A sex cult ‘wellness guru’ has been jailed for nine years for forcing her followers to commit sex acts and work for free in a scheme that a federal judge branded as ‘egregious exploitation masquerading as empowerment’.

Nicole Daedone, 58, was handed the sentence at Brooklyn Federal Court after being convicted of one count of a forced labor conspiracy in a case a judge condemned as ‘long term human exploitation.’

Prosecutors initially argued that the disgraced OneTaste founder should face up to twenty years. Daedone pleaded not guilty during a five-week trial last year before being convicted. 

She will also serve two years of supervised release and pay $887,877.64 in restitution to seven victims.

Prosecutors said OneTaste leaders did not pay the members-turned-workers what they were promised and even forced some of them to take out new credit cards to continue taking the company’s courses.

Her co-conspirator Rachel Cherwitz, 45, was handed a six-and-a-half year sentence for the same charge – and raised eyebrows in court by smiling and winking at the gallery during proceedings. Cherwitz had also pleased not guilty.

Both appeared in court with slightly graying hair and baggy beige prison-issue jumpsuits, a far cry from their glamorous first appearances. The duo told followers the acts were necessary in order to obtain ‘freedom’ and ‘enlightenment’ and demonstrate their commitment to the organization’s principles.

The sentencing came after nine former OneTaste employees testified that Daedone and Cherwitz, the company’s former head of sales, ran the business like a cult and manipulated them into performing a range of sexual acts.

Nicole Daedone, pictured leaving court last May, has been sentenced to nine years, two years supervision on release, and is ordered to pay restitution of $887,877.64 to her victims

Supporters of OneTaste defendants Nicole Daedone and Rachel Cherwitz gather outside of Brooklyn federal court before their sentencing in New York City on Monday

Assistant US Attorney Nina Gupta 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’.

Judge Diane Gujarati said the offences of both women were ‘very serious’ and carried out over a prolonged period, with Daedone and her associates coercing victims ‘through a variety of means.’

‘The trial evidence demonstrated that these were deliberate and harmful actions and that forced labor occurred,’ the judge said, adding victims suffered ‘long lasting, if not irreparable damage.’

She described the case as involving ‘significant financial, physical and psychological harm,’ branding it ‘long term human exploitation.’ Gujarati branded the women’s crimes as ‘exploitation masquerading as empowerment’.

‘She exploited certain women in a calculated way and made money off them,’ she added ‘Miss Daedone is not the victim here, and there is a strong need for deterrence.’

Both women were praised for working closely with other inmates while awaiting their fates at Metropolitan Detention Center Brooklyn – with Daedone even penning a book from behind bars.

Prosecutors argued that trial evidence showed that both women had actually forced labor on their victims on multiple occasions with the defense arguing that they should be sentenced on their actual charges of a conspiracy.

One victim, Mihal Neirin, told the court that Cherwitz was ‘Nicole’s main executioner’.

In 2017  the actress Gwyneth Paltrow interviewed Daedone on her Goop podcast 

Daedone speaking at an ‘In Goop Health’ Event in Los Angeles in 2017

She described the dynamic between the pair, recalling how Nicole once ‘berated’ Cherwitz, only for Cherwitz to then treat others in the same way, mirroring that behavior.

Neirin said: ‘I was left with sexual trauma, in debt and more depressed than I have ever been. I fell into their trap, I was the perfect target, a vulnerable woman looking to benefit my life.

‘I contemplated suicide several times in the year after I left OneTaste. I still suffer flashbacks, nightmares and panic attacks.’

Judge Gujarati further condemned the conduct as ‘egregious, coercive and insidious’, noting both Daedone and Cherwitz ‘took actions that stripped their victims of dignity’.

The judge also singled out Cherwitz’s role, describing her treatment of victims as ‘constant and unrelenting’.

‘She did what Nicole wanted her to. I was struck by how close that partnership was,’ Gujarati said.

Prosecutors also pointed to the group’s insular culture, telling the court that those outside OneTaste were referred to as ‘muggles’.

Neither Daedone nor Cherwitz expressed remorse, offered an apology, or acknowledged responsibility during sentencing, the court heard.

Daedone appeared emotional, holding her hands in prayer when the judge ended sentencing, but declining to speak on her own behalf.

Her attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, mounted a strong defense, insisting: ‘No one revels in seeing people experience pain… Miss Daedone is a complex person. I vehemently reject that she is some fraudster who… set out to manipulate women’s sexuality for profit.’

Cherwitz’s lawyer, Celia Cohen, argued her client believed she was helping participants, telling the court: ‘She thought that she was giving people what they wanted.’

Cohen added: ‘It is a different situation when someone has wanted to do it (orgasmic meditation) for 364 days of the year and the one instance they don’t, expect Cherwitz to know it’.

She controversially suggested that participants ‘faking’ an orgasm could signal consent, saying: ‘Faking it indicates to the person that they are okay with it.’

Cherwitz was all smiles in the courtroom, even winking at the gallery at one point, with her husband there to support her.

Despite the nearly $900,000 restitution order, the court heard payments will be made at just $25 per quarter while Daedone and Cherwitz are incarcerated.

Neither was fined further, with the judge accepting they cannot afford it, adding that Cherwitz has ‘serious mental health diagnosis’.

Outside court, current OneTaste CEO Anjuli Ayer described the outcome as ‘terrifying’ – issuing a lengthy statement defending Daedone and the organization.

In it, she claimed the case represented a dangerous precedent, arguing: ‘This is not a case of labor or even conspiracy. This is a case to say that ideas are dangerous.’

Ayer said she personally credited Daedone and OneTaste practices with saving her life, warning: ‘Once persuasion becomes a crime, anyone can be a defendant. And anyone can be a victim.

‘If thought can be criminalized, if consent is meaningless – no one is safe.’

The dramatic sentencing marks the culmination of a years-long case that prosecutors said exposed a system of manipulation and coercion hidden behind the language of empowerment.

Both defendants are planning to lodge an appeal, and staunchly protest their innocence.

In a statement after the sentencing, John Lauro, who has represented President Donald Trump, launched a blistering attack on the case, which he has been closely following.

He told the Daily Mail: ‘The federal trafficking statute places all spiritual and religious practices at risk, especially those who have participants volunteer their time and energy.

‘This prosecution was a gross abuse of power originating in the Biden Justice Department and we hope will be reversed on appeal.’