Unrepentant former cult leader NXIVM On Tuesday, the organization was ordered to pay $3.5 million to 21 victims of the sex-trading program, which included surgery to remove the scars left by the branding ceremony performed by the secret sorority.
The brand that portrays Keith Raniere’s initials aims to symbolize women’s status as sex slaves to self-help masters who once had international followers. A judge in the Federal Court of Brooklyn also ordered Lanier to return the “collateral” used to blackmail and manipulate victims-nude photos and other potentially embarrassing material.
Raniere appeared in a video from an Arizona prison. He told the judge that he was confused about the compensation order.
“I have never dealt with collateral,” he said. “I don’t know anything about it.”
He added at another point: “I don’t know who the victim is.”
Lanier-referred to as the “pioneer” and “the smartest man in the world” by members of the upstate New York organization-was sentenced to 120 years in prison last year on racketeering and other charges. This is another example of his refusal to take responsibility.
“I believe I am innocent about these allegations. … Indeed, I do not regret the crimes that I believe I did not commit at all,” he said.
The 41-year-old heir to the Seagram family, Clare Bronfman, was sentenced to nearly seven years in prison in September for playing Lanier’s unwavering benefactor, and another follower, Smallville Actor Alison Mack was sentenced to three years in prison last month.
It is not clear whether Lanier is able to pay compensation, which is also aimed at paying for mental health treatment and unpaid labor. Bronfman has been paying his legal fees.
Tuesday’s hearing was interrupted towards the end, when Marc Fernich, a lawyer for Raniere, slammed U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis for not approving the delay so that Fernich could attend the funeral.
The lawyer said: “This lacks human dignity and is shameful.”
The judge said that the schedule actually gave Fernich enough time to attend, and he sat in silence for half an hour until the lawyer apologized.
© 2021 Canadian Press
