Keith Raniere

Keith Allen Raniere, also known as Vanguard, is an American convicted felon and the founder of NXIVM, a multi-level marketing organization based near Albany, New York. Between 1998 and 2018, NXIVM developed a following primarily through its personal development seminars, recruiting several celebrities and socialites. However, the organization also faced multiple accusations of systemic sexual abuse of female members by Raniere and members of his inner circle, leading to the arrests of Raniere and other NXIVM members in early 2018. Raniere has subsequently been characterized in media reports as a cult leader. On June 19, 2019, Raniere was convicted of federal crimes including sex trafficking, conspiracy, and conspiracy to commit forced labor, all related to a secret society within NXIVM known as DOS, or The Vow. Raniere is scheduled to be sentenced early 2020. He faces a mandatory minimum prison term of fifteen years and a possible life sentence. Early life and career- Early life and education: Keith Raniere was born on August 26, 1960, to James Raniere, a New York City advertiser, and his wife Vera, a ballroom dancing instructor. Raniere's father recalls that Vera "drank more than she should have,” and in adulthood, Keith himself privately described his mother as an alcoholic. When Raniere was five, he and his family relocated from Brooklyn to Suffern, New York. When he was around eight years old, his parents separated. From the late 1960s to the early 1970s, Raniere attended a Waldorf school, before leaving for a public junior high school. One classmate recalled an incident in which she had unwittingly shared "compromising" information about one of her sisters in front of Raniere, then aged around 10. According to her recollection, Raniere had told her: "You know, it’s like I have this little bottle of poison I can hold over your head. I just don’t think your parents or your sister would be very happy if I told them." She claims Raniere "would call me sometimes and say, 'Little bottles, little bottles.'" Raniere attended Rockland Country Day School in Suffern; he graduated in June 1978, two months prior to his eighteenth birthday. As an adult, Raniere reported that he read Isaac Asimov's mind control-themed work Second Foundation at age 12 and credited the novel with inspiring his work in NXIVM. Raniere's former partner, Barbara Bouchey, has shared stories about his childhood which she claimed to have been told by his father, James: "What we did is we told Keith about how gifted and how intelligent he was. And he said it was almost like a switch went off. And suddenly overnight he turned into like Jesus Christ. And that he was superior and better than everybody like he was a deity. He said it was that dramatic and that profound he said it went right to his head." Bouchey herself likewise recalled a story about a 13-year-old Raniere's relationships with girls: "dozens of young girls were calling the house and Raniere's mother was overhearing his conversations with them where he was telling every single girl the same thing: I love you. You're the special one. You’re important. You are the only one in my life and I love you.’ And she says, he's saying this to all these girls. He's clearly lying ‘cause all of them are not special!" In 1982, Raniere graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) with a 2.26 GPA. Early adulthood: According to reporting by the Times Union, in 1984, the 24-year-old Raniere became sexually involved with 15-year-old Gina Melita after the two met in a theater group. After ending their relationship, Melita introduced him to her friend Gina Hutchinson, also 15. Gina Hutchinson's sister Heidi told the Times Union that Raniere became sexually involved with Gina. After Heidi found Raniere climbing into Gina's bedroom window and confronted them, Raniere told her that Gina was a "Buddhist goddess meant to be with him." Gina dropped out of school and continued her relationship with Raniere, working at his company Consumers' Buyline for a time; she later died by suicide. In June 1988, the Times Union profiled Raniere, reporting on his membership in the Mega Society after he achieved a high score on founder Ronald K. Hoeflin's MEGA test, an unsupervised, 48-question test published in the April 1985 issue of Omni magazine. Although the MEGA test has been widely criticized as not having been properly validated, the 1989 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records (the last to include a category for Highest IQ) described the Hoeflin Research Group as "the most exclusive ultrahigh IQ society," and identified Raniere, Marilyn vos Savant, and Eric Hart as the highest-scoring members of the group. Multi-level marketing career: Through the 