NEW YORK — The leaders of a sex-focused women's wellness company that promoted ''orgasmic meditation'' have been convicted of federal forced labor charges.
A Brooklyn jury on Monday found Nicole Daedone, founder of OneTaste Inc., and Rachel Cherwitz, the California-based company's former sales director, guilty after deliberating for less than two days following a five-week trial. The two each face up to 20 years in prison when sentenced later.
Prosecutors had argued the two women ran a yearslong scheme that groomed adherents — many of them victims of sexual trauma — to do their bidding.
They said Daedone, 57, of New York, and Cherwitz, 44, of California, used economic, sexual and psychological abuse, intimidation and indoctrination to force OneTaste members into sexual acts they found uncomfortable or repulsive, such as having sex with prospective investors or clients.
The two told followers the questionable acts were necessary in order to obtain ''freedom'' and ''enlightenment'' and demonstrate their commitment to the organization's principles.
Prosecutors said OneTaste leaders also didn't pay promised earnings to the members-turned-workers and even forced some of them to take out new credit cards to continue taking the company's courses.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nina Gupta, in her closing statement last week, said the defendants ''built a business on the backs'' of victims who ''gave everything'' to them, including ''their money, their time, their bodies, their dignity, and ultimately their sanity.''
''The jury's verdict has unmasked Daedone and Cherwitz for who they truly are: grifters who preyed on vulnerable victims by making empty promises of sexual empowerment and wellness only to manipulate them into performing labor and services for the defendants' benefit,'' said Joseph Nocella, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
