could you dumb that down just a little bit? >> from starring on "smallville" to now, charged with sex trafficking. the story breaking wide open this week. >> allison mack, the most famous face in a secret sorority. >> once i found out about the sex, the slave, the branding, i went nuts. >> this is horrific. >> you're stamped, just property of somebody? >> i'm not cattle. >> now, we take you inside the group called

did the former allison mack? >> and did she try to recruit other stars? going after emma watson. >> she was reportedly looking out for fresh blood. new women. >> now, the show business links go even deeper. catherine oxenberg trying to save her daughter. >> she's anything but fine. and she's in grave danger. >> i'm david muir. >> and i'm elizabeth vargas. and this is "20/20." >> i'm an interesting person, i'm a controversial person, but most importantly i'm an unconventional person. >> reporter: self confident self-help guru keith raniere is all those things and more.

>> consumer's byline is wonderful. >> reporter: tonight he is also an alleged criminal. the man known as vanguard, busted by the federales in mexico in march, his luxury hideout, according to authorities, was a $10,000-a-week villa in puerto vallarta, shared with several women. this video of the arrest, apparently was shot and shared by followers, and then leaked online. >> if you're trying to avoid the u.s. authorities, you don't go to mexico because you hope the mexican government's going to protect you. you go to mexico because you hope to get lost. >> reporter: lost, and found. raniere brought back to new york to face federal charges including sex trafficking. >> we're going to begin with the leader of a self-help group. >> raniere is expected to be in brooklyn. >> reporter: and making a cameo appearance in that video, what appears to be a dazed-looking allison mack.

the actress was also indicted and released just this week on a $5 million bond. >> were you involved in a sex cult? >> the claim against her is that she was effectively recruiting people, knowing exactly what was happening, and then coercing them into having sex with raniere. >> reporter: the former "smallville" star is now in big trouble for her alleged role in a bizarre group authorities say secretly enslaved more than 50 women. even south of the border, raniere and mack could not escape the deluge of reports about strange goings-on in the suburbs of albany, new york. for example, the story of a secret rendezvous in 2017 involving five women. sarah edmondson says she was one of those women, willingly participating in a strange initiation ritual led by a woman who told everyone to take off their clothes and put on a blindfold. >> led us in blindfolded, and sat us in a semicircle buck

naked, no clothes, on a sheepskin rug. like, could you -- could that be any weirder? >> reporter: no, it could not be any weirder. >> we were all, you know, "my goodness. what's going on here? this is so weird." >> reporter: weird doesn't begin to cover it. sarah told authorities she thought they were going to get tattoos. instead she says they found out they were all going to be branded. it sounds like a horror movie, what you're describing. >> it was a horror movie. it was the most inhumane, horrific way to treat anybody. >> reporter: what was that like? >> it was worse than childbirth. >> reporter: it was worse than childbirth? >> yup. it was -- imagine a hot laser dragged across your flesh for 30 minutes without anesthetic. >> reporter: at this point you're probably wondering, how in the world did this happen? sarah seems so normal. she lives in vancouver, where

she is a wife and mother with a successful film and television career. >> do i know you? >> i don't think so. >> oh, no, i'm forgetting so much recently, but i never forget a face. >> reporter: but her life changed after she crossed paths with a secretive self-help group called nxivm and its charismatic leader, keith raniere. >> when conventional solutions don't work, maybe the unconventional way of thinking does. >> reporter: according to promotional materials, even as a child raniere was destined for greatness. speaking in full sentences at age 1. reading at age 2. judo champ and concert level pianist at 13. >> i was told he was one of the smartest men in the world. with that, i'm going to pass the microphone over to mr. raniere. >> reporter: so incredible, it seems, that an ordinary name just won't do. participants say they are taught to call raniere "vanguard." vanguard?

