Following in the footsteps of her mother, Lauren Salzman has decided to plead guilty rather than go to trial in the case of the U.S. v. Raniere Et Al. But whereas Nancy only pleaded guilty to one count of Racketeering Conspiracy, Lauren pleaded to one count each of Racketeering and Racketeering Conspiracy.
Lauren’s plea was apparently done “under seal” on Monday, March 25th, in order to keep the details from becoming known by the other defendants in the case, some of whom are also engaged in plea deal negotiations.
But the Scheduling Order for her sentencing – which will take place on September 11th – was just posted on PACER.
It was only a few weeks ago that Lauren’s mother, Nancy, pleaded guilty to one count of Racketeering Conspiracy. Although whatever sentence Nancy receives will be solely determined by U.S. District Court Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis, the Federal Sentencing Guidelines call for a sentence in the range of 33-41 months.
Based on the second superseding indictment in the case, Lauren was facing four separate felony counts – and a variety of underlying predicate acts. The actual charges she was facing were as follows:
• Count One: Racketeering Conspiracy
• Count Two: Racketeering
Racketeering Act Nine
– A. Trafficking Of Jane Doe 4 For Labor And Services (Keith Raniere, Lauren Salzman & Others)
– B. Document Servitude Of Jane Done 4 (Keith Raniere, Lauren Salzman & Others)
Racketeering Act Ten
– State Law Extortion (Keith Raniere, Allison Mack, Lauren Salzman & Others)
Racketeering Act Thirteen
– Forced Labor Of Jane Doe 9 (Lauren Salzman & Others)
• Count Six: Forced Labor Conspiracy
• Count Seven: Wire Fraud Conspiracy
*****
The two counts to which Lauren pleaded guilty each carry a maximum sentence of 20-years. Just like her mother, however, Lauren will likely receive a much more lenient sentence than the maximum.
With Lauren’s plea now in hand, there are only four defendants left in the case: Keith Alan Raniere, Clare Bronfman, Allison Mack, and Kathy Russell.
Bronfman is definitely known to be in plea deal negotiations.
And Mack is also reportedly discussing a plea deal.
At the hearing where she pleaded guilty, Nancy Salzman sobbed as she read the following words from her prepared statement “I am deeply sorry for the trouble I have brought to my daughter”.
According to several former members of NXIVM/ESP, Lauren was barely of legal age when Nancy started encouraging her to “spend time” with Raniere.
For a time, both mother and daughter were part of Raniere’s harem.
Raniere reportedly promised Lauren more than 15-years ago that she would bear his first-born child. That promise – which he supposedly also made to several other women – fell by the wayside as Raniere fathered children with at least two other women while Lauren remained childless.
Lauren spent her entire adult life working for NXIVM/ESP – and rose through the ranks to become one of its highest-ranking members.
In addition to serving on the NXIVM/ESP Executive Board, Lauren also was the cult’s Director of Education.
Lauren was one of the early recruits for the secret society within NXIVM/ESP that is known as Dominus Obsequious Sororium (DOS) – Master Over The Slave Women.
But even though she had been involved with NXIVM/ESP – and with Raniere – for a much longer period of time, it was Allison Mack that Raniere chose to be the head of DOS.
So, Lauren ended up becoming one of Mack’s slaves before she put together her own block of slaves, one of whom was Sarah Edmondson.
Now in her early 40s, it is unlikely that Lauren will ever experience the joys of motherhood.
In addition to possibly being past her child-bearing years by the time she gets out of prison, it is unlikely that Lauren will ever become an adoptive parent.
It’s hard to think of anyone other than Lauren who sacrificed more – and ended up with less – in the service of NXIVM/ESP.
Viva Executive Success!
Two documents:
Salzman letter that she pleads guilty
Scheduling order for sentencing
How long her sentence will be is entirely up to Judge Garaufis — but based on the sentencing guidelines and some of the relevant factors that we already know, we estimate that Lauren will get a sentence of 4-6 years.
Ironically, Lauren pleaded guilty on March 25 [KAR-ma Eve], just one day short of a year when her Vanguard was arrested. With this new development – and with her likely testimony if the case goes to trial — nearly all hopes for Lauren to have Vanguard’s avatar baby seem now to be extinguished.
And so, her 25-year dream of having a child with Keith comes to an end…
