NXIVM: The Cult in Plain Sight · 8 Oct 2026 · 11 min

How a Single Story Brought Down a Two-Decade Criminal Empire

A 2017 New York Times exposé on NXIVM's branding ceremonies ignited a federal investigation that ended with Keith Raniere in handcuffs. This chapter traces the chain reaction — from Frank Parlato's blog to Sarah Edmondson's testimony to the story that changed everything.

NXIVM: The Cult in Plain Sight
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How a Single Story Brought Down a Two-Decade Criminal Empire

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A single newspaper story ran in October of two thousand seventeen. Within months of its publication, a federal investigation was underway, a fugitive was tracked across two countries, and the man at the center of a two-decade criminal enterprise was in handcuffs.

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