Keith Raniere

In October 2025, the Second Circuit upheld the rejection of his third application for a new trial, requests for post-conviction discovery and an application for judicial recusal. Raniere subsequently petitioned the Supreme Court; case No. 26-33 was distributed for the conference of 28 September 2026.

The Second Circuit rejected Raniere's central argument that a "commercial sex act" necessarily had to involve monetary consideration, and upheld the relevant sex trafficking convictions.

Federal judge Nicholas Garaufis sentenced Raniere to 120 years in prison and imposed a fine of 1.75 million dollars after hearing fifteen victim impact statements.

Legal status — source text

120-year federal sentence

Attribution

Accused

After a six-week trial, a federal jury found Raniere guilty of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, attempted sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy, forced labour conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy.

State of the evidence

Established by a court

Legal status — source text

Conviction

Attribution

Accused

Raniere developed NXIVM and its Executive Success Programs, in which members paid thousands of dollars for courses structured around a hierarchy strongly centred on him, under the title "Vanguard".

Attribution

Directly implicated

The indictment described the use of banking and credit card information belonging to a deceased sexual partner, with expenditure subject to Raniere's review and approval.

Attribution

Directly implicated

Following public exposure of DOS, Raniere was found in a luxury villa near Puerto Vallarta. Mexican authorities expelled him and he was taken into US federal custody.

Attribution

Directly implicated

Admission to DOS required the submission of compromising material: confessions, rights over assets, sexual photographs or videos. The threat of disclosure was used to obtain obedience, labour and services.

Attribution

Directly implicated

DOS members were branded in the pelvic region using cautery during filmed ceremonies, with the symbol incorporating Raniere's initials without their knowledge.

Attribution

Directly implicated

Women were assigned by their "masters" to sexual activities with Raniere while fearing that their collateral would be disclosed if they refused. The jury found him guilty of sex trafficking, attempted sex trafficking and conspiracy.

Attribution

Directly implicated

Daniela was confined to a room for almost two years, deprived of contact and threatened with being sent back to Mexico without documents if she left, in order to force her to work and submit to Raniere's demands.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

The federal case described a scheme to obtain email login credentials belonging to Raniere's critics and adversaries in order to monitor their communications.

Attribution

Directly implicated

Among the racketeering acts, the jury found that Raniere, then approximately 45 years old, had sexually exploited 15-year-old Camila and taken sexually explicit photographs of her.

Attribution

Directly implicated

Prosecutors described a plan involving the use of another person's identity to take a foreign national who had been denied entry into Canada and then the United States.

Attribution

Directly implicated

In civil litigation, course videos were edited to remove passages that might assist the opposing party and then submitted as though unaltered. This episode was incorporated into the racketeering case.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated