Seagram’s heiress Clare Bronfman coughed up more than $14 million to fund the defense of Nxivm leader Keith Raniere, herself and other accused sex cult cohorts, Brooklyn jurors heard Tuesday.
Government witness Richard Guerci, formerly of the IRS, testified that the liquor scion had deposited more than $14.3 million into an irrevocable trust to cover legal bills for herself and others charged in connection with Raniere.
While it was previously known Bronfman established the trust, the amount had remained a mystery.
Earlier Tuesday, prosecutor Mark Lesko told the court the sum had not been deposited all at once but in six or seven installments.
Guerci revealed that the trust had one other donor in addition to Bronfman: former high-ranking Nxivm member Jack Levy — who donated a comparatively paltry $1,030.
Raniere stands accused of running a secret master-slave group within Nxivm called DOS, in which women were branded, starved and forced to have sex with him.
Jurors on Tuesday listened as the investigator explained a series of purchases the 58-year-old allegedly authorized on an American Express card belonging to his dead partner, Pamela Cafritz.
The charges included $783.61 worth of a supplement called Prosvent — which can be used to treat erectile dysfunction.
Multiple witnesses have testified that Raniere had difficulty maintaining an erection.
Bronfman pleaded guilty earlier this year to conspiracy to conceal and harbor an illegal alien for financial gain, and fraudulent use of identification. She’s awaiting sentencing.
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