>> yes. so vanguard is the name that we refer to keith as because he is the leader of a philosophical movement. >> reporter: the second highest ranking member of nxivm is a woman named nancy salzman. former members say she is known as "prefect." >> so keith and nancy, vanguard and prefect. >> reporter: at the heart of nxivm training is something called intensives, which former members say are like group therapy, running as long as 14 hours a day for up to 16 days. edmondson says she attended her first in 2005 when she was 27. >> i left my five-day, my initial training as if a veil had been lifted. and i could see things more clearly in my life. i could communicate better with people. >> reporter: that sounds fantastic. >> it -- yeah, it was great. >> reporter: sarah was recruited into the group by filmmaker mark vicente. what was it that was so compelling to you? >> just a way to break and understand certain things in my life in a way i never have before. >> reporter: rick ross studies

groups like nxivm. >> in my opinion, it's basically copied from other sources, specifically scientology, ayn rand, and est. so, there's all of that mixed together, and that becomes nxivm. very unoriginal. >> reporter: original or not, raniere's teachings were good enough for sarah and her friend mark to spend more than a decade rising through the nxivm ranks, and becoming ever more willing to follow their leaders. >> if you're told, "the world could be so much better if you weren't quite so screwed up," you're like, "you're right. let me get more unscrewed up." and pretty soon you're spending years unscrewing yourself. >> reporter: sarah says she devoted 12 years to nxivm, recruiting hundreds of new members, rising through the organization, even opening and running a center in vancouver. along the way, becoming best friends with nancy salzman's daughter lauren, who was maid of honor at sarah's wedding.

>> she's like my therapist. and in the ranking system she's also above me. >> reporter: then, in march, 2017, after all their years together in nxivm, sarah says lauren, who has not been charged, approached her about a new and mysterious opportunity. >> she said, i want to invite you to something that totally changed my life. >> reporter: it was a secret sorority, which prosecutors now say was hidden within the larger nxivm group. >> life-changing, but top secret. and the first step is making a vow of obedience to her as me being a slave, and her being my master. again -- >> reporter: slave? she used the word slave? >> slave. she used the word slave. >> reporter: did you object? >> i -- of course. yeah, i objected every stage of the way. and she said, "it's just -- it's a metaphor. it's like guru/disciple." >> reporter: sarah says she heard allison mack was a high ranking member of the secret sorority, a master in fact. but what sarah didn't know was, even above mack in the supposedly women-only group, prosecutors now say, a man was

calling the shots. the vanguard, keith raniere. then came the night sarah says she and four other women submitted, one by one, to being branded. >> and the woman on the table screamed out in pain, twisted and turned and yelled, and the woman i was with holding her legs down, we looked at each other, and we just wept. >> reporter: why didn't you let go, and run out of there, even naked? >> it didn't seem like a choice at the time. >> reporter: authorities allege allison mack oversaw similar branding ceremonies, in which she told women to "feel the pain," and "think of their master" during the agonizing procedure. why would anyone submit to this? sarah edmondson points to years of nxivm training. >> all the indoctrination, all the years of, "women are weak. women have no character. now is the time to prove i can do it." >> reporter: sarah gives another explanation for her obedience --

before she joined the secret sorority and got branded, she says lauren salzman had demanded highly compromising "collateral." >> you need to provide something to me that i'm gonna hold forever just to confirm, and to -- and to solidify that you'll never share the secret. >> reporter: so what did you give her? >> so i gave her a written confessional. >> reporter: she says salzman's demands for collateral grew more extreme. >> she told me to get the deed to my home notarized in her name. >> reporter: wait a minute, wait a minute. >> no, sorry. >> reporter: she told you to put the deed of your home in her name? >> yes. >> reporter: she didn't do that, but she says she did give in to lauren salzman's demands for a nude photo. authorities allege allison mack also demanded nude photos of her prospective slaves, which she then shared with keith raniere. and can you just stand up and point on your body through your clothes where the brand is? >> so it's right here under my -- >> reporter: it's right here?

>> yeah, right there. right under my underwear line. >> reporter: unlike allegations about other slaves, sarah says she did not have sex with raniere. in her complaint to the new york state health department, she says she was told the brand was a latin symbol, but says she realized it was really a combination of the letters a-m, and k-r. the initials of allison mack and keith raniere. >> i lost it when i figured that out. >> reporter: you're stamped as property of somebody? >> i am not cattle. i'm not owned by keith. >> reporter: still ahead, the man called vanguard. keith raniere, the secrets of his attraction. and what some say can happen if you cross him. >> if you question keith raniere, the [ bleep ] hits the fan. >> reporter: stay with us. earins bring history back to life. to recreate historical sites, we had to stitch hundreds of pictures one by one. with microsoft ai,

