Billionaire Heiress Paying Legal Fees in NXIVM Sex-Trafficking Case, Prosecutors Allege

Billionaire Heiress Paying Legal Fees in NXIVM Sex-Trafficking Case, Prosecutors Allege
Legal Council representing Keith Raniere and the group NXIVM Mark Agnifilo and Paul DerOhannesian outside the United States Eastern District Court in Brooklyn, New York City, on May 4, 2018. Jemal Countess/Getty Images
Petr Svab
Petr Svab
reporter
|Updated:

Clare Bronfman, heiress to the Seagram fortune, allegedly has been paying the legal fees for leaders of the NXIVM secret society who are standing trial on charges of sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. Prosecutors argued the lawyers may face a conflict of interest, partly because Bronfman is a co-defendant.

“The government has been advised that the legal fees of the defendants in this case, as well as certain witnesses, including Nxivm the corporation, have been paid by an irrevocable trust ... to which defendant Clare Bronfman is the primary contributor,” the prosecutors wrote in a Nov. 30 court filing.
Petr Svab
Petr Svab
reporter
Petr Svab is a reporter covering New York. Previously, he covered national topics including politics, economy, education, and law enforcement.
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