Two former leaders of an “orgasmic meditation cult” are seeking to dismiss forced labor charges against them for the second time in their explosive court battle in Brooklyn.
Attorneys for OneTaste executives Rachel Cherwitz and Nicole Daedone argued that the charges should be dropped because an FBI agent in charge of the investigation ordered a key witness to destroy evidence that could have helped their defense.
“The government is trying to criminalize sex,” Cherwitz’s attorney, Duncan Levin, told reporters outside federal court.
“It’s not their job to be creative and see if they can put someone in prison just for fun,” added Daedone’s attorney, Jennifer Bonjean.
The two women are accused in the federal indictment of coercing volunteers, contractors and employees into sexual acts using cult-like tactics.
Documents seen by DailyMail.com claim that FBI agent Elliot McGinnis advised former OneTaste employee Ayries Blanck to delete an email account during his investigation into the group.
Rachel Cherwitz (left) and Nicole Daedone, two former heads of an “orgasmic meditation cult,” wore matching beige outfits for their appearance in a Brooklyn courtroom on Wednesday.
The two women hugged each other in the street after the hearing
Former OneTaste employee Ayries Blanck allegedly received advice from federal agent Elliot McGinnis to delete an email account that OneTaste bosses said contained exculpatory evidence.
The defense says emails in the account could have contained information undermining Blanck’s allegations of abuse while working for OneTaste.
Blanck claimed in a Netflix documentary that OneTaste ‘He forced and manipulated her into having sexual intercourse and engaging in orgasmic meditation with OneTaste staff, supervisors and customers.’
OneTaste denies this and the company has filed a countersuit against Netflix for claiming it aired “completely false” accusations and against Blanck for allegedly violating a $325,000 settlement by speaking to the streaming service.
Netflix first aired Orgasm Inc: The Story of OneTaste in 2022, five months before Daedone and Cherwitz were charged with allegedly forcing women to perform sexual acts. Both women deny the allegations.
Now, attorneys for Daedone and Cherwitz say the deleted email account may also contain Blanck’s detailed journals, which formed the basis of the documentary.
The emails could also include further conversations between Blanck and the FBI, along with employees of the orgasmic meditation cult, the lawyers say.
OneTaste ‘orgasm cult’ bosses Rachel Cherwitz and Nicole Daedone leave New York court with their lawyers, after the couple were charged with forced labor
Both women are accused of coercing volunteers, contractors and employees into sexual acts using cult-like tactics in the federal indictment.
Cherwitz smiled and waved to the cameras after appearing in court on Wednesday.
Last year, at a hearing, Daedone was accused of keeping OneTaste members in “residential storage.”
The letter states: ‘The FBI’s involvement in advising a key witness to delete emails represents a serious breach of protocol and a miscarriage of justice.
‘It is essential to the integrity of the judicial process that all relevant evidence is preserved and available for examination.
‘The destruction of evidence, especially when recommended by a federal agent, is a direct affront to the principles of fairness and transparency that underpin our legal system.’
According to the letter, Blanck and McGinnis exchanged emails in which she asked the federal agent if she should “dissolve and cancel the old email account.”
The exchange came after she received messages from two other alleged OneTaste employees.
McGinnis told Blanck she should delete her account because the emails serve no purpose “except making you feel uncomfortable.”
Daedone and Cherwitz were all smiles as they appeared in Brooklyn court on Wednesday to add this latest argument to their ongoing case for a dismissal.
The two women donned their high heels with beige blazers and matching skirts for the look. They even stopped to smile at onlookers and hug each other outside the courthouse.
The email between Blanck and McGinnis seen by DailyMail.com shows the FBI agent told the employee to delete an email account where she was receiving messages from other workers.
The two women claim McGinnis was “directly involved” in the Netflix documentary about their “cult.” In one scene, the agent’s name is seen written on a notepad.
The government has until August 14 to respond to the new allegations in the motion to dismiss, and a hearing to discuss the FBI’s claims is scheduled for later this year.
Blanck became involved with OneTaste in 2012 and was “positive” about her involvement until 2014, when she split from her partner.
The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, focuses on the last 15 minutes of the documentary, which discusses how Blanck suffered “sexual violence” that was “tolerated” by the company.
As part of the latest court documents, attorneys for both women claim that McGinnis was also “directly involved” in the Netflix show.
His name can be seen written on a notepad in the documentary, before the witness appears to speak on the phone.
The letter continued: “Officer McGinnis appears to have been intimately involved in the public relations aspect of this case even before an indictment was filed, calling into question both his objectivity and his judgment.”
Two other witnesses interviewed by McGinnis also said they were “coerced and pressured” by him to identify themselves as victims in the case.
Daedone and Cherwitz have also sued the BBC over the allegations and have travelled to London for the case in 2022.
OneTaste was making $12 million a year promoting “orgasmic meditation”
Cherwitz and Daedone separately argued that prosecutors used a privileged document to tailor charges in the indictment.
Jennifer Bonjean, Daedone’s attorney, said in a statement that the investigation “was tainted from the start, as it was led by a corrupt FBI agent whose idea of a solid investigation was to regurgitate outrageous tabloid allegations, which he knew to be false, and order government witnesses to destroy potentially exculpatory evidence.”
“The government is seeking to punish my client for what she thinks and believes, not for any crimes she has committed. But that is not how our criminal justice system is supposed to work,” he added.
In May, Judge Gujarati denied Cherwitz and Daedone’s motion to dismiss, rejecting their legal team’s arguments that the indictment was legally deficient.
In 2018, the FBI launched an investigation when some former clients came forward and said they had been left in debt after paying for expensive classes, and former employees said they were told to have sex with potential clients to close sales.
Prosecutors say that between 2004 and 2018, Daedone and Cherwitz deployed a range of abusive and manipulative tactics to obtain the work and services of a group of OneTaste members, including volunteers, contractors and employees.
The indictment alleges the duo used tactics designed to make OneTaste members dependent on the group for housing and basic needs and to limit members’ independence and control.
OneTaste members were allegedly held in “residential warehouses” where they were forced to perform sexual acts.
OneTaste sued Netflix for defamation over the documentary depicting Blanck’s rape allegations, which aired five months before Daedone and Cherwitz were charged
The alleged victims were subjected to “constant surveillance” and isolated from their friends and family.
When members could no longer afford OneTaste classes, they were pressured into debt, and at times Daedone and Cherwitz even helped them open new credit cards, according to the indictment.
Daedone and Cherwitz have pleaded not guilty to the charges and are free on bail of $1 million and $300,000 respectively.
OneTaste’s current leadership team says it stands by the defendants.
Cherwitz remains employed by the company, but Daedone has stepped back since being charged last year.