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thewebofslime · 5 years

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A billionaire Seagram's heiress who is on trial for a number of offenses relating to her role in the sex-slave cult DOS was taken out of a federal courtroom in Brooklyn on a stretcher Wednesday afternoon. Clare Bronfman, a member of controversial organisation Nixivm, had been notified on Tuesday that she would need to appear for a curcio hearing in the case. Judge Nicholas Garaufis made the order shortly after it was revealed that one of Bronfman's lawyers could find himself dealing with his own legal issues. The judge wasted no time getting down to business, and early in the hearing asked Bronfman and her attorney if she was being represented by Michael Avenatti. Bronfman remained quiet, an eyewitness told DailyMail.com, while her curcio lawyer objected to these questions. That in turn prompted very irritated judge to call a sidebar and, eventually demand that Bronfman give him a 'yes or no' answer. It was then the she suddenly staggered back to her table in the courtroom and collapsed onto the floor. Emily Saul from the New York Post was the first to report the story. Scroll down for the video +6 Gray day: Clare Bronfman (above exiting court with Mark Geragos on Wednesday) fainted in court and had to be carried out on a stretcher after she was ordered to attend an emergency hearing +6 Recovered: The sudden spell occurred while the billionaire Seagram's heiress was being asked to reveal if she had secretly hired Michael Avenatti as her lawyer (Bronfman and Geragos) +6 Legal woes: Both Bronfman and Geragos now find themselves in legal trouble as a result of their ties with Avenatti Video playing bottom right... Click here to expand to full page Loaded: 0%Progress: 0%0:00 Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration Time 1:42 Fullscreen Expand Close Soon after she hit the floor, an ambulance rushed to the courthouse and EMTs were seen rolling in a stretcher to examine Bronfman. She remained conscious and was taken into a conference room so she could regain her strength. Bronfman never did answer that question about her lawyers, but she will be back in court on Thursday for a continuation of the proceedings. The judge called the hearing shortly after Avenatti was indicted for allegedly trying to extort $25 million from Nike with the help of co-conspirator Mark Geragos. The curcio hearing was likely called because of Bronfman's ties to Avenatti and Geragos, with the judge now ordering Bronfman to state in open court that she would not try to delay or put the federal case on hold should she suddenly be without her counsel. Avenatti has never filed paperwork that stated he was representing Bronfman in the legal proceedings, but both Geragos and Assistant US Attorney Mark Lesko revealed that there was a meeting last week with the lawyer discussing the case against Bronfman. RELATED ARTICLES Previous 1 Next Doctor accused of killing mistress' newborn with PCP and... 'The public will learn the truth about Nike¿s crime and... EXCLUSIVE: R Kelly dodges NYC court hearing as lawyer for... Robert Durst murdered wife Kathie after being told to 'take... SHARE THIS ARTICLE Share 24 shares It is unclear if this mean Bronfman will be seeking a plea, as a number of her co-defendants have now done. It was announced just last week that both Allison Mack and Kathy Russell were hoping to get leniency in exchange for their testimony. Nancy Salzman, the woman who co-founded the group with Keith Raniere, chose another option all together. She broke down in tears earlier this month as she entered a guilty plea to one count of racketeering while apologizing to her daughter and co-defendant, Lauren. She said that it took a great deal of soul searching to arrive at her decision, and then struggled to gather herself as she stated: 'I am deeply sorry for the trouble I have brought to my daughter.' Salzman did this without a plea deal in place and said she was eager to begin atoning for hers sins, with her crime carrying a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. At the same time, attorneys for the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York began laying out their case against the remaining members of the group, who in addition to NXIVM were also involved in the branded sex cult DOS. The most startling claim to emerge this far in court documents is the claim that Raniere raped two underage girls on multiple occasions. Raniere was also in an 'intimate relationship' with Bronfman, claim the documents, who had previously been funding the legal defense for her five co-defendants but is now distancing herself from the group. 'I am pleading guilty because I am in fact guilty,' said a shockingly frank and emotional Salzman. 