Dozens of accusers who are saying they were victims of sex trafficking and forced labor have filed a mass lawsuit against the leaders of NXIVM, a purported personal development organization whose leader has been convicted of charges including racketeering, sex trafficking and child pornography.

The group, which was characterized by Brooklyn federal prosecutors as a "sex cult," caught national attention after numerous members, including TV actress Allison Mack and an heiress to the Seagram's liquor company, were charged with crimes in connection with the group's activities.

The suit was filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York by attorneys from the Philadelphia law firm Kohn Swift & Graf. The complaint names 19 defendants, including Mack, the group's leader Keith Raniere, and both Clare and Sara Bronfman, who are Seagram heiresses.

According to the docket, U.S. District Judge Eric R. Komitee of the Eastern District of New York has been assigned to the case. No attorneys have entered an appearance yet for the defendants.

NXIVM group's leader Keith Raniere interviewed by TV actress Allison Mack. Photo: YouTube

The 189-page complaint alleges that the organization sold itself as a self-help program, but in fact acted as a pyramid scheme and a means for leaders to groom some women to become sex slaves for Raniere, who was convicted on numerous charges in June over the conduct. According to the complaint, the group exposed members to damaging psychological experiments and coercion. Through these practices, a subset of women were also made to act as "slaves" for leaders, who were often intentionally deprived of sleep and food and forced to have sex with Raniere.

The complaint also said some members were made to turn over embarrassing information about themselves, or fabricate incriminating statements about loved ones, which were kept by the organization as collateral if the victim tried to leave.

"Defendants exerted power over the plaintiffs; took their money; made it financially, physically and psychologically difficult, and in some cases impossible, to leave the coercive community; and systematically abused plaintiff's physically and emotionally," the complaint said. "In doing so, the defendants achieved a number of personal benefits including by not limited to enriching themselves; wielding power over others; advancing in the perverse social order they created; and enhancing their own feelings of self-esteem."

READ THE COMPLAINT: 

The long list of claims raised in the complaint include fraud, identity theft, racketeering, forced labor and sex trafficking, and negligence for engaging in unauthorized practice of psychoanalysis, and mental health counselling. The plaintiffs are seeking both compensatory and punitive damages.

Although Mack and Clare Bronfman both pleaded guilty in connection with the organization, Kohn Swift attorney Neil Glazer, who filed the complaint, along with attorneys from Zuckerman Spaeder, said he is hopeful for a significant recovery in the case.

"Raniere, the leader of this group, had within his inner circle, a group of heiresses to the Seagram's fortune," he said, noting that he has reason to believe that Raniere also has some potentially recoverable assets. "It's not going to be easy. It never is, but they have some assets. Some of them are in trusts that we might have to litigate. It will be interesting."

According to Glazer, although the firm does some anti-terrorism work, the lawsuit is a bit of a departure from the antitrust cases that the firm generally focuses on. Glazer said he got involved in the issue in early 2017, when someone introduced him to a former insider in the group.

"At the time, I thought I was looking at some pyramid scheme, which this is, but then, alarming news came out about what was going on deep inside this group," he said, referring to news stories about women involved in the organization who reported being branded by group leaders.

Glazer said more victims began to come forward wishing to cooperate with the federal investigation of the group, and he agreed to help them navigate the process.

"Over time I built a trust relationship, and overtime more and more victims reached out, and I just couldn't say no," he said.

Raniere, Bronfman and Mack are all awaiting sentencing. The New York Law Journal was unable to find contact information for Sara Bronfman.