Clare Bronfman

Clare Bronfman (born 1979) is an American heiress, convicted felon and former leader of NXIVM, a multi-level marketing company and cult based near Albany, New York. She is the youngest daughter of billionaire philanthropist and former Seagram liquor chairman Edgar Bronfman Sr. After a brief equestrian career, Bronfman began involvement in NXIVM, a business engaged in criminal activities during 1998–2018, which led to indictments on federal charges, including sex trafficking. In April 2019, Bronfman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conceal and harbor illegal aliens for financial gain, and to fraudulent use of identification. The prosecution requested a sentence of five years in prison. In September 2020, Judge Nicholas Garaufis sentenced Bronfman to six years and nine months imprisonment. Background Bronfman is a daughter of Canadian billionaire Edgar Bronfman Sr. and Rita Webb, the daughter of an English pub owner from Essex, England. Bronfman's parents met in Marbella, Spain. The couple married in 1975, two years after Edgar Bronfman's divorce from his first wife. Webb gave birth to Sara the following year, and had Clare two-and-a-half years later. Shortly after Clare's birth, Webb (who had renamed herself Georgiana) asked Edgar for a divorce. They remarried in 1983, but again divorced. After their parents' second divorce, the girls visited their father at his estates outside Charlottesville, Virginia, and in Westchester County; his home in Sun Valley; and his apartment on Fifth Avenue. However, they resided in England and in Kenya with their mother. Bronfman is of Jewish ancestry on her father's side. Equestrian career In December 1999, Bronfman competed in the Millstreet Indoor International Horse Show. In May 2001, Bronfman won the Grand Prix at CSI-A Eindhoven (NED). On September 23, 2001, Bronfman's team placed seventh in the World Final of the Samsung Nations Cup Series (Jumping). On May 26, 2002, Bronfman won the Grand Prix in Rome (ITA); her team placed sixth in the competition. In October 2002, Bronfman placed 13th at the CSI-A competition in Bremen.