U.S. cult leader arrested in Mexico

NEW YORK • The leader of a secretive group in upstate New York turned female followers into brainwashed “slaves” who were branded with his initials and coerced into having sex, authorities allege in a complaint charging him with sex-trafficking.

Keith Raniere, co-founder of the group called Nxivm, was arrested in Mexico and returned to Texas Monday, authorities said. He was to appear in court on Tuesday.

According to the complaint, Raniere — known within the group as “Vanguard” — oversaw a barbaric system in which women were told the best way to advance was to become a “slave” overseen by “masters.” They also were expected to have sex with him and do menial chores for masters, and to keep the arrangement a secret or be publicly humiliated, the complaint says.

In a letter attributed to Raniere previously posted on a website related to Nxivm, he denied the practices were sanctioned by the selfdescribed self-help group.

The complaint said many victims participated in videotaped ceremonies where they were branded in their pelvic area with a symbol featuring Raniere’s initials.

“During the branding ceremonies, slaves were required to be fully naked, and the master would order one slave to film while the other held down the slave being branded,” the complaint says.

Over the years, Nxivm has attracted a following that includes Emmy Award-winning actress Allison Mack. Authorities also say Raniere has been bankrolled by Clare Bronfman, an heiress to the Seagram’s liquor fortune.

Bronfman, who lives in New York, gave millions of dollars covering expenses like private air travel costing $65,000 flight, court papers say.

Investigators said Raniere preferred exceptionally thin women, so “slaves” had to stick to very low-calorie diets and document every food they ate.

As punishment for not following orders, women were forced to attend classes where they were “forced to wear fake cow udders over their breasts while people called them derogatory names,” or threatened with being put in cages, court papers say.

Raniere left the United States late last year after The New York Times reported the stories of some women who defected from their secret sorority and the government began interviewing potential witnesses. He sought to cover this trail by using encrypted email and ditching his phone, court papers say.

He was found staying with several women in a luxury gated community in Puerto Vallarta where villas can run $10,000 a week, investigators say. After authorities took him into custody on a U.S. warrant, investigators said the women got into a high-speed car chase.