4:52 PM
In addition to the 81 months the Court also imposed a fine of $500,000 and restitution to be paid to victim “Jane Doe 12” in the amount of $96,605.
4:41 PM
Based on Clare Bronfman’s sentence of 81 months, – a much higher sentence than even the prosecutors asked for, it is reasonable to assume that Raniere will get life in prison when he sentenced on October 27.
4:37 PM
“She was dressed for jail and it showed,” a commenter said. This is true. Most likely her lawyers advised her that this morning was her last day of freedom and to be prepared to be handcuffed immediately.
It will take hours for her to be processed and she is probably now still in handcuffs and possibly shackles. Tonight she will probably be staying at the MDC — possibly with Ghislaine Maxwell.
If there is a silver lining for Bronfman – is that Keith Raniere is there at the MDC too, although they will not be able to meet.
4:33 PM
The defense argued that the charges did not warrant the five years the prosecution was seeking. Then the judge handed her a sentence of 81 months.
It is a safe bet that the defense will be appealing the sentence, based largely on the argument that Clare was sentenced for crimes she was not convicted of or pleaded guilty to.
4:32 PM
Scene outside the courthouse after the sentencing of Clare Webb Bronfman
Susan Dones [l] and Barbara Bouchey — that’s the happiest I’ve seen Bouchey ever. They just left the courtroom after Clare Bronfman’s sentencing.
4:23 PM
Her plea deal last year- suggesting a sentence of 21-27 months was worthless – as the judge sentenced her to 81 months in prison and possibly the wealthiest defendant he ever had to sentence was handcuffed seconds after he pronounced sentence.
Quite likely the judge did not want to risk a woman with $200 million and a surprisingly high sentence to be free to possibly flee the country.
A woman who spent millions of her wealth trying to destroy enemies of Raniere – and put them in prison will now go to prison herself
And oddly the two financial crimes she pleaded guilty to – harboring an illegal alien for financial gain and Identity theft – by enabling Raniere to use Cafritz’s credit card – amounted to about $400,000 in financial fraud – just peanuts.
Surely the judge must have been angered by the antics of hers and Raniere’s followers over the last few days – calling the prosecutors and the judge corrupt – and Bronfman’s stubborn refusal to disavow Raniere.
I wonder if she still stands by her Vanguard now that reality has hit her in the face”
4:19 PM
At 81 months, Clare got a higher sentence than the prosecution was seeking. The judge said the context of the crimes – and her involvement with Keith Raniere – the use of her wealth to intimidate people – enhanced the seriousness of her crimes. He wanted to send a message.
4:19 PM Bronfman Remanded to custody — handcuffed and taken away!
4:11 PM
Judge sentenced Clare Bronfman to 81 months — or 6.75 years — more details to follow!
3:36 PM
It is now four and one half hours since Clare’s sentencing hearing began.
Clare Poisoned by Raniere?
While we are waiting for sentence to be handed down, Omar Rosales had an interesting observation about Clare’s liver condition. See: Lawyers: Clare Bronfman Has Serious Liver Problem Putting Her at Risk of Entering Prison With the Pandemic
As readers know, I have written about how Keith may have poisoned several of his female followers and made a film about it called the Lost Women of Nxivm, which appeared on Investigation Discovery.
Omar said, “When ingested, stomach acid turns the zinc phosphide into phosphine So yes, there is an explanation for Clare’s liver failure and skin pallor. Raniere might have given her rat poison to get her $$$.”
3:20 PM
Here is the NY Daily News’ headline: DANGEROUS MEGALOMANIAC
NXIVM sex cult funder Clare Bronfman was a “dangerous megalomaniac” who tortured women and “incinerated” anyone who tried to speak up, said several victims at her sentencing.
They are of course referring to Clare and are quoting Kristin Keeffe from her victim statement in court today.
I wonder if Clare thinks of herself that way.
3:16 PM
The New York Post on the first session with the victims speaking.
https://nypost.com/2020/09/30/clare-bronfman-labeled-predator-by-nxivm-victims/
More quotes during victim impact statements.
Susan Dones: “Did you [Clare] ever consider they [Nxivm] wanted your money? What would happen if you just stopped giving your money? In my opinion, you’re a predator. Let that sink in.”
Bronfman tightly held her lawyer’s hand as she got the earful.
