Kristen Keeffe’s evidence at the trial of Raniere, Clare Bronfman and other cult officials
Prosecution witness, Kristen M. Keeffe stated that Raniere’s NXIVM organisation hacked billionaire Edgar Bronfman’s computer correspondence with the Clinton’s and world leaders and plotted to lure former cult members to Mexico to be imprisoned.
Keeffe, a former confidant of Raniere, alleged that Clare had secreted a “key logger” virus on the computer of her late father, Edgar M. Bronfman Sr., allowing officials of the cult to monitor his emails, including exchanges with world leaders and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Keeffe, who worked with Raniere for more than 20 years was part of the cult’s litigation team that worked under Clare Bronfman and her allegations about the hacking of Edgar Bronfman’s computer was only one of a series of accusations she levelled against cult officials after a State Police investigator secured her safety in a domestic violence shelter following her hasty departure from the cult in February 2014.
She said that she gathered information about the activities of the cult for a number of years before leaving and had tried to “deprogramme” the cult’s president, Nancy L. Salzman adding; “in the three and a half years leading up to when I left, I was a spy. I went to great lengths to make them think I was going along with things when in reality I was trying to deprogramme Nancy and a couple of others that l was close to”.
Keeffe and Barbara J. Bouchey, another former cult executive board member were charged with computer trespassing charges accusing them and three others of improperly accessing the cult’s website. Bouchey, a financial planner, denied hacking into the cult’s social website counter claiming that cult officials had filed 13 eronious lawsuits and a criminal complaint in retribution for her 2009 defection from the cult.
Emails attributed to Keeffe, alleged that the cult senior management team contracted a Canadian investigative firm to secretly obtain the financial records of U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer and six federal judges who presided over cases involving the cult. The same company also obtained financial information on Edgar Bronfman and his colleague members of the Jewish World Congress, which Bronfman headed from 1981 to 2007.
Federal court records show the Canadian investigative firm, Canaprobe Group, invoiced Clare Bronfman for US$10k for “banking sweep services” performed by Rick A. Ross, a “recognized expert” in cults. Keeffe said she routinely processed many Canaprobe invoices and that the company had been paid “well over a million dollars.”
Keeffe, also claimed that Clare Bronfman and Pamela A. Nichols, a shareholder with Albany law firm O’Connell & Aronowitz and one of the cult’s attorneys, were closely involved with the Canaprobe transactions.
Key-loggers are used to monitor the keystrokes of a computer, enabling someone other than the computer user to access personal account information, including passwords. In a telephone conversation, Keeffe claimed Clare Bronfman’s initial attempt to hack into her father’s email account failed after she sent him an email that had a digital photo of a bear attached and which contained a key-logger computer-hacking virus. The photo was meaningful because Clare’s father called her “Clare-bear” as a nickname.
The digital photo of the bear would have infiltrated Edgar Bronfman’s computer if he opened it, Keeffe added: “But he never opened the picture,” Keeffe said in the telephone call with Bouchey. “So Clare went to his office, met with him and said, “I want to show you this picture” and downloaded the virus onto his computer herself.
Keeffe further claimed that Raniere was involved in the plan and he had taught computer hacking to a young female Mexican immigrant and cult member. The woman spent a year reading Bronfman’s emails, including correspondence with Hillary Clinton and leaders of the World Jewish Congress, reporting the contents to Keith and Clare.
Bronfman later discovered the bug and attached blame onto a disgruntled former executive director of the World Jewish Congress.
Clare, testified in a 2011 civil lawsuit that Raniere had discussed with his broker whether her father had traded against them in the commodities market undermining trades that Raniere directed when he lost $65m of Clare and Sara Bronfman’s money.
The cult conducted around 35% of its affairs in Mexico and retained a strong presence in Central America.
Keeffe, accused cult officials of plotting to lure four former girlfriends or female associates of Raniere’s, to Mexico in order to have them arrested on false charges and thrown in prison.
The women targeted included Raniere’s former girlfriend, Bouchey, and another former girlfriend of Raniere’s, Toni F. Foley, a co-defendant of Bouchey’s in the computer logger case and a cult board member for nine years and Susan Dones, a former cult trainer from Washington who was sued by the cult and accused of violating a confidentiality agreement.
Keeffe, said the plan to lure the women to Mexico was formalised by Raniere and the venture capitalist and cult leader, Emiliano Salinas, (the son of the former Mexican president, Carlos Salinas).
In an email, filed in Albany County Court, Keeffe wrote: “Emiliano went so far as to have a Mexican journalist contact (Foley) et. all. (sic) to invite them to an “anti-cult conference”. Ranieri intended to subject the women to serious, emotional and physical harm.”
The trial and sentencing of influential NXIVM officials
The trial judge sharply questioned why authorities in Albany, who were aware of illegal wrongdoing and abuses had failed to bring a criminal case against Raniere and his cult-like organization before, saying: “How in the world this went on for so many years in Albany, New York, and its environs will forever be a sad mystery to this court.”
Seagram’s’ heiress Clare Bronfman, NXIVM’s operations director and long-time bankroller, was sentenced to six years and nine months in prison for conspiring to harbour or conceal illegal immigrants for financial gain, and fraudulent use of identification.
Allison Mack, a former actress, was sentenced to three years in prison for racketeering and racketeering conspiracy.
NXIVM bookkeeper Kathy Russell, who pleaded guilty to visa fraud, awaits sentencing.
NXIVM co-founder, Nancy Salzman, a “senior proctor” was the organization’s director of education. Raniere, known within the group as “Vanguard,” became her mentor and conducted a long-term sexual relationship with her. She was sentenced to three and a half years in prison.
Lauren Salzman, Nancy’s daughter who was lauded for her four days of testimony and the information she provided about other NXIVM members, including her mother was sentenced to five years probation and 300 hours of community service. She told prosecutors about Raniere’s role in the secret “master/slave” group, Dominus Obsequious Sororium (DOS), in which various levels of “slaves” took lifetime vows of obedience to “masters” and “grand masters” all of whom answered to Raniere.
Content of this article is summarised from a number of articles writtten and published by:
Brendan J. Lyons, managing editor of the Times Union (https://www.timesunion.com/nxivm/)
Lauren Kranc (https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a33658764/what-is-nxivm-sex-cult-celebrities-stars-the-vow-hbo-true-story/)
caltonjock 