NXIVM

NXIVM was an American multi-level marketing company based near Albany, New York, that offered personal and professional development seminars through its "Executive Success Programs". The company has been described as a cult and a pyramid scheme that also served as a recruiting platform for a secret society (variously called "DOS" or "The Vow") in which women were branded and forced into sexual slavery.

In early 2018, NXIVM founder Keith Raniere and his associate, actress Allison Mack, were arrested and indicted on federal charges related to DOS, including sex trafficking. Others associated with NXIVM were also charged with federal crimes. As of April 2019, five people associated with NXIVM—Mack, NXIVM co-founder Nancy Salzman, Lauren Salzman, Seagram heiress Clare Bronfman, and bookkeeper Kathy Russell—had pleaded guilty to various charges. Raniere's federal trial began on May 7, 2019. On June 19, 2019, he was convicted of sex trafficking and racketeering.