Allison Mack Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison for Role in NXIVM Cult

Actress Allison Mack was sentenced to 3 years in prison on Wednesday for racketeering and racketeering conspiracy charges in connection with the Nxivm "cult." Mack pleaded guilty to these charges back in 2019 when she was arrested, and helped prosecutors build a case against Nxivm's leader Keith Raniere. According to a report by PEOPLE, she will be behind bars for 3 years and will pay a $20,000 fine.

Mack is best known for starring in Smallville, among other TV and movie appearances, but that is in the process of changing as the Nxivm case moves forward. Mack was a leader in the company, which operated as a cult to abuse and extort its customers. She could have faced a maximum of 40 years in prison before cooperating with authorities, and even afterward federal sentencing guidelines recommended between 14 and 17 and a half years for her crimes.

Prosecutors recommended an even lighter sentence than that in court documents obtained by reporters. They noted that she had "provided substantial assistance to the government" in unearthing the truth about Raniere. Mack's own lawyers also made a case that she had been committed to rehabilitation during her time under house arrest since 2019.

Mack was a "front-line master" in the mysterious Nxivm structure, which touted itself as a self-help program run by women for women. Mack was one of the few to know that Raniere was the true leader of the organization. Thanks in part to her cooperation, Raniere is now serving a 120-year prison sentence.

Mack's main responsibility was recruiting more women for the program, knowing that they were being abused and coerced by Raniere. Many women were instructed to have sex with Raniere or to send him nude photographs. Some were even branded with the initials of leaders like Raniere or Mack.

Mack's attorneys asked that she receive no jail time since she has been cooperative and has already been on house arrest for over 3 years. They included an apology letter written by Mack and published by The Hollywood Reporter.

"I am sorry to those of you that I brought into Nxivm. I am sorry I ever exposed you to the nefarious and emotionally abusive schemes of a twisted man. I am sorry that I encouraged you to use your resources to participate in something that was ultimately so ugly," Mack wrote. "I do not take lightly the responsibility I have in the lives of those I love and I feel a heavy weight of guilt for having misused your trust, leading you down a negative path."