Cybercrime experts for a convicted trafficker say evidence for some of the most shocking charges against him was tampered with and planted on storage drives that were supposed to be in the safe custody of the FBI, according to court documents.
NXIVM sex cult founder Keith Raniere, 64, is serving a 120-year sentence in a federal prison in Tuscon, Arizona. Prosecutors said he recruited women and girls into a sex cult disguised as a self-help organization. He had an “inner circle” of “slaves” and “masters”. Some women stamped Raniere’s initials on their bodies. Prosecutors claim that he kept the domestic servant captive in the room for almost two years.
One survivor, India Oxenberg, said FOX News True Crime Podcast she endured “dehumanizing” treatment, including “repeated abuse and rape” before she and her mother escaped the cult.
The FBI declined to comment when reached by Fox News Digital.
NXIVM SELF-HELP FOUNDER KEITH RANIERE SENTENCED TO 120 YEARS FOR SEX TRAFFICKING
Keith Raniere, the former leader of NXIVM, was convicted in 2019 of seven counts that included racketeering, conspiracy to commit extortion, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit forced labor, sex trafficking, sex conspiracy and attempted human trafficking for sexual purposes. (YouTube)
In addition to abusing adult victims, federal prosecutors allege that Raniere was 45 years old and that the child victim, identified only as “Camila,” was 15 when he photographed and sexually assaulted her.
Raniere’s lead attorney, Joseph Tully, told Fox News Digital that the evidence used to convict his client of the “most heinous” charges — child pornography and child exploitation — was “demonstrably” forged and planted by the FBI.
“If I could just have a hearing, I could just show the world that, as outrageous as it may seem, this tampering happened, and it happened while he was in FBI custody,” he said.
At issue are dozens of photos on a memory card and hard drive that defense experts say were time-stamped, allegedly making it look like the young woman was under the age of consent when they were taken. Between April 2019 and June 2019, additional photos reportedly surfaced FBI forensic reportaccording to court filings.
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Alan Dershowitza prominent constitutional lawyer, is not part of Raniere’s team but consulted with his lawyers after learning of allegations of FBI malfeasance.
He told Fox News Digital that if Raniere’s experts were right, it would represent a “staggering act of government misconduct.” If the allegations prove true, it could affect other cases.
NXIVM Executive Success Programs signing outside the office at 455 New Karner Road on April 26, 2018 in Albany, NY Keith Raniere, founder of NXIVM, was arrested by the FBI in Mexico in March 2018. (Amy Luke/Getty Images)
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He said the late filing of charges involving a child tipped the scales in favor of the prosecution.
“They allegedly had a very, very, very weak case against the defendant, very weak. He could have easily won the case, and then at the last minute they ‘discovered’ a photograph of a female person, naked, which they claim was a minor,” he said in an interview with Fox News Digital. “Now, when you introduce into evidence anything involving a minor, the case is over.”
The second defendant took it almost immediately plea agreementhe said. Four other co-accused eventually also decided to plead guilty.
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But defense experts, in a series of affidavits filed last month in federal court, now say the photos were taken when the woman was over the age of consent and then altered to appear as if they were taken earlier.
“Why shouldn’t we have a hearing? And it doesn’t just involve Mr. Raniere. It involves every American,” Dershowitz said. “When you have someone in prison who is there because of unauthorized government evidence, that’s the Soviet Union. That’s Iran. That’s China. That’s not the United States of America.”
Clare Bronfman, heir to the Seagram’s liquor empire, arrives for a hearing on charges related to Albany-based organization NXIVM in United States Federal Court in Brooklyn, NY on July 25, 2018. (Reuters/Brendan McDermid)
The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the defense expert’s findings. The US attorney’s office, which handled the case, declined to comment. The answer did not arrive in court until January 27.
It’s unclear why the FBI or federal prosecutors would allegedly frame Raniere, but Tully, who wrote a 2018 book about corruption in the criminal justice system, said his client had extremely wealthy enemies and was simply unpopular.
They wanted to ‘get him,’ he told Fox News Digital. “When the popular kid at school wants to make the poorer kids with holes in their shoes the laughing stock of the school, they do. And that’s not how human behavior changes when those kids grow up and get their law degrees and want to become prosecutors.”
Newsweek first reported the allegations in late December, but Raniere still hasn’t been arraigned nearly a month later.
Actress Allison Mack arrives at the United States Eastern District Court on May 4, 2018, following a bail hearing on sex trafficking charges filed against her in the Brooklyn borough of New York. The actress known for her role in “Smallville” has been accused of sex trafficking, along with alleged cult leader Keith Raniere. (Countess Jemal/Getty Images)
“And the government desperately wants to be out of earshot,” Dershowitz said. “They don’t want the public record to show that seven experts, including some who worked for the FBI, that they use to get convictions against people, are now saying that this was falsified evidence.”
Raniere’s defense attorneys are seeking a new trial. In a court filing, they alleged that “the government knowingly used falsified evidence to secure a conviction” based on the findings of seven of their experts.
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Raniere billed himself as a wellness guru, and his program drew high-profile women into his orbit, including actress Allison Mack and Seagram heiress Clare Bronfman, both of whom were convicted of lesser charges. Critics have called NXIVM a cult centered on sex trade and abuse.
The central allegation in the racketeering case against Raniere was that he had a sexual relationship with “Camila”, an alleged 15-year-old girl. He was sentenced to 120 years in prison.
WATCH: Survivors of the NXIVM cult talk about mental and physical abuse
dr. Richard Kiper, a leading expert and former FBI agent who specializes in cybersecurity and digital evidence, wrote in a 59-page affidavit that as the defense reviewed the case, “he discovered specific actions taken to manually alter evidence” and support the allegations of the prosecution.
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“In my 20 years of service as an FBI agent, I have never observed or alleged that any FBI employee tampered with evidence, digital or otherwise,” he wrote. “But in this case, I firmly believe that the multiple, deliberate changes to the digital information that I discovered constituted tampering with the evidence.”
