Just trusting and loyal to someone who was gifted at manipulation. Salzman is the third of Ranieres five co-defendants to be sentenced in the case. Keith Raniere is today a convicted felon serving a 120-year sentence. Salzman, the former president and co-founder of NXIVM, was sentenced Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021, to 42 months in prison and fined $150,000, but won't be locked up until January. THE COURT: No, we cant have a sidebar. he made me a promise, and when I said you didnt uphold the promise, he said I didnt live my word. Due to a planned power outage on Friday, 1/14, between 8am-1pm PST, some services may be impacted. Raniere also drafted a public statement defending the existence of DOS while simultaneously denying he had anything to do with it. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. Q Let me just ask you the question. And then he characterized the reasons for why he didnt uphold his word to me as being because it was so difficult that two of our best friends died of terminal illnesses [Pam Cafritz and Barbara Jeske] and the void that that left in our community, and how much extra work fell on him and how hard its been because of all of our failures and ineptitudes and the political situation. Of all the regrettable things I have done with Keith and Nxivm, this by far is the one that gives me the greatest personal sadness, she wrote to the judge. And you let Raniere and the others do what they did, even after I repeatedly begged you for help., The judge said that while Salzman had helped Raniere commit his harmful schemes and other sadistic and sexual deviant visions, she was also a victim of [his] depravity.. Lauren is a rat. Among the more sensational allegations: Some women "slaves" in a secret NXIVM sorority were branded with Raniere's initials as part of their initiation. If Lauren is a Rat and she had a child then that child would be a Ratchild. lauren salzman testimony transcript . Raniere has pleaded not guilty to sex-trafficking and other charges. Q One of the ways you know that Keith was lying to you is because you listened to these recordings; right? So you have your record, and if there is a conviction, you can appeal my decision to the Second Circuit, okay? Lauren Salzman is a name that you'll hear prominently in the unraveling of the self-help group NXIVM. Parlato appeared on the Nancy Grace Show, Beyond the Headlines with Gretchen Carlson, Dr. Oz, American Greed, Dateline NBC, and NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, where Parlato conducted the first-ever interview with Keith Raniere after his arrest. She has said that she deeply regrets introducing her daughter to Nxivm and Raniere. In it, she apologized for having disrespected him and for damaging her own reputation as a group leader, as well as that of their theoretical child, someone who doesnt even exist yet. But Raniere was unmoved, dealing her a final blow, Salzman testified, when he revealed that he would be fathering a child with another longtime girlfriend. A Yes. if(typeof(jQuery)=="function"){(function($){$.fn.fitVids=function(){}})(jQuery)}; This story has been shared 114,023 times. Q What was your intention when you were in DOS? 'I'm Trying to Break Her': Former NXIVM 'Sex Cult' Member Details Misogynistic Methods of Control. ( Lauren Salzman is accused of "coaching" and controlling Daniela during her imprisonment.) Raniere required the brands on the women to be on full display and they should all appear happy if they werent to his satisfaction, he would sometimes request a new photo. And I think DOS took the place of that, in large part, because now you have slaves going out specifically looking for sexual relationships and personal relationships for Keith. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. The branding ceremony took place in 2017 inside a house near Albany, where female members of the so-called cult Nxivm . Q Did you intend to commit a racketeering violation at the time that you did it? THE COURT: We have been through this. The emotional sentencing capped a lengthy legal case that saw Salzman, who now works as a dog groomer, turn on longtime ally Keith Raniere and help put the twisted cult leader behind bars. It felt very hurtful and confusing to me. Nonetheless, she stayed in the group. She was dressed in a black pant suit. She avoided jail time and was sentenced to time served, five years. Salzman spent four days on the witness stand during Raniere's 2019 trial, testifying about the group's inner workings, Raniere's involvement, and her own failed attempts to leave the group. I showed reprehensible judgment, Salzman said. The line of questioning was not relevant for reasons Scott Johnson stated. Q Im going to ask you the question again. This is Part 6 of Lauren Salzman: Cross-Examination Stopped by Judge. She had been on the floor and he had kicked her, Salzman recounted Padilla telling her. I thought she made it very clear she gave a very reasonable and lucid statement, I think its in Part 5 of the transcriptabout why she decided to plead guilty. If youre going to commit a crime, dont record yourself admitting to it. Salzman testified that being locked in a cage for days until surrendering was supposed to be a way for the most committed members to grow. Steve's work features mainly in the chapter MK-ULTRA in Australia. [Lauren is growing visibly upset and is crying]. Q Part of whats happened is that, through the discovery process, you have