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>> reporter: before he was the smooth-talking sage in a "v"-neck sweater on youtube -- >> when you get to something that's authentic, you experience this type of creativity, this soul. >> reporter: before he founded the strange and secretive group with a name like a roman numeral, before he was arrested and charged with sex trafficking, keith raniere had a checkered past as an alleged schemer and rip-off artist. his first big idea was hawking memberships in an ill-fated network marketing company called consumers' buyline. >> his name is keith raniere. his idea is called consumers' buyline. >> consumers' buyline, may i help you? >> reporter: this promotional video for consumers' buyline from the 1990s features the late eddie albert of "green acres" fame. and a painfully awkward pitchman, 31-year-old,

keith raniere. >> keith, happy to see you again. >> yes. happy to see you too. >> it's an amazing idea. >> yes, well, sometimes it even amazes me. but consumers' buyline is wonderful. and it's working. >> it really was a brilliant idea. it was based on the premise of, as a group, collectively, we can buy in bulk, and we can save a lot of money. >> reporter: toni natalie knew raniere before he was vanguard. she even appears in this 1993 "american spotlight" program lauding consumers' buyline. >> traditional markups are between 4% and 800% in the cosmetic industry. >> reporter: toni says she fell for keith raniere's pitch which included the astounding claim that raniere is one of the smartest people in the world. >> he scored one of the three highest iqs ever reported. >> reporter: when you met him, did he seem like a genius? >> he seemed like a geek, so i sat down and i asked him, "so, you have a 240 iq, why are you doing this? why aren't you curing cancer?

why aren't you really making a difference?" and he said, "this is the platform that i'm gonna use, and i'm gonna change the world." >> reporter: unlike the man from "green acres," attorneys general in several states didn't think raniere's idea was quite so amazing, or honest. >> we first told you about consumers' buyline in may, when the company was accused of being an illegal pyramid scheme. >> reporter: consumers' buyline settled without admitting wrongdoing, but promised to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to the states. after that, the company went bust. by that time, toni natalie says she was on her way to becoming one of raniere's first casualties. she had left her husband and moved to albany with her young son to be with keith. they were together for nearly six years, until she left in 1999. she says in all-night talks, keith drew out all of her secrets. >> here's the smartest man in the world willing to help you through your emotional issues, and the reason that you're stuck in this world and the reason

that you can't move on, and the reason you can't grow, is because you haven't learned how to heal that thing inside of you. >> reporter: i'll help you -- >> i'm going to help you -- >> reporter: make it all better. >> i going to help you heal sexually, i'm going to help you heal intellectually. i'm going to show you the path. >> reporter: like other empowerment groups, nxivm has its own lingo. students are taught about overcoming "disintegrations" to become more "potent" and less "suppressive," and avoiding people termed "parasites" or "luciferians." according to former members, the sessions came to involve practices such as bowing and a special handshake. at nxivm's albany headquarters, people inside can be seen wearing sashes. former members say different colors denote rank. former coach margot joy leviton says classes begin with a ritual handclap. >> and we do something that we would call a huddle. so, everyone would put their arms around each other in this big circle.

>> we are committed to our success. >> and then straight in to the mission statement. >> there are no ultimate victims, therefore i will not choose to be a victim. >> reporter: margot says anyone unwilling to go along with the rituals -- >> thank you, vanguard. >> reporter: would be scorned. >> we would just suppress them and be like, "oh, they just don't get it. they just don't get it." >> i mean, if you step out of line, you get punished. you know, you get a lot of, like, strong thought control, you know, leveled at you. and you get told you -- >> reporter: what does that mean, strong -- >> it means, basically, like, using intellect to try to outlogic you, to basically say, "you're the problem." if you question keith raniere, the [ bleep ] hits the fan. >> i've had people killed because of my beliefs and because of their beliefs and because of things i've said.

>> reporter: just watch raniere's reaction when a group of nxivm women confront him about the running of the organization. >> the effects are our company is falling apart. >> you don't have the experience of leadership. you don't have the experience of preserving people's lives with what you say, and the truth of the matter is, if -- >> well, in a way, neither do you. >> yes, i do. >> reporter: from filmmakers to fledgling actors, nxivm seems to have had a special attraction for rising stars. >> you can see how someone coming along and saying, "i think you're special, i think you're amazing." all those doors that are slamming in your face, all those auditions you're getting rejected from, i've got the secret to make that all turn around. it can seem pretty appealing. >> no, you can borrow mine. >> reporter: jen kobelt is an aspiring actress in vancouver, but when she joined nxivm she says her classmates treated her like a star. >> it was like i was a

celebrity, like, i walked in and everyone was like, "who's that girl," and they were so nice to me. >> reporter: she says members were encouraged to socialize with other members. outside friends faded away. >> we were told things not directly, but subtly. do you want to be surrounded by people who are, you know, just living their life? or do you want to be surrounded by people who have an ethical mission to change the world? >> reporter: in a recent statement, nxivm claims a ten-year study shows "extraordinary psychological benefits and results" from its teachings. and margot, the former coach, says nxivm changed her life in positive ways. but she also describes feeling bullied and manipulated by some of the training, which she says caused her psychological trauma. >> it feels like they got in there and they messed with my wiring, or how i think, or my perceptions. >> reporter: still ahead -- the actress trades the movie set

