Source: https://artvoice.com/2018/07/25/government-files-memorandum-of-bail-flight-risks-of-defendants-gives-insight-on-view-of-case-against-new-defendants/
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 12:45:23+00:00

Document:
The US Attorney’s Office Eastern District of New York filed today a memorandum on bail for the four defendants. Even though it appears that bail has been decided already, the document is interesting because it reveals some important aspects of the government’s case against Clare Bronfman, Lauren Salzman, Nancy Salzman and Kathy Russell.
secured where appropriate, and signed by financially responsible sureties unaffiliated with Nxivm. Moreover, the defendants should all be subject to additional conditions of release including electronic monitoring for all defendants and home confinement for Clare Bronfman and Lauren Salzman.
racketeering conspiracy, among other crimes. The superseding indictment, unsealed following the defendants’ arrests, charges the defendants with racketeering conspiracy and charges Clare Bronfman with a separate count of identity theft and Lauren Salzman with separate counts of forced labor and wire fraud conspiracy.
investor visa when in fact the victim did not. Third, in Racketeering Act Ten, Bronfman is alleged to have conspired to commit identity theft. Bronfman engaged in a monthly practice of facilitating Raniere’s use of a dead person’s credit card account by arranging to pay the monthly credit card bill using the dead person’s bank account. Raniere used this credit card account as part of a scheme to avoid paying taxes by keeping his assets in the name of others.
and to have conspired to unlawfully possess a false identification document. These predicate acts arise out of a scheme by co-conspirators to smuggle an alien into the United States through Canada after the alien was denied legitimate entry into the United States. Russell drove from Albany, New York to Toronto, Canada where she met the alien and provided her with an identification card bearing the last name and birthdate of a woman who had recently died. Using the false identification, the alien was granted entry into the United States and Russell drove her to Clifton Park, New York, where many members of Nxivm including Raniere lived. Second, as alleged in in Racketeering Act Two, Russell was also part of the scheme to obtain usernames and passwords of people believed to be Nxivm’s enemies so their emails could be monitored by the Enterprise.
acts and two substantive counts. In Racketeering Act Six, Lauren Salzman is alleged to have engaged in trafficking a victim for labor and services and document servitude. These predicate acts stem from years of abuse of an illegal alien living in Clifton Park, New York who was at one time a member of Raniere’s inner circle and a sexual partner of Raniere’s, in part to extract work from her. Eventually the victim was confined to a room as punishment after she developed romantic feelings for a man who was not Raniere. The victim had only sporadic visitors, including Lauren Salzman, who were tasked with “helping” the victim heal her “ethical breach” with Raniere. The victim was told that if she left the room she would be sent to Mexico without any identification documents.
her slaves based on material lies and omissions and through extortion. Lauren Salzman was also one of the leaders of a disinformation campaign designed to disseminate lies about DOS to Nxivm members and others in order to discredit victims.
personally encouraged many students to go into debt in order to take expensive Nxivm classes or to enter into low value “exchanges” by which students would take a week-long class in exchange for teaching that same class three times. Nancy Salzman, a registered nurse, also developed purportedly therapeutic techniques called “Explorations of Meaning” (“EMs”), which were sometimes used in coercive ways to manipulate Nxivm students.
condition or combination of conditions would reasonably assure the appearance of the person as required and the safety of any other person and the community”). A finding of dangerousness must be supported by clear and convincing evidence. United States v. Ferranti, 66 F.3d 540, 542 (2d Cir. 1995); United States v. Chimurenga, 760 F.2d 400, 405 (2d Cir. 1985). A finding of risk of flight must be supported by a preponderance of the evidence. United States v. Jackson, 823 F.2d 4, 5 (2d Cir. 1987); Chimurenga, 760 F.2d at 405. In addition, a court may also order detention if there is “a serious risk that the [defendant] will … attempt to obstruct justice, or … to threaten, injure, or intimidate, a prospective witness or juror.” 18 U.S.C. § 3142(f)(2)(B); see United States v. Friedman, 837 F.2d 48 (2d Cir. 1988).
person’s “character . . . [and] financial resources”; and (4) the seriousness of the danger posed by the defendant’s release. See 18 U.S.C. § 3142(g). Evidentiary rules do not apply at detention hearings and the government is entitled to present evidence by way of proffer, among other means. See 18 U.S.C. § 3142(f)(2); see also United States v. Abuhamra, 389 F.3d 309, 320 n.7 (2d Cir. 2004) (bail hearings are typically informal affairs, not substitutes for trial or discovery); United States v. LaFontaine, 210 F.3d 125, 130-31 (2d Cir. 2000) (government entitled to proceed by proffer in detention hearings); Ferranti, 66 F.3d at 542 (same); United States v. Martir, 782 F.2d 1141, 1145 (2d Cir. 1986) (same).
thousands of dollars’ worth of clothing and shoe purchases for the mother of Raniere’s child.
Clare Bronfman is a woman of extraordinary wealth with access to significant assets in several places around the world. A defendant’s financial resources are a relevant aspect of her “history and characteristics.” 18 U.S.C. 3142(g)(3); see United States v.
Patriarca, 948 F.2d 789, 795 (1st Cir. 1991) (explaining that a district court should consider the extent of defendant’s assets and net worth before determining the amount of property to be posted as forfeiture condition).
which provided her with substantial assets with which to invest. Bronfman testified that she loaned $65 million to Raniere to trade in commodities markets, which Raniere thereafter lost and which Bronfman did not recoup. In the same deposition, Bronfman testified that she did not make a “single investment” in her “own name” and that there was “a veil [she] always wanted to maintain.” Bronfman has incorporated and registered a number of entities, in various names, in California, Virginia and Connecticut.
Monterrey, Vancouver, Israel, Fiji, Havana and Toronto. Extensive travel of this nature further evidences a risk of flight. See, e.g., United States v. Anderson, 384 F. Supp. 2d 32, 36 (D.D.C. 2005). Bronfman also has family living overseas including her mother and her sister.
Nancy Salzman also has contacts all over the world from her work with Nxivm and in the past five years she has traveled extensively including to Mexico, England, Germany and Fiji.
capable of driving long distances alone. Indeed, one of the predicate acts in which she is named involved her facilitating an illegal border crossing. Additionally all of Russell’s contacts outside of Nxivm are geographically distant, primarily in Alaska, giving her an additional incentive to flee.
documented the supposed crimes each individual committed against Raniere, and another column in the spreadsheet is titled “Priority Level,” with numbers listed beneath.
see United States v. Friedman, 837 F.2d 48, 49 (2d Cir. 1988). Bronfman’s involvement in efforts to target and silence critics of Raniere is particularly concerning in light of the broader pattern of harassment, coercion and abusive litigation that is described as one of the means and methods of the conspirators in the superseding indictment. As to Lauren Salzman, after the media began reporting on DOS, Lauren Salzman helped gather information for Bronfman about victims and potential witnesses that could be used against them.
The bonds should also signed by financially responsible sureties who are unaffiliated with Nxivm. Furthermore, all of the defendants should be on electronic monitoring because of their minimal ties to the Eastern District of New York. Other conditions of release should also be imposed including that none of the defendants should be permitted to have contact with any other current or former members of Nxivm (except blood relatives) or any affiliated organizations.

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