learned more about Keiths relationships with other women; fair to say? (AP Photo/Mary. She was more and more upset. She talked to the police through the bedroom door, asking if they had a warrant. TRANSCRIPT of Proceedings as to Keith Raniere, Allison Mack, Clare Bronfman, Kathy Russell, Lauren Salzman, Nancy Salzman held on September 18, 2018, before Judge Scanlon. {"vloc":"auto","floating":true,"playlist":"https:\/\/content.jwplatform.com\/feeds\/c132tQIF.json","ph":2} And thats really what this was. Q But youve read the chats between Keith and Cami? By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Lauren Salzman, 45, pleaded guilty in April 2019 to racketeering and conspiracy charges for her role in the upstate New York group that manipulated thousands of members under the guise of. This is not the allegations. Salzman flew into a panic. I lied to the entire community about it, she testified. Q So you heard conversations well, can I ask you a question, do you love Keith? Nonetheless, she continued to follow Ranieres orders to not allow Dani to have access to her papers, on the grounds that she wanted him to think she was willing to do what it took to be a responsible parent.. She said it was hard to keep Raniere satisfied. Of all the things I did in this case and all the crimes that were committed, this was the worst thing I did, she said, sobbing. Lauren also admitted to threatening the woman with deportation if she continued to disobey Keith's orders. She and other members would do tasks at the orders of Raniere, and were punished severely if they didn't fulfill their duties, she testified. There would be a cage for the people who were most committed to growth,'' Salzman testified. At one point, Raniere asked Danis mother, Adriana, to stay confined to a room adjacent to Danis, as a way to make it clear to Daniela that her actions were affecting other people close to her, Salzman testified. And it says something about the utter STUPIDITY of Lauren Salzman that it takes the Mexican Police pointing machine guns at her head to begin to wake her up. And also I mean, I knew it because when I joined DOS there was something that had been created over a period of time that seemed pretty extensive. Salzmans crying and sobbing is because she was realizing how bad she f*cked up and will now pay for it while being questioned, although the judge may instead invite her to lunch. I dont know that. Salzman reluctantly agreed to these conditions, as she desperately wanted to have a child. The Government didnt teach me that. When she finally left in February 2012, she was driven to the Mexican border by her father and another NXIVM member, who refused to give her immigration papers; in a series of emails read during the trial, when she begged for her papers back, NXIVM officials refused, accusing her of being manipulative and playing games., Of all the things I did in this case and all the crimes that were committed, this was the worst thing I did, she said, sobbing. Q And you always were concerned that Keith held Cami in sort of a special place in his heart? We've received your submission. So IMO no appeal will be granted- KAR own lawyer probably put the last nail in the coffin! Padilla had also planned to purchase a cage, though she canceled the order shortly after the inner workings of DOS were made public in the spring of 2017. Padilla had also planned to purchase a cage, though she canceled the order shortly after the inner workings of DOS were made public in the spring of 2017. Selected Courts The 45-year-old daughter of Nxivm co-founder Nancy Salzman had faced between seven and nine years in prison on racketeering conspiracy charges. Agnifilo clearly says he was done. Raniere had fled to Mexico the year before, following a damning New York Times report that he was the grandmaster of DOS, a NXIVM offshoot and secret all-female sorority of masters and slaves. Allegedly run by Raniere, the group reportedly had branded women, forced them to provide collateral in the form of explicit naked photos, and coerced them into having sex with him. Q Was your intention to hurt people or was it to help people? Sustained. Yet she tried to remain calm. This is a broken person, as far as I can tell. HBO's The Vow, inevitably, features her story. Edmonsons husband publicly confronted Salzman about DOS at a NXIVM event, prompting the rest of the organization to learn about the existence of DOS. Lauren Salzman got time-served in July in light of her cooperation. Q Kristin Keeffe, you said, was in the legal sort of part NXIVM, she was in the legal department? She is crying as she speaks. It never even crossed my mind that I would choose Keith and Keith would choose Keith, Salzman said. Nothing.. C-SPAN receives no funding from any government. So this is how I understand it-. Phone / Text: (305) 783-7083 Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Nancy Salzman, also known as "Prefect," the former president and co-founder of Nxivm, was sentenced to 42 months' imprisonment and ordered to pay a $150,000 fine by United States District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis for racketeering conspiracy, including predicate acts of conspiracy to commit identity An appeal on Lauren Salzman testimony not being finished will not overturn all those counts of guilty. The relationships I learned about when I joined but it wasnt confusing to me that there had been time spent developing those things. Agnifilo even said at one point she didnt have to answer a question when the objection was sustained, he was actually being helpful to the DOJ and lessening the stress on Salzman. Unresolved: Release in which this issue/RFE will be addressed. Salacious Allegations Emerge In NXIVM Sex Cult Trial. They were then whipped and paddled with a spiked sex toy, she claimed. She said she could not sit with the defense and continue to lie. Lauren Salzman,. And I didnt have a problem. In response to the bad press surrounding NXIVM, Raniere went into damage control mode. The proof is in the pudding. And whether shes telling the truth, whether the jury believes her, I think its absolutely necessary that there be a certain level of consideration for someones condition. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Appeals court upholds sentences for NXIVM sex cult leaders, Nxivm sex cult leader Keith Raniere claims prison transfer puts his life at risk, Nxivm leader Keith Raniere claims feds conspiring against him with hermaphrodite cellmate, Nxivm leader complains fellow sex trafficker left him dizzy after prison beatdown, keeping a woman named Daniela captive in a room, was slapped with six years and nine months behind bars. Lauren and the others will have had even more time to get perspective on what actually happened and why. Its all there, its on the record. Salzman, who was in NXIVM's Executive Success Programs (ESP) for nearly two decades, testified that she had been with Raniere in a $10,000-a-week resort when authorities in Mexico arrested the. Then the Swifties Came After Her, NBA 'Investigating' Ja Morant After Allegedly Flashing Gun on Social Media, Alex Murdaugh Juror Says Cellphone Video, 'Big Liar' Testimony Led to Guilty Verdict, She Used the Bathroom And Became a Target of the Culture War, Here's How LaRussell and Intuit are Helping Independent Artists Understand How to Achieve Their Financial Ambitions, Alex Murdaugh Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murder of Wife and Son, See the Beths Deliver Refreshing 'Expert in a Dying Field' Mini-Set on 'CBS Mornings', Netflixs Sex/Life Is Back to Satisfy Your Softcore Desires. A I dont recall. Q You have learned more about Keiths relationship with Cami, for instance? Her mother Nancy Salzman, 66, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 8. AGNIFILO: I am not trying to argue with you. I'm been addicted to reading every single thing related to NXIVM in the past two weeks. Move on. This was ironic, as many credit Parlato as one of the primary architects of his arrest and the cratering of the cult he founded. A I didnt want I didnt want to sit I didnt want to defend the things that I did that were bad and that were criminal as good. Q Keith had a child with Kristin Keefe; right? [What you need to know to start the day: Get New York Today in your inbox.] Actually it sounds like Lauren was really being ethical and was waking up to what that really means. Keith will be acquitted? Lauren Salzman, Nxivm cult member who secretly pleaded guilty last week Salzman's guilty plea last Monday did not appear on any public calendar, and portions of the transcript are. A Yes. Everything they were talking about is stuff that we talked about in DOS and that I knew already when I listened to that, except the fact that there were the seven of them and they planned to stay, the seven of them. and this is at a time when you and Keith are still talking about you possibly having children in the spring of 2016; correct? THE COURT: That requires a legal conclusion. Raniere was furious, saying he questioned whether he wanted to have a child with someone who could be so disrespectful to him. You had plenty of if you had other things to say, you could have gone on and said them. TV actress Allison Mack, who was a slave master in the sex-cult and lured women into the group, got three years in prison . Q And with the exception of Rosa Laura, Keith slept with all of those women? We were supposed to be uniform: All looking the same, and fully frontally naked, Salzman testified. Instead of delaying the trial until the next day. AGNIFILO: Im more concerned, quite frankly, about, I thought I took great pains to be appropriate and even-keeled. Was Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis right to halt the cross-examination of Lauren Salzman? And I am not going to allow someone to be placed in this circumstance and then let it continue. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Its possible that the judge made a mistake that another judge will find to be so egregious that Keith was denied his right to cross-examine witnesses against him. ; see, e.g., Trial Transcript ("Tr.") at 619-24 (testimony of Mark Vicente regarding Nxivm recruitment strategies); id. Alright? Despite the negative media attention swarming around the group, the understanding among DOS members was that they would participate in a recommitment ceremony, pledging their allegiance to Raniere which, as Salzman later testified, was assumed to mean group sex. Mack, 38, of Smallville fame, was sentenced to three years in prison last month, after prosecutors asked for leniency due to her cooperation. Salzman said Ranierehad sex with seven of the eight members of the top inner circle, known as DOS an acronym for a Latin phrase roughly translated as "Lord/master of obedient women." What am I doing wrong? how old was jan stenerud when he retired. actress Nicki Clyne, had flown to Mexico to visit Raniere. At times she approached