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>> reporter: until his recent arrest, if you'd gone in search of nxivm founder keith raniere, you might have gotten a glimpse of him taking one of his legendary long walks, as we did in 2012.

or you might have found his followers enjoying an extended celebration of raniere's birthday at this local resort, an annual tradition known as "vanguard week." because it takes a week to celebrate his birthday. >> people would fly in from all over the world, from mexico, canada, europe. and spend 10 days, 12 days now together celebrating keith. >> vanguard is the name. and he's our conceptual leader. keith raniere is his name. >> i loved "v"-week. i loved it. it was like my favorite time of year. i missed my best friend's wedding, and it still makes me emotional, because i thought that's more important, to be at "v"-week. i missed her wedding. i was so in. >> reporter: you were deeply in. >> i was deep in. >> reporter: sarah edmondson says one of raniere's favorite past times was holding court, literally, on a volleyball court. at all hours of the night. >> so volleyball was his

passion. >> in between games, there were all these -- there was rows of, like, women waiting there for him. and the minute the game was over, they'd all rush up. it was, like, this weird rock star thing. >> reporter: vicente says the first time he saw allison mack was at late night volleyball. >> reporter: she came to volleyball? >> yeah, she was -- she took a private plane from the west coast and landed and came straight to volleyball to meet everybody. and she was super excited to be there. and, you know, talked to everybody. and then ended up -- eventually, you know, moving there. >> reporter: moving to albany? >> yeah. and i don't remember exactly when she moved. but there came a point in her life when she thought that's what she's gonna do. she's gonna just dedicate her life to -- to being here. >> reporter: no more acting? >> very little. very little. >> if there was enough people there, he might stop volleyball and do what he called a forum where people could ask questions and he would answer them. >> they hung on his every single word. and he'd say something. and they'd go out and think, "okay, well, he said blah, blah, blah. wonder what that means. what if it's this." and they'd spend, i don't know, weeks trying to understand that statement. >> reporter: one of the many

things raniere taught, according to sarah edmondson, was his philosophy of women's empowerment, a theory he called "j'ness." >> one of the key principles in j'ness was understanding that the main difference between men and women was that men are designed genetically to not be monogamous, spread their seed. and women genetically are designed to be monogamous. >> reporter: okay. >> and not only that, but subservient to men. >> reporter: subservient? >> subservient. >> reporter: in the new federal criminal complaint, the u.s. attorney in new york accuses raniere of keeping "a rotating group of 15 to 20 women with whom he maintains sexual relationships." >> i have spoken to five different women who were in the harem, and they have all said, he was kind and gentle. and it was like having a normal boyfriend except you didn't know when you were gonna see him next. and then he'd go off with another woman the next day. and that was incredibly painful, and very hard. >> there's all these adoring women. and they're all skinny beyond belief.

they don't seem to do anything without his permission. >> reporter: how does he do it? because to be honest, he looks like a schlub. >> right, right. my personal belief is that it's one gigantic hypnotic induction. you're stripped away from everything so you're isolated in the fact where, from my experience then, that the only people around you are the people that follow his philosophies. >> reporter: barbara bouchey joined keith raniere's self-help group, nxivm, almost 20 years ago. she was a financial planner. >> i was grossing about $1 million a year. my client minimum was $1 million. and i was financially independent. >> reporter: in spite of her success, it was a difficult time in barbara's life. she was in the middle of a divorce, and had lost a close friend to suicide. she says raniere's teachings really helped. it didn't hurt that keith was paying special attention to the latest convert.

