Seagram Heiress Gets 81 Months for Role in Nxivm Sex Cult

Clare Bronfman used wealth to aid cult leader Keith Raniere
Raniere convicted of sex trafficking, other charges in June

Clare Bronfman arrives at federal court in the Brooklyn borough of New York, U.S., on Sept. 30.Photographer: Paul Frangipane/Bloomberg

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By Patricia Hurtado

September 30, 2020 at 8:18 PM UTC

Updated on

September 30, 2020 at 10:55 PM UTC

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Clare Bronfman, an heiress to the Seagram Co. liquor fortune, was sentenced to 81 months in prison and $6.5 million in penalties for her role in luring female victims for the Nxivm sex cult founded by Keith Raniere.

“She used her incredible wealth and attempted to use her social status and connections not only to support Nxivm’s work but also as a means of intimidating, threatening, and exacting revenge,” U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis said Wednesday in Brooklyn, New York. The sentence Garaufis imposed was longer than the five years requested by prosecutors, and he ordered her immediately remanded into federal custody.