Clare Bronfman, the daughter of the late business mogul Edgar Bronfman Sr. and heiress to the Seagrams liquor fortune, faced accusations of financing illegal activities after meeting Raniere in 2002. She became a NXIVM acolyte, eventually serving as a board member and acting as Raniere’s benefactor and legal advocate, allegedly funding lawsuits against his perceived enemies.
In 2003, Bronfman’s father estimated to Forbes that she had loaned NXIVM $2 million, a claim she denied at the time. “I think it’s a cult,” stated Bronfman Sr., who passed away in 2013.
On April 19, 2019, Bronfman pleaded guilty to conspiring to conceal and harbor an undocumented immigrant for financial gain and to fraudulent use of identification for assisting Raniere in using a deceased person’s credit card. Her sentence included forfeiting $6 million.
“I am truly remorseful,” Bronfman told U.S. District Court Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis. “I endeavored to do good in the world and help people—however, I have made mistakes.”
She was sentenced on September 30, 2020, to 81 months in prison. In explaining the substantial penalty, Garaufis expressed concern over evidence suggesting that Ms. Bronfman consistently leveraged her wealth and social status to intimidate, control, and punish individuals who had left NXIVM or were perceived adversaries.
Bronfman was released from prison into a halfway house in May 2024, according to the Albany Times-Union.
