HAZELTON, WEST VIRGINIA: Nancy Salzman, the co-founder of the controversial group NXIVM, has pleaded with a federal judge to be released from prison, citing concerns that her breast cancer has returned. Salzman, who was sentenced to three-and-a-half years behind bars in September 2021 for her involvement in the twisted activities of NXIVM, expressed her worry during a court hearing on Monday, July 17. She claimed to have undergone a "worrisome ultrasound" earlier this year, and her attorney argued that officials had neglected to address her medical care since then.
Represented by her lawyer Robert Soloway, Salzman urged the court to intervene, stating, "Our client has been waiting for 16 ½ weeks with nothing done. We're here because they haven't done anything – they simply haven't done anything. The medical powers that be at the BOP have failed to do the things that need to be done to protect her life." Soloway further suggested that if Salzman were released, she would be able to promptly undergo an MRI to assess her condition, the New York Post reported.
Bureau of Prisons ordered to conduct MRI within 30 days
Responding to the concerns raised, Brooklyn federal court Judge Nicholas Garaufis ordered the Bureau of Prisons to arrange an MRI for Salzman within the next 30 days. Judge Garaufis shared the attorney's apprehension, expressing his desire to prevent Salzman's sentence from becoming a "death sentence." Salzman's lawyer informed the court that she had previously battled breast cancer in 2011 and 2018, requiring a mastectomy on the latter occasion.
Prosecutors assured the judge that although a specific date had not been set, an MRI would be conducted within the stipulated 30-day period. However, Judge Garaufis emphasized that if the procedure was not carried out as ordered, he expected Salzman's legal representatives to inform him promptly. “You come see me,” he told Salzman's lawyers.
What happened to Nancy Salzman?
Nancy Salzman gained prominence as the co-founder of NXIVM, a multi-level marketing company and cult based in Albany, New York, in 1998. The organization initially focused on self-development and success programs. Salzman, a former nurse and trained practitioner of hypnotism and neurolinguistic programming, played a pivotal role in promoting the teachings of NXIVM's leader, Keith Raniere, and recruiting thousands of members.
However, in 2018, NXIVM's dark underbelly was exposed. The group was revealed to operate as a cult-like organization, involving the branding of female members with Raniere's initials and the coercion of sexual relations with him. Additionally, female members were forced to provide personal and compromising information, including explicit photographs, as "collateral" to be used against them if they attempted to leave or speak out.
Within NXIVM, Salzman held the title of "Prefect," while Raniere was referred to as the "Vanguard." Salzman was prominently featured in instructional videos for Nxivm courses and led Jness, a women's group that served as an entry point into the secretive sorority known as DOS (Dominus Obsequious Sororium), which Raniere headed. DOS engaged in sex trafficking, forced labor, and sexual assault, as revealed in HBO's documentary series 'The Vow Part 1.'
Legal consequences
In March 2018, FBI agents conducted a raid on Salzman's residence in Waterford, New York, seizing a substantial sum of cash totaling $520,000, along with numerous electronic devices such as computers, cameras, and mobile phones, as well as foreign currency. Four months later, Salzman, along with her daughter Lauren Salzman, NXIVM bookkeeper Kathy Russell, and NXIVM leader Clare Bronfman, was arrested on charges of conspiracy racketeering.
Salzman pleaded guilty to conspiracy racketeering in March 2019. She admitted to tampering with tapes that were intended to be used as evidence in a civil lawsuit against a former NXIVM student, as reported by the Times Union. She also confessed to conspiring to commit identity theft in an attempt to obtain personal information about alleged NXIVM "enemies." In September 2021, Salzman was sentenced to three and a half years in prison and fined $150,000, per Newsweek.
Where is Nancy Salzman now?
As of now, Nancy Salzman, 69, is serving her sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution, Hazelton, in West Virginia. She commenced her imprisonment on February 21, 2022, and is expected to be released in December 2024. However, there is a possibility of her being granted compassionate release as early as September 7, provided she avoids any disciplinary issues during her incarceration, according to prosecutors.
NXIVM leader Keith Raniere, who devised the sinister creed known as DOS, received a 120-year prison sentence in 2019. Another co-defendant, actress Allison Mack, who played a role in brainwashing women into becoming sex slaves for Raniere, was released from a federal prison in California on July 5, serving less than two years of her three-year sentence. Her early release was attributed to her good behavior.
