In our coverage of NXIVM-related news, Frank Report would be remiss is we failed to provide readers with the letter to Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis on behalf of Lauren Salzman written by her brother-in-law, Ben Myers.
It has a rather large omission in it.
While Myers advocates for Lauren, he fails to mention he was a member of NXIVM, a man who very well could have been charged as part of the so-called NXIVM/Keith Raniere inner-circle racketeering enterprise.
Myers wrote to ask leniency for his sister-in-law’s crimes of racketeering in a conspiracy he himself participated in.
If we buy into the racketeering charges against NXIVM, and some legally knowledgeable people doubt its application in the NXIVM case, then Myers is part of that conspiracy.
Perhaps the most serious predicate act Myers engaged in was participating in a conspiracy to alter the results of an official proceeding by another one of his omissions – a massive one, of not telling police he was a NXIVM member, and pretending instead to be an independent computer expert weighing in on evidence given to New York State Police Trooper Rodger Kirsopp about the location of a NXIVM server that was supposedly accessed without permission – which led to the false indictment of Joe O’Hara, Barbara Bouchey, John Tighe, and Toni Natalie.
Four people were indicted largely or partly because of Myers’ lie by omission – and each of them suffered a great deal of pain and financial distress as a result of that indictment.
The charges were finally dropped because Clare Bronfman and Ben were caught in their lie. But they were not dropped until the eve of trial and a lot of time and money spent and personal suffering endured.
This was a far worse racketeering crime than altering a video in the Sutton civil lawsuit.
Myers had to lie to get the above-named indicted because the Saratoga County District Attorney, and the NYS Attorney General, who both had jurisdiction because of where the server really was located, refused to indict the enemies of Raniere on bogus charges.
Happily, Albany County Attorney P. David Soares was willing to help and this now-intrepid hunter of Andrew Cuomo’s scalp was able to accommodate the Bronfman-Raniere litigation lust.
While Albany DA P. David Soares was willing to help Keith Raniere out any time, he is now after Andrew Cuomo for allegedly abusing women.
After Myers lied about the location of the server and failed to disclose his NXIVM affiliation, he, next, according to one source, actually helped secretly move the server to a location in Albany County after the fact to give jurisdiction to Soares.
Soares then assigned a special prosecutor – a former assistant of his who was then in private law practice – to indict Raniere’s enemies.
It worked out splendidly. Clare Bronfman hired another one of Soares’ former assistants, also in private practice, to represent her and the special prosecutor [Soares’s old assistant] and Bronfman’s lawyer [Soares’ old assistant] were off to the races.
The reason Soares had to refer the case to a special prosecutor to bring bogus charges against the enemies of NXIVM was because that would allow him to avoid being criticized like he was when he indicted O’Hara once before on behalf of Clare Bronfman – and even allowed NXIVM member Kristin Keeffe to secretly work in his DA offices as a Legal Intern to help with that indictment – a huge conflict of interest and an act for which he should have been removed from office, especially considering his eager and close ties to NXIVM including having relatives who attended NXIVM courses.
In short, Myers acted as if he was part of an independent computer server company when, in reality, he was deep-NXIVM, and dating Michelle Salzman, the daughter of the president of NXIVM, Nancy Salzman (He later married Michelle – and they are now awaiting the birth of their first child).
Michelle and Ben Myers
In sum – Myers’ predicate act was that he – as a supposedly independent computer expert – stated that the server that hosted NXIVM’s website and other NXIVM-related materials was in Albany County when, in reality, it was in Saratoga County. This allowed one of NXIVM’s chief enablers, Albany District Attorney P. David Soares, to appoint his former assistant as a special prosecutor to indict four of NXIVM’s enemies.
While Judge Garaufis exclaimed at Lauren Salzman’s sentencing that he was astonished that law enforcement in Albany did nothing to stop Raniere and NXIVM, Ben was part of the process of helping law enforcement do nothing to stop Raniere. And then, he ironically sends a letter to Judge Garaufis asking him to go easy on Lauren – while, once again, failing to disclose he was in NXIVM up to his eyeballs.
Good or bad – Myers was in NXIVM and the case was about NXIVM – and he did not disclose it.
Another thing Ben failed to disclose. He was the one who Daniela kissed – and for whom she committed her so-called ethical breach – and got herself confined to a room for two years. I always found it puzzling that Ben would sit by and not wonder what happened to Daniela – or confront Raniere – and how the years passed with Daniela confined in a room – and he made no inquiries about how the women he kissed and was developing a relationship with just disappeared.
