Allison Mack

Allison Mack
Born:	July 29, 1982 Preetz, West Germany
Charges:	Racketeering, Racketeering conspiracy
Sentence:	3 years federal prison, $20,000 fine
Facility:	Federal Correctional Institution, Dublin
Status:	Released

Allison Christin Mack (born July 29, 1982) is an American former actress. She played Chloe Sullivan on the television series Smallville from 2001 to 2011. In April 2018 she was arrested in connection with NXIVM, an organization that marketed self-improvement courses. Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York charged her over her conduct inside DOS, a secret group within NXIVM in which women were held to recruiters as "slaves."

Mack pleaded guilty on April 8, 2019, to racketeering and racketeering conspiracy. She then cooperated with the government against NXIVM founder Keith Raniere. On June 30, 2021, U.S. District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis sentenced her to three years in federal prison and a $20,000 fine. She served her sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California. She was released early on July 3, 2023, after serving about 21 months.

Acting Career

Mack was born on July 29, 1982, in Preetz, West Germany, where her father was stationed with the U.S. military. The family later moved to California. She began modeling and acting as a child.

Through the 1990s she worked in commercials and took guest roles on television. In 2001 she was cast as Chloe Sullivan on Smallville, The WB and later CW series built on the Superman story. The character did not exist in the comics. Writers created her for the show. She became a regular fixture across the run.

Smallville ran ten seasons and ended in 2011. Mack appeared in the large majority of its episodes. Chloe was written as a high school friend of Clark Kent and an aspiring journalist. The part drew a steady fan following. After the series wrapped, Mack took only a handful of small roles and largely left acting.

NXIVM

Mack first encountered NXIVM in 2006. The organization sold "executive success" and personal-growth seminars and was run by Keith Raniere out of the Albany, New York, area. She moved up through its programs over the next several years and became one of Raniere's close associates.

NXIVM presented itself as a self-help company. Prosecutors described a different operation underneath the seminars. They said Raniere used the group to obtain money, labor, and sex, and that senior members enforced his control.

DOS

Inside NXIVM, Mack helped run a secret group called DOS, short for Dominus Obsequious Sororium. Members described it as a master-and-slave structure. Women near the top recruited women below them, who were called their slaves. Raniere sat above the whole structure. Most slaves did not know he was involved.

To join, a recruit had to hand over "collateral." That meant nude photographs, recorded confessions, or other damaging material. The collateral was held as a threat. If a woman tried to leave or talk, it could be released. Members were put on strict low-calorie diets and assigned tasks by their masters. Some were directed to have sex with Raniere.

DOS members were branded. During a ceremony, a woman was held down while a cauterizing device burned a symbol into her skin near the hip. The symbol contained Raniere's initials. Recruits were told it stood for the four elements. Mack recruited women into DOS, including India Oxenberg, the daughter of actress Catherine Oxenberg.

Charges and Guilty Plea

The New York Times published an account of the branding in October 2017. Raniere fled to Mexico. He was arrested there in March 2018 and returned to the United States.

Federal agents arrested Mack on April 20, 2018, in Brooklyn, New York. The initial charges included sex trafficking, sex-trafficking conspiracy, and forced labor conspiracy. The case was filed in the Eastern District of New York.

On April 8, 2019, Mack pleaded guilty to racketeering and racketeering conspiracy. As part of the plea she admitted to two underlying acts, state-law extortion and forced labor, tied to her collection of collateral and her control of DOS members. In her statement to the court she said she had to take full responsibility for her conduct, and that this was why she was pleading guilty.

After the plea, Mack cooperated with prosecutors. She gave the government a recording of a session in which Raniere discussed branding the women with his initials. That recording was used at his trial. Raniere was convicted in June 2019 of racketeering, sex trafficking, and other offenses. In October 2020 Judge Garaufis sentenced him to 120 years in prison.

Sentencing

Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis sentenced Mack on June 30, 2021. He imposed three years in federal prison, three years of supervised release, and a $20,000 fine. The figure fell well below what prosecutors had once faced her with at the start of the case.

The government credited her cooperation. Prosecutors told the court she had provided substantial help against Raniere, including the audio recording. Mack addressed the court and apologized to the women she had drawn into NXIVM. She said she had made the wrong choice in following Raniere. Several former members submitted statements describing lasting harm from their time in DOS.

Release

Mack served her sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California, a women's facility east of Oakland. She was released early on July 3, 2023. By that point she had served roughly 21 months of the three-year term.

After her release she stayed out of public view for a period. She later spoke publicly about NXIVM, addressing her role in the group and the women she recruited.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What was Allison Mack convicted of?

Allison Mack pleaded guilty on April 8, 2019, to racketeering and racketeering conspiracy. The charges came out of her role in NXIVM and its secret group DOS, where she recruited women, collected damaging "collateral" from them, and directed them under Keith Raniere.

Q: How long was Allison Mack's sentence?

U.S. District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis sentenced her on June 30, 2021, to three years in federal prison, three years of supervised release, and a $20,000 fine. She was released early on July 3, 2023, after serving about 21 months.

Q: What was Allison Mack's role in NXIVM?

Mack was a senior member of NXIVM and helped run DOS, a secret group built on a master-and-slave structure. She recruited women, required them to provide collateral such as nude photos or recorded confessions, enforced restrictive diets, and took part in the branding of recruits.

Q: Where did Allison Mack serve her sentence?

Mack served her sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California, a women's prison east of Oakland. She was released on July 3, 2023.

Q: Did Allison Mack cooperate with prosecutors?

Yes. After pleading guilty in 2019, Mack cooperated with federal prosecutors against NXIVM founder Keith Raniere. She gave the government a recording in which Raniere discussed branding women with his initials. Raniere was sentenced to 120 years in prison. Her cooperation factored into her reduced sentence.

Q: Who was Keith Raniere?

Keith Raniere founded NXIVM and led DOS. A jury convicted him in June 2019 of racketeering, sex trafficking, and related offenses. Judge Garaufis sentenced him in October 2020 to 120 years in federal prison.