Seagram heiress Clare Bronfman jailed in Nxivm 'sex cult' case

US heiress Clare Bronfman has been sentenced to six years and nine months in prison for her role in the Nxivm sex trafficking group.

Bronfman, 41, pleaded guilty in April 2019 to to harbouring migrants for unpaid "labour and services".

The group is alleged to have manipulated, enslaved and blackmailed its members as part of what federal prosecutors labelled a racketeering conspiracy.

Bronfman joined the organisation, led by New York businessman Keith Raniere, in 2003 and provided financial backing, prosecutors said.

She is the youngest daughter of the late billionaire philanthropist and former Seagram distillery mogul Edgar Bronfman Sr.

The heiress and five others, including Raniere, were indicted in March 2018.

Bronfman is the first to be sentenced.

Raniere, found guilty at trial in June 2019 of sex trafficking, forced labor and other felonies, is due to be sentenced on October 27.

The five other co-defendants pleaded guilty to various offences.

The charges Bronfman had faced included racketeering, conspiracy to commit identity theft, encouraging and inducing illegal entry into the United States and money laundering.

She ultimately pleaded guilty to conspiring to harbour immigrants for financial gain and fraudulently using identity information.

Cult allegations surrounding the group had surfaced in news accounts since the early 2000s.

The organisation received national attention from a 2017 New York Times article highlighting experiences of people who had been members.

A nine-part HBO documentary released in 2020 further raised NXIVM's profile and delved at length into the tactics employed by the group.

Bronfman's sentencing suggested that Judge Nicholas Garaufis intends to impose stiff penalties for others convicted as supporters and enablers of the group.

Prosecutors had recommended a five-year sentence for Bronfman, significantly shorter than the 6 years and 9 months that Garaufis handed down.