Documents published by or for Executive Success Program, Inc. dba Nxivm
| Tracking # |
1459570-000 |
| Submitted | Feb. 6, 2020 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: T. McElwee
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
All records mentioning or describing organizations under the NXIVM umbrella of corporations, trademarks and organizations. This umbrella includes (not exclusively) documents published by or for the following companies: Executive Success Programs, Inc. and First Principles Inc.
Documents published or kept by the above entities include the following whose existence is attested to through news reports and scholarly studies of the NXIVM organization:
1) A "manual" for Executive Success Program ("[a] 265-page manual [that]contains a copyright notice on virtually every page,");
2) Documents described as course "modules" for Executive Success Program having a copyright notice for First Principles Inc.
Upon information and belief, said documents are likely within the SENTINEL system as they are nontransitory records.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
T. McElwee
From: Federal Bureau of Investigation
There are eFOIA files available for you to download.
From: Federal Bureau of Investigation
There are eFOIA files available for you to download.
From: Federal Bureau of Investigation
There are eFOIA files available for you to download.
From: T. McElwee
To whom it may concern:
I hereby appeal the Bureau's rejection of my FOIA request, (assigned #1459570-000) for a copy of materials seized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation from First Principles Inc. (the manual for Executive Success Programs, Inc., as well as the course "modules.")
I believe this rejection was made in error, as the investigation and trial of multiple defendants is concluded with all persons charged having either convicted or pled guilty. Only a penalty phase remains, and there is no investigative interest served in the withholding of the information from the public.
Further, it has come to my attention that pursuant to asset forfeiture law, the United States has taken full ownership and title to the property of First Principles, Inc. (the holder of intellectual property rights to the matter requested). Please see the attached PDF's, "SECOND AMENDED CONSENT PRELIMINARY ORDER OF FORFEITURE" as signed by Hon. Nicholas Graufis, and "DECLARATION OF PUBLICATION," as filed by Samuel Williams, FSA Records Examiner.
The forfeiture has been properly published and has not been challenged via petition, and as such, the materials requested are solely the property of the U.S. government and should be readily disclosable.
I assert that there is an overriding public interest in the government disclosing the material for the sake of deeper scholarship in several facets examined in the case, including 1) the tactics of multi-level marketing, 2) background information on NXIVM, a group whose activities have been well-publicized for decades, and 3) the implications of intellectual property law.
As mentioned previously, it is my belief that as non-transient records, these materials have been entered into the SENTINEL database and should be retrievable; however, any scanned PDF copy will suffice as responsive.
My thanks,
T. McElwee
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