NXIVM Member Lauren Salzman Walks Free From BK Court: Reports

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — Lauren Salzman, a high-ranking NXIVM cult member and admitted master to slaves branded with the initials of leader Keith Raniere, walked away free from a Brooklyn courtroom Wednesday, according to court records and reports.

Salzman, who testified against Raniere and pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy charges, was sentenced to more than five years probation and time served, according to a Courthouse News reporter who attended the Eastern District of New York hearing.

Lauren Salzman, who pleaded guilty to racketeering and RICO conspiracy in connection with the NXIVM sex cult, is sentenced to time served +5 years probation.

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— nina pullano (@NinaPullano) July 28, 2021

Despite a statement from former NXIVM member Ivy Nevares, who said Salzman never apologized for having "used her position and skills to try to force me to accept my exploitation and to do so with a smile," Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis sided with Salzman's attorneys who argued their client played a pivotal role in convicting Raniere.

Attorneys also noted she’s grabbed a new life by “the reins,” or, more appropriately, by the leash.

Salzman's attorneys submitted last week a plea for leniency that includes a detailed history of her new career as a dog groomer.

“Lauren was very gentle, patient and loving with [my dog],” one satisfied customer testified. “We will always go to Lauren for the grooming needs of our fur family.”

The 43-page sentencing memorandum filed Friday in Eastern District of New York details Salzman’s efforts to help convict Raniere — now serving 120 years on charges of alien smuggling, sex trafficking and extortion — and launch a dog grooming business in Clifton Park, the suburb where the NXIVM sex cult spread.

Salzman, 45, enrolled in pet grooming school and earned her first professional dog styling certificate in fall 2019, months after Raniere was found guilty in Brooklyn’s federal court, according to the memorandum.

Raniere’s conviction was partially due, her lawyers argued, to information Salzman provided prosecutors about her roll as a master in DOS, a secret NXIVM society that masqueraded as a women’s empowerment group.

It was Salzman who explained Raniere's system of demanding nude photographs from “slaves” that would be used to coerce them to submit to domination and branding, the document states.

It was also Salzman who threatened with deportation to Mexico a woman kept in a locked room for nearly two years, records show.

Since Salzman testified against Raniere, she has worked as a groomer at a Clifton Park pet store, whose owner praised Salzman for her compassion, and earned dog care certificates from Duke University, the University of Edinburgh and the Animal Behavior College, the memorandum states.

In May 2020, Salzman incorporated her own pet grooming business that provides skin and coat therapy services, according to the document.

“Lauren has a passion for working with animals, and she is excelling in this line of work,” her attorneys write.

“This is in large part due to the fact that for the first time in her adult life, Lauren has grabbed the reins and has directed her life in the manner she sees fit.”

This story was updated to reflect Salzman's sentencing in Brooklyn's federal court Wednesday, July 28.