1980s, Raniere was involved with Amway, the multi-level marketing company. Heidi Hutchinson recalled that during the late '80s, Raniere was fascinated by Amway, Scientology, and neuro-linguistic programming. Raniere also worked as a computer programmer for New York State's Division of Parole. By 1990, Raniere founded his own multi-level marketing company, Consumers' Buyline Inc. (CBI). It was at a CBI pitch meeting that Raniere met Toni Natalie, who subsequently became a top sellers for the organization along with her then-husband. Natalie and her son later moved to Clifton Park to be near Raniere; her marriage ended shortly thereafter. Natalie and Raniere dated for the next eight years. CBI shut down in 1993 after being investigated by twenty states; that year, New York filed a lawsuit alleging the organization was a pyramid scheme. In 1996, Raniere signed a consent order permanently barring him from "promoting, offering or granting participation in a chain distribution scheme" and ordering him to pay a $40,000 fine. In 1994, Raniere created "National Health Network,” a multi-level seller of vitamins. That business failed in 1999. In the mid-90s, Raniere and partner Toni Natalie operated a health-products store. Executive Success Programs and NXIVM: In 1998, Keith Raniere's then-partner Toni Natalie met Nancy Salzman, a nurse and trained practitioner of hypnotism and neuro-linguistic programming. Natalie recalled: Nancy said, “You're so wonderful, how can I help you?” So I said, “Well, you can help me with my boyfriend.” He had grandiose ideas and his hours were becoming erratic again... She listened and she said “Oh that's easy, I can help you. He's a sociopath...” They met and four days later she came out with the glazed eyes and gave me the, “You don't know who he is,” and I was like, “Wow, there goes another one.” Also in 1998, Raniere met Christine Marie Melanakos, a recently divorced mother who had won the title of "Mrs. Michigan 1995.” She recalled that Raniere "explained how there was a profound event that would often happen to the women who became intimate with him, sometimes they would even see a blue light... Ultimately I agreed to be intimate with Keith, and it was just as he said. I even saw a blue light, but I don't think I told him so. I remember thinking, 'Wow, my brain is really susceptible to the power of suggestion.'" Raniere and Salzman founded Executive Success Programs, a personal development company offering a range of techniques aimed at self-improvement. A few years later, the program was rebranded under the name "NXIVM.” Raniere "adopted the title 'Vanguard' from a favorite arcade game in which the destruction of one's enemies increased one's own power." Much of NXIVM was influenced by the teachings of Ayn Rand, one of Raniere's favourite authors. In 1999, Raniere's eight-year relationship with Toni Natalie ended. Natalie would subsequently claim to have been the victim of harassment. In a January 2003 ruling, federal judge Robert Littlefield implied Raniere was using a legal suit to harass his former partner. Wrote Littlefield: "This matter smacks of a jilted fellow's attempt at revenge or retaliation against his former girlfriend, with many attempts at tripping her up along the way.” In 2002, Raneire and Salzman succeeded in recruiting members of the influential Bronfman family, heirs to the billion-dollar Seagram's fortune. Sara Bronfman initially became involved, followed by sister Clare Bronfman. Their father, Edgar Bronfman Sr., took a NXIVM course the following year. Death of Gina Hutchinson and Disappearance of Kristin Snyder: Gina Hutchinson had been sexually involved with adult Raniere from 1984, when she was 15 years of age. In August 2002, Gina resumed contact with Raniere and began participating in NXIVM/ESP, according to her surviving sister, Heidi. On October 11, 2002, Gina Hutchinson was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head; her death was ruled a suicide. Kristin Marie Snyder was a 35-year-old environmental consultant who, in November 2002, paid $7,000 to enroll in a 16-day personal development course conducted in Anchorage, Alaska by ESP/NXIVM leader Nancy Salzman. The following January, Snyder traveled to visit Raniere, and other leaders, in New York. Snyder's mother recalled that her daughter "had come to believe she was responsible for the Columbia shuttle disaster" and "thought Keith was incredible." Snyder, accompanied by her partner Heidi Clifford, signed up for a second 16-day session in Anchorage. Clifford later reported that on the tenth day of the course, Snyder began making suicide threats. Clifford recalled: "I was told (by a NXIVM instructor) not to bring her to the hospital. That's what makes me feel really bad.” On February 6, 2003, Snyder was last seen leaving the NXIVM seminar. Two days later, police recovered a note that read as follows: "I attended a course called Executive Success Programs … based out of Anchorage, AK, and Albany, NY. I was brainwashed and my emotional center of the brain was killed/turned off. I still have feeling in my external skin, but my internal organs are rotting... I am sorry life, I didn’t know I was already dead. May we persist into the future.” A separate page added: "No need to search for my body.” A witness at Raniere's 2019 trial testified that after Kristin Snyder disappeared, Raniere paid $24,000 to obtain the password to her email account. 