Seagram heiress Clare Bronfman released on US$100 million bail, amid Nxivm sex cult investigation

Bronfman, who is accused of identity theft, was allegedly a member of “cult leader” Keith Raniere’s inner circle that recruited and groomed sexual partners for him

Reading Time:3 minutes

Clare Bronfman, an heiress of the Seagram's liquor empire, following her arraignment in relation to the Albany-based organisation Nxivm at the United States Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

Published: 2:13pm, 25 Jul 2018Updated: 2:50pm, 25 Jul 2018

An heiress to the Seagram Co liquor fortune was released on an enormous US$100 million bond following her arrest in a widening probe of a self-help organisation that prosecutors say was a secretive cult that branded its victims and forced them to participate in sexual acts.

Clare Bronfman, the daughter of former Seagram chairman Edgar M. Bronfman, was one of four women charged Tuesday in connection with the investigation of Nxivm, an Albany, New York-based multilevel marketing company founded by Keith Raniere.

The new charges add a bizarre twist to a sensational case that generated headlines with the April arrest of Allison Mack, 35, an actress who allegedly recruited slaves for Raniere. A month earlier, Raniere, 57, was apprehended in Mexico and accused of sex trafficking and forced labour. He’s being held without bail. Both deny wrongdoing.

In this courtroom drawing, Clare Bronfman, is arraigned at federal court in New York on Tuesday. Photo: AP

Dressed in a light, short-sleeved shirt, jeans and flip flops, Bronfman, 39, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a charge of identity theft. She’s not accused of sex trafficking, or forced labour crimes, and faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Prosecutors said she was likely to flee though and asked for a sizeable bond to ensure her appearance for trial. She has a private jet and a stake in a private island in Fiji, prosecutors said in a court filing. In the last three years she travelled to Paris, Mexico City, Toluca, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Vancouver, Toronto, Israel, Fiji and Havana.

Bronfman’s lawyer Susan Necheles argued for a lower bail, saying her client surrendered and had been in constant contact with prosecutors. She had been in Mexico with Raniere when he was arrested and flew back immediately, Necheles said.