 Image copyright Reuters Image caption Clare Bronfman is the daughter of the late billionaire philanthropist Edgar Bronfman 
 
 A liquor heiress is facing charges of funding a suspected US sex cult whose recruits were allegedly branded with the initials of its founder. She was part of an "inner circle" of loyalists who "committed a broad range of serious crimes from identity theft and obstruction of justice to sex trafficking, all to promote and protect Raniere and NXIVM," U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue said in a statement. Image copyright Keith Raniere Conversations/YouTube Image caption Keith Raniere was detained in Mexico, where he has reportedly been living for several months 
 
 Both face mandatory minimum sentences of 15 years and a maximum of life imprisonment for the sex-trafficking charges. In a statement, a lawyer for Bronfman, Susan Necheles, called the charges "the result of government overreaching and charging an individual with crimes just because the government disagrees with some beliefs taught by NXIVM and held by Clare." Nxivm co-founder Nancy Salzman, 64, her daughter, Lauren Salzman, 42, and the group's 60-year-old bookkeeper, Kathy Russell, were all arrested alongside Ms Brofman on Tuesday. She was formally charged on Tuesday before being released on a $100m (£75m) bail bond. In an indictment, prosecutors say Mack, who played a teenage friend of Superman in the CW network's "Smallville," helped Raniere recruit women to a secret sub-society within NXIVM whose members were branded by way of a surgical tool with a symbol that resembled his initials. The arrest of Bronfman, who has long been affiliated with NXIVM, wasn't a surprise.
– Liquor heiress Clare Bronfman was among four people arrested Tuesday as part of an investigation into what prosecutors say was a sex trafficking organization masquerading as a self-help group. Bronfman, the 39-year-old daughter of late billionaire philanthropist and former Seagram chairman Edgar Bronfman Sr., pleaded not guilty to racketeering charges and was freed after agreeing to pay $100 million, which is half of her estimated $200 million fortune, the AP reports. She is accused of using her fortune to assist and protect the NXIVM group and leader Keith Raniere, the BBC reports. Prosecutors say female recruits were expected to have sex with Raniere and were branded with his initials. Bronfman and other members of the group's inner circle "committed a broad range of serious crimes from identity theft and obstruction of justice to sex trafficking, all to promote and protect Raniere and NXIVM," US Attorney Richard Donoghue said Tuesday. Bronfman has described the group as a "sorority" that truly benefits its members. Her lawyer, Susan Nechele, described the charges as "overreach" from a government that disagrees with the group's teachings. Organization co-founder Nancy Salzman, her daughter Lauren, and bookkeeper Kathy Russell were also arrested on racketeering charges and released on bail Tuesday. Raniere and Smallville actress Allison Mack were indicted on sex trafficking charges in April.