, have been, in large respect, the bankroll for NXIVM, for its litigation. That litigation has been prolific against critics and former members, and it's been expensive. But these high society sisters are good for the cash, thanks to their late father, Edgar Bronfman, multi-billionaire Seagram's distillery chairman.

That money allowed the sisters to host the Dalai Lama's visit to Albany. And my friend, these two young ladies. As a proud Ranieri looked on. Claire Bronfman has posted this online. I've seen so much good come from both our programs and from Keith himself. But some former members might disagree. People have given up their life savings trying to defend themselves. And they're up against the millions of dollars that the Bronfmans have at their disposal.

They've been sued and restraining orders on me. I've received threats from the company. His weapon of choice is the legal system. NXIVM has claimed it sues to protect its intellectual property and reputation. Terrorism by litigation is what one adversary called it in court filings. For Boucher, the legal assault began after she left the group. I've been dragged into 14 lawsuits, and it's cost me $700,000.

Imagine 800 court filings. Just try that on for a moment. You're instantly an enemy when you leave. Instantly shunned. Instantly cut off. Instantly worthless. Garbage. A liar.

Bad person. They made every effort possible over the years to effectively silence their critics through the courts. And to a significant degree, it appears to have worked. You just want to use the litigation, in my opinion, to silence you, harass you, threaten you, and financially cripple you. Court filings allege NXIVM hired private investigators to dig dirt on opponents. Boucher was surprised to get this call from a high-level NXIVM defector describing how far they allegedly went. They ultimately went ahead and got financial information on you, on Tony, on every judge, in every case they were involved in.

Also targeted, she says, are journalists who wrote about the group and outside critics. They spent over, well over a million dollars. I never really thought that I would end up in litigation with Keith Ranieri for over 10 years. Longtime critic Rick Ross says he's helped some members leave. Then he was targeted after calling NXIVM a cult on his website. Ranieri's group sued unsuccessfully, accusing him of making false and misleading representations. He had my garbage gone through.

He actually paid for my garbage. And that's not all. Ross S.'s private banking and phone records were also dug up, all during the grueling court battles with Ranieri's group. Is there something about his personality that I'm missing when I see him on videotape? The federal court would order mediation. So I would have to sit in a room with him. What I would say is, is he charismatic? No. I think he's kind of boring. There's one word Keith Ranieri cannot handle, and that's the word no. Tony Natale told police her mailbox was illegally searched. Court filings also allege private investigators working for NXIVM harassed friends and colleagues of those they were suing.

Though NXIVM and the private investigators deny all these allegations. Now, the company may have opened a new legal front south of the border. The last thing he said to me is, I will see you dead or in jail. How would he try to get you in jail? He's trying to have myself and I know of four other people extradited to Mexico on extortion charges. They're false charges. Oxenberg says she, too, got a menacing letter from Mexico. I got a letter from a lawyer and then a state attorney general

stamped saying cease and desist or you will be imprisoned. Cease and desist what? From speaking. Coming up, will the torrent of accusations finally attract the attention of law enforcement? And if trouble does come,

how will Vanguard react? Stay with us. sea level to tell our clients that we really care about you. Home and auto insurance personalized to your needs. Weird, I don't remember saying that part. Visit Desjardins.com slash care and get insurance that's really big on care. Did I mention that we care? The fall of 2017. The heat is turning up on NXIVM and its leader, Keith Ranieri. And Ranieri, it turns out, has made a move to a warmer climate. Once again, here's Elizabeth Vargas. a warmer climate.

Once again, here's Elizabeth Vargas. In Monterrey, Mexico, a NXIVM event was held in this private home. We found that interesting because someone got a photo of a man believed to be the vanguard himself walking in Monterrey. Our producer knocked on some doors but found no trace of the NXIVM guru. Unfortunately for Ranieri, we weren't the only ones searching for him. Prosecutors in New York were on his trail as well. He evaded them for weeks, they say, by not using his phone and by sticking to encrypted email. But finally, in Puerto Vallarta, the game was up.

The man known as Vanguard busted by the federales in March 2018. His luxury hideout, according to authorities, was a $10,000-a-week villa shared with several women. If you're trying to avoid the U.S. authorities, you don't go to Mexico because you hope the Mexican government's going to protect you. You go to Mexico because you hope to get lost. Lost and found. This video of his arrest was apparently shot and shared by followers and then leaked online. And making a cameo appearance in that video was what appears to be a dazed-looking Allison Mack. Ranieri was brought back to New York to face federal charges,

including sex trafficking. We're going to begin this half hour with the leader of a secretive self-help group. Charismatic leader, acutely narcissistic, believes he's special. Federal prosecutors say Ranieri is the head of the secret sorority, and some of the women, far from being healthy or happy, were allegedly coerced into working for free or having sex with Ranieri. The basic claim is they come in, they're forced to give collateral, blackmail, where if they stray, if they don't do what he wants,

that they will then release or disclose embarrassing photos, information, or videos about these women. Ranieri is expected to be arraigned in Brooklyn. Mr. Ranieri denies these allegations, and we look forward to our day in court. Allison Mack arrested on the same sex trafficking charges for her alleged role in that secret sorority. Authorities allege Mack oversaw some of the branding ceremonies in which she told women to feel the pain and think of their master during the agonizing procedure. The actress was also indicted and released on a $5 million bond in April 2018. The claim against her is that she was effectively recruiting people,

knowing exactly what was happening, and then coercing them into having sex with Ranieri. Defense lawyers for both might argue the alleged victims gave consent. That no one was doing this against their will. That these women joined this organization, that they presumably wanted to have sex with him, that they disclosed personal information as part of a self-help group. And Mack's plea is not guilty. Still, in this interview conducted earlier, Sarah Edmondson

was sympathetic. I honestly am not angry at her anymore. I hope she finds her way. Her life has been ruined by Keith. How so? She has had a successful career. Now she's been totally drained. It happened in slow stages, and I believe that Allison's a victim as much as any of us. Outside court, Tony Natale recalled Ranieri's parting words to her years ago. I will see you dead or in jail. So he got half of it right. He saw me again and I saw him, only he's in jail. This is Deborah Roberts.

We've got some updates on the NXIVM story. In July 2018, after widening the scope of their investigation into Nexium, federal prosecutors filed racketeering charges against not only Keith Raniere and Allison Mack, but also against Nancy and Lauren Salzman, Claire Bronfman, and a Nexium bookkeeper. A second superseding indictment in March 2019 brought more charges. Nancy and Lauren Salzman both pled guilty to racketeering conspiracy. Nancy sentenced to 42 months imprisonment and ordered to pay a $150,000 fine, while her daughter Lauren received five years of probation because of her assistance to the prosecution. After pleading guilty, Smallville star Allison Mack was sentenced to three years in prison

and ordered to pay a $20,000 fine. Claire Brumpman and the NXIVM bookkeeper also took plea deals for identity theft and immigration offenses. Brumpman was sentenced to 81 months in prison. In October of 2022, she tried appealing the conviction but was denied. In November of 2022, she was able to have the label of sex offender removed from her case file. Claire Bronfman's sister, Sarah, was not charged but agreed to give up her ownership interest in Nixxiom properties in Albany. After pleading guilty to visa fraud, the NXIVM bookkeeper received two years probation

and 200 hours of community service. Rainier later went on trial, where former NXIVM members testified against him. He was found guilty on all counts and sentenced to 120 years in prison. You've been listening to the 2020 True Crime Vault. We hope you'll watch us on Friday nights at 9 on ABC for all new broadcast episodes. Thanks for listening.