>> told me that he had dreams for two or three years and visions before i came that someone like me was coming. >> reporter: when they became intimate, barbara says she thought she was keith's one and only, but she was actually one of many. worse than a broken heart, she says she feared keith would leave her financially broke. bouchey alleges in court filings raniere convinced her to invest with him, saying he had invented a mathematical formula to get rich in the commodities market. >> within two months, it cleared through $1.6 million of my money. >> reporter: in litigation, keith blamed his broker for the losses. barbara says he and others around him also tried to blame her bad karma. >> and it can't be keith, he's a mathematical genius, it can't be his formula. and they're, like, "you know, what if your emotional issues are causing the stock market in this case to fluctuate?

what if you're, in a mystical, spiritual way, bringing this onto yourself?" >> reporter: still ahead, in its endless quest for new members, and bigger stars, the surprising "a"-list celebrity the secret group tried to recruit. stay with us. hey pops! i got you your usual. (grandson's phone beeps) you need to run off? noo. i've got plenty of time. (laughing) here's to making your morning routine a little better. the sweet, savory sausage egg and cheese mcgriddles. breakfast at mcdonald's.

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when i first came, i had what on the surface something that seemed to be like the perfect life, or a pretty good life. >> reporter: allison mack didn't need coaching to sound convincing on this nxivm testimonial, after a decade-long run as superman's best friend,

chloe sullivan, on tv's "smallville," she's a pro. >> allison playing chloe was essentially superman's best friend. she loved him, desperately, but was never going to get him. >> well that explains the walking magnet theory. i think the doctors flag it. >> there are some very clear parallels that you could perhaps draw between chloe's relationship with clark kent and allison's relationship with keith raniere. allison mack was playing a young woman who is desperately devoted to a very charismatic, very powerful man. >> yes, i know allison mack very well. >> reporter: sarah edmondson says when mack came to a weekend event in 2008, she quickly became a favorite of management. why was she desirable? >> i believe she was another bright light. and she had a huge following. lots of fans. and i think they thought this

would be another big fish to catch. >> reporter: plenty of fellow actors have at least dabbled in nxivm. >> aren't you tired of waiting? >> reporter: there was mack's co-star on "smallville," kristen kreuk. her boyfriend, actor mark hildreth. and "hawaii five-0"'s grace park appeared in this video with keith reniere. >> this incredible warmth, this incredible type of love. >> reporter: of these, mack is the only one confirmed to have stayed with nxivm long-term. >> that kind of leads me to my next question, which has to do with authenticity. >> reporter: she became so close to vanguard, she appeared in this video conversation with him. >> so one would say authenticity is being as you are. >> reporter: his words literally moved her to tears. >> i don't know why. it makes me want to cry. it's beautiful. >> why do you think that's -- >> so emotional for me? >> yes. >> i don't know. i think because it seems like it's something i feel like i want it.

authenticity. >> that she fawns over him, and deifies him, and looks at him like he's the answer to all of life's problems. it makes me want to barf, to be honest. >> reporter: in 2016, about the time prosecutors now say the secret sorority was forming within nxivm, mack began tweeting at former "harry potter" star and outspoken women's advocate, emma watson. >> allison repeatedly tweeted at her that she loved what emma stands for, that also she is a member of a human rights group, a women's movement group, that she thinks emma would be very interested in. and to just let her know if she's free to chat. >> reporter: mack tried three times to get watson's attention on twitter, apparently with no luck. another lesser-known actress was more receptive however to the

lure of nxivm. >> hey, welcome to teen life. im india oxenberg. >> reporter: india oxenberg joined nxivm and then the secret sorority. she may even have those initials branded on her body. oxenberg's mother is a better known actress. catherine oxenberg is best known for her role in the '80s hit drama "dynasty." >> my name is amanda, amanda bedford. >> reporter: later, she appeared with a very young india in this movie. >> where is he? >> i locked him in the closet. >> reporter: and a reality show called "i married a princess." but what she says is the reality of nxivm is something she now wishes she never shared with india. >> once i found out about the sex, the branding, the slaves, i went nuts. >> reporter: oxenberg hasn't seen her daughter in months and is both gripped with fear and wracked with guilt. because she herself brought india into nxivm. they went to an introductory session together in 2011. >> i just couldn't wait to get

out of there and i said to india, "what do you think?" and she said, "this is for me." and i was in shock. >> reporter: how old was she at that time? >> 19. >> reporter: so pretty. >> pretty young, pretty impressionable. >> reporter: she says trouble started when india, seen here in this nxvium promotional video, started taking classes to become a coach. during this time, oxenberg says her daughter burned through her entire inheritance. largely, she believes, to pay for those classes. >> once she moved to albany, she became very secretive. the end of last april, a defector called me and said, "you need to save india." >> reporter: oxenberg says this was the first time she heard about that secret sorority. i mean, you must have been out of your mind with worry. >> i did. there was a period of time, probably a week, where i thought i was going to lose my mind. >> reporter: but a month later, a rare opportunity to confront india when her daughter came home for a birthday celebration. how did she look to you?

