

Former friend of NXIVM: ‘Nancy told me in 2007 she had cashed stashed in case they had to flee to avoid arrest’

[Editor’s note: The identity of the woman who wrote the following is known to me. It is a fascinating snapshot in time. That time being late 2007. Nancy was to be arrested 10 years later and even then she was talking about the possibility of arrest and how they would flee using hidden cash and a private jet.]

By a Former Friend of NXIVM

It was late 2007, and I was traveling in Albany one day with one of my friends and Kristin Keeffe. We made a few stops and continued to drive. During the drive, Kristin explained to us that she was very disappointed that despite all their efforts to uplift humanity, they got bad press everywhere. People called them a cult, when they were not. She went on and on, about how they were attacked from all fronts – and how the world was coming down on them just for doing good to mankind.

I was unaware of the agenda and just went along for the ride. Our next stop was the house of Nancy Salzman. Nancy greeted us and showed us to the living/family room. The furniture was plain in my opinion and didn’t impress me much. Nancy started talking and invited us to see her new “million-dollar kitchen.” When she exclaimed “million-dollar kitchen,” I was quite intrigued and followed her eagerly to the kitchen.

It was a fairly large kitchen, with new or near new stainless-steel, state of the art appliances. The island was very long that ran almost the entire length of the kitchen. The new cupboards had a black finish.

There were stainless steel pots hanging from the ceiling pot rack. They looked like they were Williams Sonoma or something of that caliber. The lighting was superb and the whole kitchen sparkled. The finishing of the cupboards and counters were glossy, reflecting light, adding to the sparkle.

It was grand, but it was not to my liking. I thought there was a little too much black in the kitchen, giving it a somber look. But she liked it and was proud enough to show it off. [Of course, it was not a ‘million dollar kitchen’ remodel but may have cost $100,000.]

After this little showing off session, we came back to the living room and sat down. Nancy and the others started talking again. I was just a silent spectator through all of the day’s events.

Clare Bronfman has a private jet, which could have taken them away to avoid arrest.

Nancy started to say the same thing that Kristin said earlier. She said they were unfairly attacked by the media. During that discussion, Nancy and Kristin did most of the talking. My friend spoke a little and I was silent. I don’t remember if anyone else was there or not. At that discussion, they said, the father of the Bronfman sisters was also against them, calling them a cult. He was using his money to shut them down. And that they had to fight back to survive.

They explained to us about Rick Ross, who at that time had a website to expose NXIVM, whom he called a ‘cult’. He had numerous articles on his website that were damaging to NXIVM and might have discouraged one reading it to ever join NXIVM or its courses.

Thus, Nancy and Kristin portrayed themselves as victims of the world – the press, Bronfman Sr., Rick Ross, and other enemies. Of how a potential student could easily make a mistake in thinking NXIVM is a cult and not a self-help group. Being wrongfully projected as a cult, Nancy explained that they could get into legal trouble if it continued, and that they had to fight it.

Nancy said that if they didn’t win the fight, they might have to flee if arrests seemed imminent. They didn’t know when that day would be and were prepared for that day, whenever that day was. Nancy said that she had $1 million cash stored in her house somewhere. Over time they were planning to keep more in cash (at least $2-$3 million) cash, but didn’t mention where the rest of the cash would be stored.

Nancy added that in an emergency, they would just pick up the cash, board their private jet and flee.

It all seemed fantastic. Although Nancy and Kristin were very sincere in their portrayal of being victims, they failed to move my heart. There was something not right in that story. I couldn’t put my finger on it at that time.

Well of course, if someone had nothing to hide, why would they have to flee? They knew somewhere in the bottom of their hearts that they were doing something wrong and were preparing to flee.

Was Nancy’s kitchen really a million dollar kitchen or did she mean she had a million dollars hidden in the kitchen at that time?

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Frank Parlato


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  • They found over 500,000 in their search and very well may have missed clever hiding spots created long ago. The 500,000 plus was likely new money, no sane persona would keep it there for long. Since Nancy up bad access to her house after the search I’m sure they do have money in different locales now. Doesn’t everyone see that could not have been the only money the group had? They’ve been planning for many years. Foreign bank accounts?
    While removing tracking devices would set off alarms they would still have time to disapear.
    As Keith loses his power we will see who stays. If he is murdered in prison he can thank Pea Onyu.

  • Of course the kitchen remodeling didn’t cost a million dollars. Nancy was just trolling the author.

    The million dollars in flight money was hidden in the kitchen !!

  • Nancy’s known her goose is cooked for years with Nx and what does she do?