2003 Forbes exposé: In October 2003, Raniere was featured, cloaked in shadows, on the cover of Forbes magazine, accompanied by the appellation "The World's Strangest Executive Coach." The "devastating" cover story, penned by Michael Freedman and entitled "Cult of Personality," has been described as "a gold mine of previously unpublished information". The cover story discussed Raniere's title "Vanguard" and detailed his business Consumers' Buyline, which collapsed amid accusations of being a "pyramid scheme." The cover story included a quote from billionaire Edgar Bronfman accusing the organization of being a cult. Vanity Fair subsequently reported on the cover story's impact within the group: "People at NXIVM were stunned. Expecting a positive story, the top ranks had spoken to Forbes, including Raniere, Salzman, and Sara Bronfman. What upset them above all were Edgar Bronfman’s remarks." According to Vanity Fair, the Forbes article was a turning point in Raniere's relationship with Edgar Bronfman: "'That,' says one woman, 'was when Edgar Bronfman became NXIVM’s enemy.'" A witness at Raniere's trial later testified that Edgar Bronfman's computer was compromised and his emails monitored by group members for a period of years. 2005 relationship with minor Camila: According to 2019 trial testimony, in 2005, Raniere allegedly commenced a sexual relationship with a 15-year old named Camila. Commodities trades: Barbara Bouchey spent $1.6 million covering losses of commodities trades which Raniere made in her name. From January 2005 until late 2007, Raniere lost nearly $70 million in commodities trading. Raniere suggested to Clare Bronfman that the losses were due to market manipulation by her father. Beginning in August 2005, the Bronfman sisters covered the losses, ultimately using $150 million of their funds in support of Raniere and his organization. Collaborations with the Dalai Lama: Eager to distance themselves from “cult” allegations in the press, NXIVM members sought the endorsement of the Dalai Lama, spending $2 million on the project. Eight years later, it would be revealed Sara Bronfman had a 2009 sexual relationship with Lama Tenzin Dhonden, the Dalai Lama's gatekeeper who arranged the appearance, who as a monk had taken a vow of his celibacy. Amid accusations of corruption, Dhonden was replaced. On May 6, 2009, the Dalai Lama traveled to Albany to give a talk; during the event, he presented Raniere with a white scarf onstage. The Dalai Lama additionally wrote the foreword to the book The Sphinx and Thelxiepeia, which Raniere co-authored in 2009. The prior year, Raniere had co-authored his first book, Odin and The Sphinx. Mass resignations and public allegations: In 2009, a group of Raniere's associates (called the "NXIVM Nine") broke with Raniere and his organization, citing "concerns about unethical practices and the alleged abuse of his leadership status to sexually manipulate women in the organization." One of the dissenters, Barbara Bouchey, had been Raniere's partner for nine years. In March 2010, Raniere learned that inner-circle member Daniela had kissed another man. According to 2019 trial testimony, upon hearing the news, Raniere locked himself in a bathroom. Thereafter, he ordered that Daniela be confined to her room for over two years. In November 2010, Vanity Fair published an article entitled "The Heiresses and the Cult," in which Raniere's former partner Toni Natalie recalled that Raniere "had insisted she keep the body of her dead puppy in her garage freezer and look at it daily." That same month, The New York Post reported on the existence of a video in which Raniere is heard telling two followers: "I’ve had people killed because of my beliefs—or because of their beliefs." In a 2010 Times Union article, NXIVM former coaches characterized students as "prey" for Raniere to satisfy either his gambling or sexual proclivities. In 2011, Toni Natalie filed documents in federal court alleging that she had been repeatedly raped by Raniere. Departure of Kristin Keeffe: Kristin Keeffe was a longtime partner of Raniere and mother