How NXIVM got smart women to abandon their judgment A new book, 'Don’t Call It a Cult,' delves into the multiple layers to Keith Raniere’s crimes and cruelties and his sex cult's ugly spin on empowerment April 23, 2021 A courtroom sketch of Raniere’s 2020 sentencing hearing; he was given 120 years in prison (Jane Rosenberg/Reuters) Convicted on counts ranging from wire fraud conspiracy to sex trafficking, Keith Raniere was found guilty of crimes as striking in their breadth as the 120-year prison sentence he received for them last October. But even then the founder of NXIVM—an unholy blend of corrupt multi-level marketing company and sex cult, all drenched in the language of self-help and personal responsibility—did not face direct legal charges on his most notorious outrages, including having his initials branded on women’s bodies. As set out in Sarah Berman’s absorbing account,