“You should understand that there are lives you destroyed,” Dones continued. “If you would’ve allowed that truth to come to the surface, DOS would not ever have happened. What you call humanity of Nxivm is just lipstick on a pig.”
Dones then accused Bronfman of still being under Raniere’s spell.
“I pray for you every day,” she said. “I pray you will take the class of Keith Raniere out of you … because he is killing you.”
Kristin Keeffe said: “I saw Clare mentally descend over several years into a dangerous megalomaniac.”
Bronfman also launched a financial attack on her when she protested litigation against Raniere’s ex-girlfriend, Barbara Boucher, Keeffe said — by billing her rent for a Nxivm townhouse she lived in and slashing her $55,000-a-year salary to just $13,000.
“She was trying to psychologically break me,” Keeffe said.
Meanwhile, Keeffe said Clare “rode a $1 million horse, bought a 6,500 square foot mansion and flew in her $11 million private jet.”
Barbara Bouchey said: “Clare, do you realize they lied to you? You thought you were in the inner circle. You were six layers out. He {Raniere] used you. He pawned you. He made you feel special.”
After the women wrapped up their statements, about three minutes of silence fell over the cavernous courtroom [they are in the large ceremonial courtroom today] before the judge ordered a break before sentencing.
[That three minutes of silence is very telling and not a good sign for Clare. It must have been a very somber and emotion-filled moment.]
Another shot of Clare coming into court for her sentencing. courtesy the NY Post. Look at her eyes. We have seen this faraway look before, she looks lost and dazed as she likely is – and it is precisely the same feeling she gave to so many people when they realized that she, with her money, was coming after them.
3:07 PM
It probably won’t help Clare but maybe Judge Garaufis tuned in yesterday when Nicki Clyne insisted that NXIVM is not a “sex cult” on a an episode of CBS This Morning.
Clyne said, “It’s very unfortunate the way that the word ‘Nxivm’ has been applied and is now synonymous with the term ‘sexual cult,’ which I don’t even know how to define what that is.”
3:00 PM
They have been back in the court for an hour and 15 minutes. It is somewhat now like waiting for a baby to be born.
As we wait, look at this picture from Jezebel of Clare Bronfman – look at how skinny her neck it.
Clare Bronfman arrives at the Brooklyn courthouse. Note her skinny neck, the result of years of semi-starvation diet under Raniere’s direction.
Raniere taught his followers that any woman who eats more than 800 calories per day has a deep spiritual problem.
2:52 PM
As we wait for news which is expected to come at any moment, here is an interesting screenshot from Good Morning America this morning, as Clare makes the big time media.
2:47 PM
Ayla Ferrone: l have been speaking with @catoxenberg [Catherine Oxenberg] this morning. She is not at the sentencing but keeping an eye from afar. She tells me: “Clare Bronfman’s sentencing is a powerful example of justice triumphing over privilege, wealth and corruption. #RBG would be proud.” #NXIVM
2:42 PM
Among the victims, Sally Brinks was another who spoke.
Noah Goldberg for the New York Daily News reports:
Sally BrinkSally Brink, who left NXIVM in 2016 after 13 years in the sordid cult, warned Bronfman about sticking by Raniere’s side.
“As long as you support KR (Keith Raniere), there is no forgiveness for you,” Brink said. “You’re not going to heal with KR in your life. You have to take back your power. You have no sense of self without him.”
Nine women spoke [not 10 as originally planned.]
Susan Dones [she creid when she spoke: “In my opinion you’re [Clare] a predator. You should feel shame, self loathing … You should understand there are lives you destroyed. I pray that you will take the claws of Keith Raniere out of you, and you will learn who Clare Bronfman really is.”
Toni Natalie spoke about Clare’s and Nxivm’s practice of “scorched-earth litigation.”
Toni: “I was not scorched. I was incinerated,” Natalie said.
Barbara Bouchey said she was dragged into 14 lawsuits from NXIVM since she left, all because she broke up with cult leader Keith Raniere.
Bouchey: “I have endured hundreds of headline news stories. All I did was decide to break up with Keith Raniere.”
2:26 PM
The Victims Cried
Ayla Ferrone, who covered Nxivm for years, tweet, @GiulianaBrunoTV tells me many of the victims cried during their statements, and the overall tone was sadness and anger. She says the victims blame Bronfman for funding Keith Raniere’s enterprise and enabling him to victimize them. #NXIVM.
Giuliana Bruno reports outside the courthouse
1:36
Giuliana Bruno reports for WTEN.