    Remodel the kitchen, stash some getaway pin money in dollars, rubbles and pesos under her bed, fuel up the getaway jet and try to convince every passing stranger she’s being persecuted by the Pres. of the WJC because of all the good Nx is trying to do in the world.

    Thanks for clarifying why she’s not begging for a plea deal like any half-way sane person might be expected to do.

    • Negotiations are about posturing and power.

      To answer your question: “Why isn’t she begging for a deal”…

      It’s called negotiating 101. 🙂

      Why settle for less than what the other side would be willing to give you?

      Nancy is holding all the cards in terms of being privy to the greatest number of private conversations with Keith on running various NXIVM scams, plus knowing where all the figurative bodies are buried.

      Prefect is the mother lode of witnesses — regardless of your endless attempts to claim differently.

      She was Prefect of NXIVM and you weren’t even on the roster. You were the NXIVM equivalent of a AA baseball player or a bench warmer.

      You keep implying that you have inside information that makes your view of Nancy more valid, yet Nancy was Prefect and you were just an outside spectator.

      Only a fool would give away her trump cards by begging for a deal.

      Sammy the Bull murdered dozens of people and got a plea deal for just 5 years in prison, precisely because he was privy to high level conversations that others weren’t.

      You have no clue of the things Nancy can deliver for the EDNY. She and her lawyers do. That’s why they’re holding out.

      Nancy’s attorney is being intelligent and the government will capitulate and give her what she wants, or at the very most they’ll offer a 6 month token jail sentence for her and her lovely youngin Lauren.

      I’m confident of this fact. Penza has made a mockery of the plea process with Allison and Nancy so far. I don’t think it’ll be in her interests to go to trial without Nancy and Lauren singing like happy birds. Just common sense. 🙂 🙂

    • *Even if you were the source of this story, it still amounts to almost nothing that you know about Nancy’s FULL knowledge about NXIVM’s bad deeds.

      Even if Keeffe is cooperating with the EDNY, it still amounts to very little compared to what PREFECT can offer the EDNY — since Keeffe was never elevated to the position of Prefect.

      Keeffe was a dirty harasser who has good information about various dirty deeds she participated in, but she was not smart enough to be placed in charge of NXIVM and its assets, and all of its dirty operations. Nancy was. 🙂

  • The group of indcited ones have court permission to leave home briefly while under house arrest. So, if these defendants find out that the house is coming down due to a mountain of evidence against them they could feasibly still grab their dough and get out of dodge, unless, they feel that they cannot leave their master. The sharing of discovery between attorney and defendant may determine this. Time will tell.

  • Doesn’t every businessperson have a million dollars or two or three stashed away in cash or foreign bank accounts?
    One million dollars in 2007 was certainly much more by 2018.
    And Nancy certainly had enough time after June 2017 to start spiriting money out of the country.
    One million bucks plus buys a lot of margharitas South of the Border
    If Nancy does not start cooperating with the FBI she should be told the old saying that a shroud has no pockets.
    All that stashed cash will do Nancy no good in the Gray Bar Hotel.

  • This paints quite an unsympathetic portrait of Nancy.
    Let’s hope they call this person as a witness for the prosecution.
    Were I Nancy I would turn state’s evidence now.

  • ‘Former friend of Nxivm’ must certainly have been friendly to hear such legally treacherous intel from the likes of Prefect. Maybe ‘Former Bestie of Nxivm’ is more like it.

    Note: i am changing my comment handle to something other than Gobsmacked. I hate it and only have held onto it for continuity purposes because people can get real testy around here about Commentors posting under anon handles.

    Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

    • Yes, Sooz. We know that Nancy had cash stashed in her house. But it is surprising that she would communicate this in front of a stranger.

      • Yes it is. I mean if I had a million dollars stashed in my house I wouldn’t say anything about it in front of someone I had just met. Either that or I wouldn’t be surprised later when someone came back to rob me.

        • Yes Walter, who would mention that they had a million dollars in cash stashed inside their house, in front of someone they barely know?

          Since these NXIVM members were already paranoid that everyone was against them, does it make sense to talk about this in front of a virtual stranger?

          If this woman really did overhear these conversations, I wonder if she has contacted the FBI to let them know she has some information that they might find useful?

        • Sssshhh. You trying to start a break-in crime spree in Knox Woods before the FBI gets back there with a new search warrant? Lol.

    • Not at all suprised that Nancy would talk about this in front of others. Weird that they freely talked about bizarre stuff like this in front of others – but they often did. Especially, Nancy.

    • I liked “Gobsmacked.” Describes how I imagine a lot of folks feel about this bizarre story. But good to meet you, Sooz!

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Frank Parlato is an investigative journalist.





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