Lauren Salzman’s father has written a letter to Judge Nicholas Garaufis concerning the sentencing of his daughter, Lauren, which is scheduled to take place on Wednesday. Dr. Michael Salzman ran afoul of Keith Raniere in 2009 when he refused to fire one of the NXIVM-9, Nina, who worked for him.
When the NXIVM-9 left, Raniere instructed his followers to shun all of the nine women who left him. Knowing that Dr. Salzman, who was not a NXIVM member, continued to employ Nina, he suggested to Lauren and her mother, Nancy, that it was unethical for her father to continue to keep Nina employed when she was in ethical breach.
Dr. Salzman was given the opportunity to fire Nina, but he chose to keep her employed. Raniere then explained to Lauren and her sister, Michelle, that the only ethical thing to do was to shun their father, which they dutifully did – and for years they refused to speak to their father. After her arrest, Lauren realized that Vanguards might come and go but you may only have one father.
Here is Dr. Salzman’s letter to the judge.
Honorable Judge Garaufis,
By Michael Salzman M.D..
I offer my thoughts regarding my first-born daughter who now spends part of her Sundays with me in Clifton Park, New York. We spend a few hours reacquainting ourselves and unburdening our hearts and minds. During the week we regularly text each other and she fills me in with some of what is going on in her life.
I love and support Lauren completely and I offer empathetic comfort for someone who is hurting emotionally. Lauren has an intellect superior in many ways. I am ever more impressed by her ability to see the scope of the last 20 years of her life.
At Raniere’s instruction she was told to sever her relationship with me. He promoted himself as ethical and brilliant and was successful at
manipulating and controlling Lauren and many members of NXIVM to his many demands.
Her time in NXIVM is the only life she has known as she started young, right out of college. In discussions surrounding her totally immersive experiences in NXIVM, she is able to recall with startling clarity the many incidents and conversations with Raniere, corporate
executives, board members and the community.
Through the legal actions [prosecution] against Raniere, Lauren learned of bizarre activities he was engaged in that she was not privy to.
Raniere persuaded Lauren she was doing good in the world and often kept her and other members in classes and events that lasted days and long hours into the early hours of the morning.
Lauren Salzman and Keith Raniere on the volleyball court. She once touched a man other than Raniere on the court and he told her this disqualified her from having his child. If only Raniere’s mother had been so disqualified…
Lauren was raised in a household of healthcare professionals. Ethics and intellectual pursuits were emphasized. The concept of service to others was a high value, as was honesty, personal effort and learning. Through her own initiative she excelled academically. From an early age, and well into high school she was dedicated to the sport and discipline of gymnastics.
In seeking of new information and doing good in the world she has found a new outlet in the pet and animal healthcare industry. Lauren has taken the initiative and completed courses in the field of animal care and handling. She completed animal grooming classes and impressed her instructors and co-students sufficiently to be quickly hired as a groomer for domestic pets. She travelled 90 minutes each way to a facility where she worked long hours to hone her skills while simultaneously studying the next pet health care specialty.
She quickly become the go-to person at work for treatable skin disorders. I realized that her success deserved recognition and some reward, and I enthusiastically gifted her the same microscope that I have had since medical school.
Lauren is a gentle and loving person. She is eloquent and sincere. She is able to overcome her fear of the untried and unknown. She continues to amaze me with her excitement of new discoveries. We have reacquainting ourselves in our shared lives’ journey.
The NIXVM corporate life required her to travel and grow up in the organization begun long ago by Raniere.
She, and others, worked hard to please Raniere, following his rules, while he created situations to please himself and kept his desires and actions secret from Lauren and many around him.
At present, Lauren has more balance in her personal and professional life. She has moved to a new residence near to me. She is finally free from her NXIVM experiences, emotional and psychological manipulation and cruelty now reverberating through the local media and national media.
All of this has taken its toll on us and on Lauren’s health. We are hopeful that this trying ordeal will soon end.
I look forward to Lauren’s sentencing as an opportunity to put all this behind us. My wife, Sandy, and I will be at the courthouse to support her. We pray that this will have a positive outcome for Lauren.
