New evidence has emerged that the NXIVM criminal enterprise is alive and well – and may be back stronger than ever if its leader, Keith Raniere, is successful in gaining an acquittal at his upcoming trial.
In a Memorandum-Of-Law that was filed on Thursday by Michael J. Sullivan, the attorney who represents NXIVM Corporation, we got confirmation of several things we knew about the company – and learned several new facts about its status.
To begin with, Sullivan confirmed that the company was originally incorporated in Delaware as Executive Success Programs, Inc. on July 20, 1998.
It then changed its named to NXIVM Corporation on January 23, 2002.
The company’s charter was voided for – surprise, surprise – non-payment of taxes as of March 1, 2005. But it was restored shortly thereafter on April 7, 2005.
According to Sullivan, the company is neither dissolved nor defunct – and still retains attorney-client privileges and work product privileges.
Sullivan goes on to note that both he, as the company’s legal representative – and Clare Bronfman, as a member of the company’s Executive Board – wish to assert both of those protections with respect to a variety of documents that the prosecution would like to introduce as evidence at the upcoming trial of Keith Raniere.
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For those of you who are keeping score, this is the same Clare Bronfman who stood before Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis less than a week ago and told him how “remorseful” she was for not upholding the laws of the United States.
She went on to make the following statement: “I endeavored to do good in the world and to help people; however, I have made mistakes. This experience has taught me the gravity of my responsibility, and I will take these lessons forward in every future decision”.
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So, back to NXIVM Corporation…
Here are ten things that we learned about the company from today’s filing:
(1) It is “by no means defunct and instead retains all the hallmarks of a viable legal corporation”.
(2) It is not bankrupt.
(3) It is currently maintaining “ordinary business practices”.
(4) It “has been served with (and has responded to) grand jury subpoenas” in the current case of the U.S. v. Raniere Et Al as recently as March 4, 2019.
(5) It has retained accountants and attorneys to provide services on its behalf.
(6) It has been recently billed for and paid normal operating expenses.
(7) It still maintains “files, storage facilities, computer servers, operating systems, and domain names”.
(8) It has recently had tax returns prepared and filed.
(9) It has a Board of Directors – and they had a meeting in December 2018.
(10) Nancy Salzman is still the President of the company but is not currently taking an active role in its operations.
We also learned that NXIVM Corporation has always been governed by an Executive Board – and that, as of right now, there are three members on that Executive Board:
– Clare Bronfman;
– Lauren Salzman; and
– Omar Boone.
Three other former members of the Executive Board resigned over the course of the past year:
– Emiliano Salinas (Early 2018);
– Alex Bettencourt (Early 2018); and
– Karen Unterreiner (Spring/Summer 2018).
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Isn’t this all very fascinating?
NXIVM Corporation is still alive and fully functional.
Two of the three members of the company’s Executive Board – Clare Bronfman and Lauren Salzman – have pleaded guilty to crimes related to the company’s illegal operations.
Both professed great remorse at the time they pleaded guilty in front of Judge Garaufis – and promised to make amends for their prior bad acts.
But here they are now, still active members of the Executive Board of NXIVM Corporation – and still doing everything they can to protect their Vanguard.
Let’s hope Judge Nicholas Garaufis remembers all this when it comes time to sentence these two ladies.
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Nixmv’s attorney, Michael J. Sullivan, formerly served as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts from 2001 to 2009 – and as the Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) from 2006 to January 2009.
He has been in private practice ever since – and is currently affiliated with the Ashcroft Law Firm, which is headed up by John Ashcroft, the former U.S. Attorney General under President George Bush.