>> she looked sad, she looked tired. >> reporter: she says her daughter had become very thin, a characteristic of many nxivm women, we're told. oxenberg says india also revealed she had not menstruated in a year. concerned, oxenberg tried an intervention. >> i said, "darling, i believe you're brainwashed." and she said, "i'm not brainwashed." and i said, "yes, you are." and she said, "no, im not." so it's like we didn't get anywhere. >> reporter: oxenberg says her daughter denied having sex with keith raniere, but did admit she was branded. >> i said, "try to convince me that this is a good thing." and she said, "it's character building." she's over 18 and so legally there's nothing i can do. >> reporter: in a letter posted on the group's website, raniere says, "there is no merit to the allegations that we are abusing, coercing or harming individuals." raniere says that secret sorority is "not part of nxivm and i am not associated with the group."

the letter also says, "our experts say members of the sorority are thriving, healthy, happy, better off, and haven't been coerced." federal prosecutors say it's just not so. they say raniere is the head of the secret sorority, and some of the women, far from being healthy or happy, were allegedly coerced into working for free or having sex with raniere. india has not responded to our requests for comment, but she posted a public rebuke on facebook to anyone questioning her condition, saying, "i'm absolutely fine. great, actually." >> she's anything but fine. she's in danger. in my opinion, she's in grave danger. >> reporter: but the more she protests, the more she could be leaving herself exposed to

nxivm's relentless counterattack. still ahead, the high price some say you pay for encounters with vanguard. >> he had my garbage gone through. >> people have given up their life savings trying to defend themselves. >> reporter: the millionaire whiskey heiresses, court filings claim, paying for much of raniere's legal vendettas. stay with us. this one's for you. it's red lobster's new create your own shrimp trios. pick 3 of 9 craveable creations for just $15.99. you can enjoy the classics you love, along with new creations like savory crab-topped shrimp, decadent parmesan truffle shrimp scampi, and creamy shrimp and lobster pasta. your perfect shrimp plate is just waiting to be discovered. but shrimp trios won't last, so get to red lobster today. and get your red lobster fix with our weekday lunch starting at $7.99.

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>> reporter: when the man know as vanguard goes to war with his enemies, court filings allege he does it with quite a war chest thanks in part to the house that

alcohol built. >> the bronfmans, claire and sarah, who are the heiresses to the seagrams liquor fortune, have been, in large respect, the bankroll for nxivm, for its litigation. >> reporter: these high society sisters are good for the cash, thanks to their late multi-billionaire seagrams distillary chairman. that cash allowed the sisters to host the dalai lama's visit to albany. >> my friends, these two young ladies. >> reporter: as a proud raneire looked on. clare bronfman has posted this online, "i've seen so much good come from both our programs and from keith himself." but some former members might disagree. >> people have given up their life savings trying to defend themselves. and they're up against the millions of dollars that the bronfmans have at their disposal. >> i've been sued and restraining orders on me. >> i've received threats from

the company. >> his weapon of choice is the legal system. >> they just want to use the litigation, in my opinion, to silence you, harass you, threaten you, and financially cripple you. >> reporter: "terrorism by litigation" is what one adversary called it in court filings. for bouchey, the legal assault began after she left the group. >> i've been dragged into 14 lawsuits, and it's cost me $700,000. imagine 800 court filings. just try that on for a moment. >> you're instantly an enemy when you leave. instantly shunned, instantly cut off, instantly worthless. garbage, a liar, bad person. >> they made every effort possible over the years to effectively silence their critics through the courts. and to a significant degree, it appears to have worked. >> reporter: nxivm has claimed it sues to protect their intellectual property and reputation.

