Financial planner, and onetime Nxivm booster, Barbara Bouchey filed a declaration in her bankruptcy case alleging that her former clients, heiresses Sara and Clare Bronfman, are bearing down on her with all the weight of their considerable trust funds in order to "obliterate ... any and all records produced in the course of their relationship with my company." And why? Because, Bouchey alleged in the court document, these records contain evidence that the Bronfman sisters have engaged "in a myriad of activities that are questionable and, in some cases, potentially illegal."
She also explained that her bankruptcy case is based upon the disruption of her professional and personal life. She has incurred $165,000 in legal fees in the year since she left Nxivm, she says, as she has been chased through four court proceedings by lawyers working for the Bronfman sisters.
The Bronfman sisters, benefactors of Keith Raiere's fan club, Nxivm, have alleged that Bouchey illegally revealed details of their personal financial information to members of the media and to hostile attorneys in an effort to cause embarrassment and damage. And so, in order to protect themselves and their privacy, they have demanded that Bouchey relinquish all documents that she might possess relating to their business dealings. Bouchey claims that twice she has received a request from the sisters' attorney, Steve Coffey, to release these documents.
However, Bouchey claims that she has already delivered all of the original documentation requested to the Bronfmans, and what the sisters appear to be requesting still are any copies of these documents. Copies, Bouchey says, that are vital to her--not only because she is required by law to keep them, but also because she feels they are protecting her from potential future legal action.
Bouchey claims that the sisters' motivation in seeking every shred of paperwork regarding their business dealings, which have become intertwined with Nxivm over the past six years, is to weaken her for an attack:
"I believe the reason the Bronfmans, et al, want to get these records away from me is that they are trying to use me as a scapegoat for the enormous losses they sustained during the time they have been associated with Raniere, Salzman, and NXIVM/ESP -- and that they are ... preparing other lawsuits against me in New York as well as get criminal charges filed against me."
Earlier this year in another legal action, Bouchey alleged that Raniere blew through $65 million of the Bronfmans' money in risky commodities trading.
"If they are successful, it will cripple my ability to defend myself against the many allegations, threats, innuendos [sic] that can easily be proven untrue within these records."
In her declaration, Bouchey claims that she is owed almost $2 million by her onetime friends and colleagues in Nxivm: $1.65 million owed to her by Vanguard and Prefect; and another $150,000 owed by the Nxivm corporation.
She is claiming $2.5 million in liabilities, including a $1.3 million personal loan from long-time Nxivm supporter Michael Sutton.