tears and spoke sometimes in a shaky voice. The organization is commonly called a "cult," and has been termed a "racketeering enterprise" by the U.S. government. Following Ranieres arrest in Mexico, Salzman said, she started to come to terms with the true extent of Ranieres thrall over her; at times, she appeared to be processing it even while she was on the stand. Editors note: You be the judge. Along with Raniere, Bronfman, Mack, and Salzman's daughter Lauren, the co-founder was arrested for an array of crimes in 2018. I'm sure you sound this way too. The statement, which was read at trial, accused the media of shaming the women for engaging in consensual activities and spearheading a campaign against the rights of women and alternative lifestyles. At one point in the email, Raniere compared DOS members to authors of the Declaration of Independence. Q Did you know he was having these kinds of conversations with these women? Seagrams liquor heiress Clare Bronfman was slapped with six years and nine months behind bars last year, more than prosecutors had asked for, after she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conceal and harbor an illegal alien for financial gain and fraudulent use of identification. He was sentenced on October 27, 2020. The links no longer appear to work. lauren salzman testimony transcript. Our legal system gaurantees the right to a trial by jury, but when there is a recording of your confession, why bother? But what I had here was, I had a crisis here. As far as Laurens being stupid, she doesnt come off as stupid at all. As NXIVM membership rates dwindled, Salzman stuck to the narrative that Raniere was unconnected to DOS and had no knowledge of the group. The Version table provides details related to the release that this issue/RFE will be addressed. During her four days on the stand, Salzman detailed how she helped Raniere run a master-slave group within Nxivm called DOS, where women were branded with his initials and forced to sleep with him. A Yes. ); We want to hear it. The judge said he would have CONSIDERED it, not allowed it. Raniere wanted this testimony forever suppressed and sealed so that no one would ever know what he and Salzman had admitted or lied about under oath. You didnt know he was with them at those times? Q You said [in the direct examination] when Keith was arrested in Mexico, Mexican police came in and they had machine guns? Q And from time to time, Kristin would write e-mails as though it was Hector [Dani and Camis father]; correct, she did that from time to time? My testimony is scaffolded by the extraordinary research of Steve McMurray who assembled the jigsaw of faces, places, and relationships I recalled and relayed. Judges have great power to control the courtroom. and our THE COURT: You said thats not what made it hard? I lied to everybody. You could have. I hope he is abjectly miserable right now. She probably provided the most damning piece of evidence in this case. Formerly one of NXIVMs most loyal capos, an exhausted-looking Salzman recounted decades of her emotional manipulation at the hands of Raniere, a self-described genius who once held such sway over his followers that they believed he was able to control the weather. Lauren Salzman's attorneys argued for no jail time given her cooperation and testimony during Keith Raniere's trial in 2019. He called in and wanted to make sure we were flicking the wrist hard enough, Salzman said. Theyll testify again. I stayed with Keith despite all the other [sexual] relationships, and that was something that he could have been honest with me about, and mischaracterizing and making me feel sorry for him because his life is so hard because we lost our friends and I cant get my shit together is not what was going on. I Was in One Mode: Protect Keith: NXIVM Member Testifies About Naked Meetings, Group Sex, Dungeon Paddlings, People Are Getting Pregnant on TikToks Trendy On-Demand Birth Control, Netflixs Perfect Match Is Horny, Utterly Ridiculous Fun, She Built a Following as Taylor Swifts Doppelgnger. The 100 Best Albums of 2022. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. . Sir, I have a right and an obligation to control the extent to which something like this is put to a witness and you had that opportunity. AGNIFILO: No, no, I thought she was about to answer, so I told her not to. Salzman testified that shortly after she joined DOS, she discovered that everyone except Junco had previously been or was currently in a sexual relationship with Raniere. She described how the sick Svengali, with whom she had a 17-year relationship, was in the process of building a sex dungeon full of cages and BDSM equipment when he was arrested in 2018. Lauren testified that she was under the impression the woman would be kept in the room for a few days but her "stay" actually lasted 18 to 24 months. But most of my first-line DOS masters were telling me things that were gravely concerning to me that they were doing. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! Lauren Salzman, a "first-line master" within DOS, testified that there were five stages of recruitment. AGNIFILO: Judge? AGNIFILO: Your Honor, most respectfully and I am not going to belabor the point I think it is an important she talked about the change in perspective, she did, and Im trying to explore that change. I didnt know what it was. She has described, both in her court testimony and in the HBO documentary The Vow, the emotional. I am responsible for Lauren being before you.. that Lauren Salzman was held down as another Raniere devotee used a cauterizing pen to etch the initials of Raniere into an area near her pelvis, according to her testimony . She had faced 14 to 17 1/2 years for working as Ranieres right-hand woman to lure victims into DOS. at 1619-20 (testimony of Lauren Salzman that Raniere preferred DOS recruits to be individuals "in positions of power and influence"). Brooklyn federal judge Nicholas Garaufis gave Salzman credit for time shes served under house arrest, as well as five years probation, noting that she had turned her life around. There would be a cage for the people who were most committed to growth, Salzman testified. The fact that Keith is off with these women doing anything, in this case creating DOS, you didnt know that he was there? And her testimony was transcribed verbatim. I was trying to prove my self-worth, and salvage this string of a hope of what I thought my relationship might someday be, and I put it above everything else; I put it above my friends and I put it above other people, helping them in their best interest. It is the defense councils job to cross-examine her about this unpleasant experience. Full name: Lauren Salzman Gender: Female Date of birth: 1977 Age: 44 years old (as of 2021) Ethnicity: White Nationality: American Famous for: Member of NXIVM Sexuality: Straight Height in feet: 5'5" Height in centimetres: 165 Hair colour: Black Eye colour: Green Father: Michael Salzman Mother: Nancy Salzman Sister: Michelle Salzman A I just listened to these recordings the day before yesterday for the first time. A I didnt know specifically it was a racketeering violation, but I knew things were illegal that I was doing and I did them anyway. Reading the direct transcripts is blowing my mind. Everything we had done, everything I was teaching NXIVMwas all centered around the fact that we can live this principled life, she said. Q Was it hard to listen to the conversations? Two cages had already been ordered for the dungeon, according to the New York Post. NXIVM cult member Lauren Salzman was sentenced on Wednesday for her role as a top official in the upstate New York sex cult. In the end it wont matter at all, because hes very obviously guilty, by the taped words from his own mouth. There were a lot of things created and they had all been created and implemented in my absence, so I knew that I had come into something, that there had been things before. [she is alternately tearing up and holding back tears.]. At one point, she said, she wanted to have a relationship with another man, and approached Raniere to ask for permission. Salzman was a high-ranking NXIVM member who dodged a prison sentence entirely after testifying for the feds against Raniere. Salzman and other DOS masters, including Garza, Smallville actress Allison Mack, and Battlestar Galactica actress Nicki Clyne, had flown to Mexico to visit Raniere. Longtime Nxivm accountant Kathy Russell, who has copped to charges of visa fraud, still awaits sentencing. For more information, please see our She was supposed to be sentenced in 2019, and could face up to twenty years behind bars for her part in NXIVM. What Mr. Agnifilo needed to do to preserve his record for appeal was to say, Judge, if I were permitted to continue, I would have asked the witness X, Y, and Z. He did not do so either when he was cut off, or later that same day outside the presence of the jury. PUBLISHED 4:16 PM ET May 20, 2019. As part of this protracted litigation, that dragged on for more than a decade, Raniere and his sidekick Salzman, were deposed for hours under oath. Raniere, 58, is accused of founding and running NXIVM, which framed itself as a self-help group but which prosecutors say was really a cult-like organization that coerced female members into sexual fealty to Raniere. A No. Unfortunately for Raniere, however, the ceremony never happened, as authorities arrived at Ranieres home on March 25 to arrest him on sex trafficking and racketeering charges. The man Salzman had previously described as her most important person her mentor, spiritual advisor, and lover; the man whose initials she had chosen to brand into the flesh above her abdomen; the man who had taught her the values of love, sacrifice, personal responsibility and courage had, when confronted with arrest, run away and hidden in a walk-in closet. It was the most painful thing I have ever experienced, she said. Raniere had also planned to build a dungeon in the basement of the sorority house, and Padilla purchased various BDSM sex toys for use during penance, as a sex-toy company owner testified last week. Lauren Salzman was once a high-ranking leader of the purported self-help group Nxivm and a loyal member of founder Keith Raniere's inner circle. The daughter of group cofounder Nancy Salzman, who has pleaded guilty to a single charge of racketeering conspiracy, Salzman, 42, began her testimony last week describing her first meeting. On Wednesday, Salzman apologized for keeping a woman named Daniela captive in a room from 2010 to 2012 at Ranieres request and threatening to deport her to Mexico. I . The Judge did what his conscience told him to do- be a compassionate human. I have to sentence this defendant and what you did was, basically, ask her to make legal judgments about whether what she did in pleading guilty was farcical that she took somebody elses advice, some lawyer, so she could get out from under a trial.