>> i never really thought that i would end up in litigation with keith raniere for over ten years. >> reporter: longtime critic rick ross says he's helped some members leave. then he was targeted after calling nxivm a cult on his website. raniere's group sued unsucessfully, accusing him of making "false and misleading representations." >> he had my garbage gone through. he actually paid for my garbage. >> reporter: and that's not all. ross says his private banking and phone records were dug up during the grueling court battles with raniere's group. is there something about his personality that i'm missing when i see him on videotape? >> the federal court would order mediation. so i would have to sit in a room with him. what i would say is, is he charismatic? no. i think he's kind of boring, there's one word keith raniere cannot handle, and that's the word no. >> the last thing keith said to me is, "i will see you dead or

in jail." >> reporter: how would he try to get you in jail? >> he's trying to have myself, and i know of four other people, extradited to mexico on extortion charges. they're false charges. >> reporter: oxenberg says she too got a menacing letter from mexico. >> i got a letter from a lawyer, and then a state attorney general, stamped, saying cease and desist or you will be imprisoned. >> reporter: cease and desist what? >> from speaking. >> reporter: we wanted to ask keith raniere about all this hardball. so last fall we tracked him to monterrey, mexico, where someone had just snapped this photo of him walking the streets. a nxivm event had just been held at this private home, so we gave it a shot. unfortunately for raniere, we weren't the only ones searching for him. prosecutors in new york were on

his trail as well. he evaded them for weeks, they say, by not using his phone and sticking to encrypted e-mail. but finally, in puerto vallarta, the game was up. that appears to be allison mack looking on bewildered during his arrest, all caught on that video shot by his supporters. >> keith raniere made his first appearance in the new york court today, he was clad in a tan jumpsuit. >> reporter: he's now stuck with cellmates unlikely to call him vanguard. and awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges involving women in that secret society. >> they come in, and they're forced to give collateral, blackmail. if they stray, if they don't do what he wants, he will release embarrassing photos, information, or videos about these women. >> we look forward to our day in court.

>> reporter: catherine oxenberg flew across the country to attend raniere's hearing. >> he finally needs to be held accountable for every single woman and child that he's ever harmed, abused, exploited. >> reporter: and reached out to her daughter india. >> i love you, come home. >> you have to believe that even these charges alone are going to cripple nxivm. >> reporter: coming up, it's now allison mack's turn to land in a jail cell. >> one of the top members of an alleged sex cult. >> reporter: but is she plotting to save herself by throwing her beloved guru under the bus?

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huh? for the good karma? let's meditate on that. ohmmm. nah, we did it because it feels right. i trust you, voice from beyond. ♪ i trust you, voice from beyond. burning, of diabetic nerve pain these feet... ... made waves in high school... ...and built a career in construction. but i couldn't bear my diabetic nerve pain any longer. so i talked to my doctor and he prescribed lyrica. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, unusual changes in mood or behavior, swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling or blurry vision. common side effects: dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs, and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who have had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. now i have less diabetic nerve pain. ask your doctor about lyrica. i'm shree bose and i'm a medical student.

i was fifteen and my grandfather passed away of cancer. i wanted to start doing cancer research. i think science can be an incredible force for good. this windows 10 pc is great. it's really cool to have these 3d visualizations. you can see like the cells membrane. half of science is about convincing the world that what you're working on matters. i want to be making the discoveries that help people live better lives. >> reporter: allison mack has faithfully followed keith raniere for a decade. but now she's following him to jail. arrested on the same sex trafficking charges for her alleged role in that secret society. lawyers for both may argue the alleged victims gave consent.

>> they joined the organization, they wanted to have sex with him, they disclosed personal information as part of a self-help group. >> reporter: her plea, not guilty. still in this interview conducted earlier, sarah edmondson was sympathetic. >> i honestly, i'm not angry at her anymore. i hope she finds her way. her life has been ruined by keith. >> reporter: how so? >> she had a successful career. now she's been totally drained. it happened in slow stages. and i believe that allison's a victim as much as any of us. >> reporter: the judge grounded the former superman sidekick, confining her to her parents' house after they helped her post her $5 million bond. and perhaps more bad news for raniere, mack is now negotiating a possible plea bargain. >> why would they cut a deal with allison mack? the answer is, without her or someone like her, they'll have a

harder time getting a conviction. >> reporter: outside court, toni natalie recalled raniere's parting words to her, years ago. >> i will see you dead or in jail. so he had half of it right. he saw me again and i saw him, only he's in jail. >> if convicted, both face 15 years to life behind bars. >> we should point out, we also reached out to the key players but they had no comment. that's our show tonight. i'm david muir. >> and i'm elizabeth vargas. have a good night, and a great weekend. 2g