There have been nearly a dozen victims – all women who made statements before the court. Every woman spoke about Keith Raniere, Nxivm and Clare Bronfman as the main enabler of Raniere. All of them said they don’t feel that Clare will ever renounce Raniere. All of them said their lives were ruined by Bronfman and Raniere.
Toni Natalie
Toni Natalie spoke: “Clare Bronfman was a pivotal part of trying to destroy my life.”
Barbara Bouchey said that she was a self-made millionaire; she started from nothing and built her way up. A lot of the work she had done to get to where she was totally destroyed by Bronfman.
Kristin Keeffe had to flee to the Florida Keys
In a surprise move, Kristin Keeffe spoke as a victim. She mentioned that she has a 14-year-old son with Keith.
She said Clare Bronfman’s involvement with Keith and Nxivm “ruined my life.”
1:23 PM
The victim impact statements – 10 of them – wrapped up. And now a half-hour break. It must have been quite an emotional scene. Based on the fact that it took about two hours for the victim impact statements, we can assume there will be at least another hour of proceedings when court resumes at 1:45.
Giuliana Bruno just tweeted
@GiulianaBrunoTV
·
#ClareBronfman’s sentencing proceeding is on break until 1:45. Victim impact statements just wrapped up. All echoed that their involvement in NXIVM, funded by Bronfman, ruined their lives, and that Bronfman was a Raniere enabler.
***
In addition to Barbara Bouchey and Susan Dones — Kristin Keeffe and Toni Natalie have been spotted at the courthouse. Catherine Oxenberg, Mark Vicente and Bonnie Piesse are not there.
1:06 PM Update
We are two hours in and waiting for word from our correspondents in the courtroom. Meantime take a look at this Tweet of yesterday by Nxivm-5 member Suneel Charkravorty, the man who secretly communicates with Keith [and whose phone calls were monitored, and also would visit Clare Bronfman. .
What a fine tweet to post on the eve of Clare’s sentencing – that judges are corrupt.
12:26 PM Update
Another picture of Clare headed to court. She is 41 years old.
Clare Bronfman heads to court for her sentencing hearing on Sept. 30, 2020. Photo Courtesy Daily Mail.
12:20 PM Update
The Daily Mail posted this picture of Clare Bronfman headed to court for her sentencing.
Photo Courtesy Daily Mail. Clare Bronfman walks toward court with her attorney Ronald Sullivan.
12:01 PM Update
A photo taken today of the courthouse by William Denselow on Twitter.
It is a gloomy day in Brooklyn for one of the most privileged heiresses ever to be convicted of felony crimes that involved financial improprieties.
Brooklyn Federal Courthouse on Sept. 30, 2020 the day Clare
Bronfman was sentenced.
11:44 AM Update
Clare’s Family Could Not Be Bothered to Attend
As per our report https://frankreport.com/2020/09/30/lawyers-clare-bronfman-has-serious-liver-problem-putting-her-at-risk-of-entering-prison-with-the-pandemic/the , overseas relatives of Clare Bronfman – ie her mother, stepfather, sister and brother in law requested to attend the hearing via teleconferencing because they could not come because of the pandemic. That request was denied by the judge
As evidence that there desire to come was perhaps not so great, the following comment from a reader is interesting:
Two of my husbands colleagues flew to New York and LA respectively, last week. One is due home on Sunday – no issues expected apart from the necessary quarantines. They flew Finnair, out of LHR, nice flights etc.
The Bronfman’s have the use of private planes, so the claim that it’s not possible to get to the US because of Covid is a straightforward falsehood.
I personally don’t fancy a long distance flight, masked up, nor can I afford to sit at home under quarantine on return, however, if my sister/ daughter were about to be sent to prison????
Wild fecking horses couldn’t keep me from being as close and as much help as I could be. This is why, in the long run, a spell in prison is about the best thing that could happen to Clare. She needs to reflect on her values, without the bullshit vested interests of that cult AND the cold comforts of her family, who obviously, just cant be bothered…
[Of course, Sara Bronfman may have another, better reason for not attending Clare’s sentencing. She brought her sister into the cult and committed many of the same deeds as Clare did. It was astounding that she was not charged and a lot of people are speculating that she will be arrested if she appears in the USA.]
11:40 AM Update
Barbara Bouchey’s request to speak longer than 10 minutes was denied by Judge Nicholas Garaufis. So she will be speaking like the others will, for 10 minutes.