'I got involved with NXIVM because I believed we would be helping people, and I still believe some good came out of it.' The judge scheduled Salzman's sentencing for July, and it is unclear if she will now be testifying against her former co-defendants in the case. 'NXIVM's teachings and practices are no more inflammatory than the allegations surrounding the predicate acts and charged offenses themselves, which include keeping a woman in a room for nearly two years, non-consensual sex, extreme diets and sleep deprivation, sexually explicit photographs and branding of Raniere's initials on women's bodies without their knowledge,' states the new prosecution filing, submitted on Monday. +6 Here's Mikey: Assistant US Attorney Mark Lesko revealed in court on Wednesday that he had met with Geragos and Avenatti (above on March 22) last week to discuss the case +6 Regret: Nancy Salzman (above leaving court on March 13) broke down in tears earlier this month as she entered a guilty plea to one count of racketeering while apologizing to her daughter and co-defendant, Lauren. +6 Brander: It was announced just last week that both Allison Mack (above last June leaving federal court) and Kathy Russell were hoping to get leniency in exchange for their testimony. Those underage rape claims were revealed in greater detail further down the documents. That is where is was stated by prosecutor that many people 'including the defendants, were aware of and facilitated Raniere's sexual relationships with two underage victims.' The first was 'a fifteen-year-old girl who was employed by Nancy Salzman and who—ten years later—became Raniere's first-line 'slave' in DOS.' The second was 'a child whose sexual relationship with Raniere was known to, and facilitated by, members of the Enterprise.' The prosecution also revealed how they would be offering proof of these crimes, stating that they were in possession of 'dated images of the victim, constituting child pornography, that were created and possessed by Raniere.' There is also 'electronic communications between the victim and Raniere reflecting their sexual relationship and indicating that it began when she was fifteen years old.' Shortly after, the government presented how they would make a case on those counts of human trafficking that Rainiere and Smallville star Allison Mack are facing at this time. 'At trial, the government will offer evidence that the defendants and their co-conspirators sought to secure visas and immigration status for certain non-citizens so that they could work in one or more NXIVM-affiliated organizations or as sexual partners for Raniere,' reads the memorandum. 'The evidence relating to this conduct will consist, in large part, of testimony from the same witnesses who will testify regarding the charged offenses.' Kathy Russell actually took care of housing one of these 'slaves,' leasing 'the property for over seven years and, each year, paid the rent in cash and in full.' Mack meanwhile engaged in a 'sham' marriage with a woman who 'recruited DOS "slaves" who pledged loyalty and obedience both to her and to Raniere, their "Grandmaster."' The memo also details how the government plans to show the ways that the defendants 'protected Raniere and the Enterprise by, among other things, attempting to silence and intimidate DOS slaves and issuing public statements falsely denying Raniere’s involvement in DOS.' One example that is offered involves comment that Bronfman made after she 'received letters from separate DOS victims requesting the return or destruction of collateral, which included descriptions of the collateral, including nude photographs and videos.' Despite having seen those letter, Bronfman still publicly stated that DOS was a 'sorority' which had 'truly benefited the lives of its members, and does so freely.' She went on to state: 'I find no fault in a group of women (or men for that matter) freely taking a vow of loyalty and friendship with one another to feel safe while pushing back against the fears that have stifled their personal and professional growth.' A brief mention is also made of a campaign launched by Bronfman and Raniere to lure former members to Mexico where there were reportedly warrants out for their arrest. Prosecutors also plan to hone in on the subservient role that woman play and are taught to play in the organization. 'Nxivm’s teachings about women’s allegedly prideful natures and willingness to "play the victim," and the emphasis in Nxivm’s teachings on penances and "ethical breaches," are interwoven into Jane Doe 4 and the DOS victims’ experiences,' states the memo. 'These concepts also appear throughout the documents that will be trial exhibits, including emails between the victims and the defendants.' It then cites: 'For example, Jane Doe 4 and Raniere exchanged at least 300 emails discussing her supposed “breach” and approximately 400 emails discussing her acting like a "victim."'

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