Did he know she was languishing in a room for almost two years? Did he simply not care? Perhaps he was onto new game – the president’s daughter, Michelle.
This is of significance for he likely will be sending another letter on behalf of his mother-in-law, Nancy Salzman, who is due to be sentenced in September.
The letter is also interesting for another reason. In an astonishing paragraph in the sentencing memorandum for Lauren Salzman, the prosecution praises her for informing on her close friends, family members, and even her own mother – as if this is praiseworthy in and of itself.
Lauren Salzman leaves Brooklyn federal court.
The paragraph in question is:
As set forth above, Lauren Salzman provided extraordinary assistance to the government’s investigation and prosecution of this case. She met with the government on dozens of occasions, both in proffers and in preparation for trial testimony, and answered all the government’s questions, including questions about crimes she committed, as well as criminal activity engaged in by her close friends and family members, including her mother.
The prosecution used the words “family members” – as in plural. There were three of Lauren’s family members that I know were in NXIVM: her mother, Nancy Salzman; her sister, Michelle Salzman; and her brother-in-law, Ben Myers.
It appears that Lauren very likely told the feds about crimes Ben allegedly committed [racketeering] and for which he was not charged. If you read his letter – between the lines – and I could not resist making some editorial comments [in bold and brackets] – you might wonder if Ben was trying for payback.
[BTW, we will be looking into the role that P. David Soares played in keeping NXIVM alive and well in an upcoming series.]
Ben Myers
Letter from Ben Myers to Judge Garaufis [My comments are in bold and bracketed]
Dear Judge Garaufis:
My name is Ben Myers.
I’m currently the lead product manager and senior software engineer for a company focused on increasing equality and diversity in professional opportunities in music.
I’ve known Lauren for over a decade now and I’ve been her brother-in-law for three years. I’m very well-aware of her situation, as well as how she has handled what has happened over the past years.
As the legal events played out, I saw Lauren crumble. At one time in her life she would have steadfastly supported Mr. Raniere, yet when she became aware of what Mr. Raniere was actually doing and what his intentions were, she went through a devastating recapitulation of the prior two decades of her life.
Through her reassessment of herself and her actions, I’ve seen her take a deep responsibility for the resulting pain that she’s caused in others’ lives. [Ed. note: Good left-handed compliment, Ben].
Through an incredibly painful journey, I’ve seen her come to understand the pain and destruction that her actions have caused people and that understanding weighs on her conscience every day. [Another good left-handed compliment – remind the judge of all the pain and suffering she caused others but do not mention the pain you caused O’Hara, Natalie, Bouchey, Tighe, or for that matter, Daniela.]
Over the past year, she’s begun to rebuild her life with deep humility and an intention to contribute positively to her community and her family. At over 40, she has committed to learn a new profession and with her new trade, she is starting a business through which she will
contribute in very positive ways to her community.
I’ve always found Lauren to be caring and well-intended and she has always acted with peoples’ best interest at heart. On a personal level, I honestly could not wish for a better, more caring sister-in-law.
Since my wife and I have been married, I’ve always experienced her to be entirely supportive and she’s always held our partnership in the highest regard.
What Mr. Raniere did to Lauren and others was an unconscionable betrayal of trust. Through his deceit and dishonesty with Lauren when she was barely an adult, [She was 24 years old! When does a woman grow up and become responsible for her actions in Ben’s eyes?] he took over two decades of the prime of her life away from her, [Doesn’t she have any responsibility for staying for two decades? This barely adult woman of 24 stayed through her entire {barely adult} 30s and into her 40s] and because Lauren has recognized the subsequent effects she’s had on others’ lives [another left-handed compliment] and her own responsibility [go for it, Ben, that’s five times now you mentioned the pain she caused others] in that, she continues to experience that pain on her conscience every day.
As you consider Lauren’s sentencing, it’s my hope that you can consider how she has humbly taken responsibility for her actions, [something you have not yet done Ben] how she continues to feel the pain she’s caused in others’ lives, [this is the sixth time he’s mentioned the pain she caused others and still counting] and how she is a humble, positive and valuable member of family and her community.
Sincerely,
Ben Myers
Ed. Note: Wow with a family member like Ben, no wonder Lauren informed on him and all the rest of ’em.