10:30 AM Update
Several new filings on PACER this morning.
One was Judge Garaufis’ denial of the last-minute request from Clare’s mother, step-father, sister, and brother-in-law for a video-link to the proceedings.
The other two concerned a last-minute request from the Inner City Press for a telephone link to the proceedings – and the judge’s denial of that request. Here is the actual denial from Judge Garaufis:
ORDER: The court received the Inner City Press’s [934] Application that a telephone link be provided by the court for today’s sentencing of Defendant Clare Bronfman at 4:50am this morning. The Application is DENIED. The court has reserved seating in the courtroom for members of the press, and has established two additional courtrooms as well as the court cafeteria as overflow rooms for both the press and public to watch the proceeding by live video. Credentialed members of the press interested in attending the proceeding should contact court security and will be given priority seating in the overflow rooms. Ordered by Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis on 9/30/2020.
*****
Stay tuned for more updates throughout the day…
****************************************************************************************************************************************
We will begin our coverage of Clare Webb Bronfman’s sentencing as soon as information is available.
The newest information will be placed at the top of this post, with older information moving downward.
We will put the time of each entry.
The sentencing hearing begins at 11 AM and will likely go on for several hours before Clare is sentenced.
There will NOT be a remote dial-in option for the sentencing.
Bronfman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conceal and harbor illegal aliens for financial gain and fraudulent use of identification. The crimes carry a maximum of 15 and 10 years respectively and the judge has the option of sentencing her to consecutive sentences, meaning that the absolute maximum sentence Clare can get is 25 years.
That is unlikely to happen. The prosecution is recommending a sentence of five years and the defense is seeking probation. According to the terms of her plea deal, Clare can appeal any sentence longer than 27 months.
It is believed that Judge Garaufis will sentence her to more than 27 months, based on a statement he made last December about considering an upward departure.
Since then, Clare has written to the judge stating that she will not disavow Keith Raniere and Raniere’s recent antics, including having dancers twerk in front of the MDC where he is being held, demanding prosecutors sign an affidavit swearing that they did not commit any criminal acts while prosecuting Raniere, and saying in a recorded conversation that someone has to watch the judge so he will know he cannot get away with what has happened That affirmation of loyalty to Keith cannot possibly help Bronfman at her sentencing today.
Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis
United States District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis will preside and the hearing will take place in the Hon. Jack B. Weinstein Ceremonial Courtroom, 2nd floor, North Wing. There will be two Overflow Courtrooms: 2E North and 2F North to hear and watch the proceeding on video screens in real-time. In addition to the two overflow courtrooms, the sentencing proceeding will be live-streamed in the cafeteria seating area on the 3rd floor of the courthouse.
It is our understanding that 10 victims will speak – and that each speaker has been allotted 10 minutes. That means – with time in between speakers – that at least 80 minutes or more will elapse with victims statements alone.
Barbara Bouchey and Susan Dones are known to be speaking.
Barbara Bouchey will address the court and Clare Bronfman at her sentencing.
Susan Dones will be speaking at the sentencing hearing.
Clare may also have speakers on her behalf – possibly the Nxivm-5 – and she will most likely speak herself asking for leniency from the judge.
The Nxivm-5: Marc Elliot, Suneel Chakravorty, Michelle Hatchette, Eduardo Asunsolo, and Nicki Clyne. Will they speak on behalf of Clare?
Both the prosecution and the defense attorneys will speak arguing for their respective recommendations and that should take another half hour to one hour.
It is not known if the prosecution or defense will read any letters written by absent victims or supporters into the record.
The judge will also explain the process he followed in coming up with Clare’s sentence – and after he is done with that, he will hand down the sentence.
There may be a break in between speakers. I expect the proceedings to last several hours and not end before 1 PM and more likely 2 PM.
The two big things, of course, to look for is the length of the sentence and whether the judge remands Clare into custody immediately [which means she will be handcuffed while in court] or whether he will allow her to report to prison at a later date.
If she is remanded to prison, she will most likely be taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) – which, ironically enough, is where ner Vanguard is currently imprisoned. Thereafter, the Bureau of Prisons will decide where she will actually serve her sentence.
If she is assigned to serve her sentence at MDC, that might mean more charges are coming. If no charges are coming, it is likely she will be assigned to Danbury, Connecticut, a low-security United States federal prison for male and female inmates.