of his son Gaelyn. The child, born circa 2007, had earlier been reported to be an orphan adopted by Raniere and Keeffe, rather than their biological child. In 2010, it was reported that Raniere had ordered that the child be kept away from peers and that he was being cared for by nannies speaking five different languages. In February 2014, Keeffe broke with Raniere and his group. After she fled the region with her son, an email bearing her name explained: "I have full sole legal custody of Gaelyn. Keith was experimenting on him. I had to get Gaelyn away." Keeffe publicly described Raniere as "dangerous." In 2015, it was reported that Keeffe had alleged that Raniere directed Canadian investigative firm Canaprobe to obtain financial information on six federal judges, a US senator from the State of New York, as well as a reporter, an editor, and the publisher of the Times Union. That same year, Keeffe further alleged that Raniere had planned to lure his critics to Mexico with an invitation to an anti-cult conference; once in Mexico, the critics were to be arrested on false charges by order of a judge who had been bribed. Patent infringement litigation: In 2015, Raniere personally sued AT&T and Microsoft, alleging they had infringed on his patents. The following year, the case was dismissed with prejudice. The trial court ruled that Raniere's "conduct throughout this litigation, culminating in his untruthful testimony at the hearing on the motion to dismiss, demonstrates a pattern of obfuscation and bad faith." Raniere was sanctioned and ordered to pay $450,000 in attorneys fees. Allegations of sex slavery, branding: On June 5, 2017, Frank Parlato was the first to report that there was a secret sorority called DOS and the women known as "slaves" were branded with Keith Raniere's initials, using a hot cauterizing pen. On October 18, 2017, The New York Times published a story about the slaves and branding, and reported that the slaves were required to provide nude photos or other potentially damaging information about themselves if they wished to join. At trial, the prosecution introduced a 2016 recording of a private meeting with DOS "slaves" in which Raniere acknowledged that "the branded monogram as it is right now is very directly related to my initials." The group discussed how to obscure the connection to Raniere's initials. At Raniere's trial, DOS member "Nicole" recalled that when she and Raniere discussed her decision to leave the group, he said: "You guys think you have it so bad, but this is nothing compared to other subcultures." In the wake of the article, Raniere fled to Mexico, accompanied by a few members of his inner circle. Arrest, trial and conviction: On January 18, 2018, a search warrant was issued for Raniere's email account. On February 14, an agent of the FBI filed a criminal complaint against Raniere with the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York. In March 2018, Raniere was arrested by Mexican authorities in a luxury villa outside Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Lauren Salzman later recalled that the arrest interfered with a planned group sex session; when police arrived, she and Raniere barricaded themselves in the master suite, with Raniere attempting to hide in a walk-in closet. Raniere was indicted on a variety of charges related to DOS, including sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy, and conspiracy to commit forced labor. The indictment alleged that at least one woman was coerced into sex with Raniere, who forced DOS members to undergo the branding ritual alleged by Edmondson and others. United States Attorney Richard Donoghue stated that Raniere "created a secret society of women with whom he had sex and had branded with his initials, coercing them with the threat of releasing their highly personal information and taking their assets." -Raniere's federal trial began on May 7, 2019. Prosecution witnesses included Lauren Salzman, NXIVM film-maker Mark Vicente; victims "Sylvia," "Daniela," and "Nicole"; and cult educator Rick Alan Ross. The defense rested without calling any witnesses. -On June 19, 2019, the jury found Raniere guilty on all charges after five hours of deliberation. Raniere was found guilty of: -Sexual exploitation of a child and possession of child pornography with regard to minor victim "Camila"; -Sex trafficking of Nicole, attempted sex trafficking of Jay; -Identity theft against Edgar Bronfman, James Loperfido, Ashana Chenoa, "Marianna", and Pam Cafritz; -Trafficking for labor and services of "Daniela"; forced labor of "Nicole"; -Conspiracy to alter records for use in an official proceeding; -Sex trafficking conspiracy, forced labor conspiracy, racketeering conspiracy, and wire fraud conspiracy.