Tuesday, June 10, 2025 - The leaders of the controversial wellness company, OneTaste have been found guilty of grooming employees to perform sexual acts on clients and investors.
Nicole Daedone, 57, founder of OneTaste, and Rachel
Cherwitz, 44, (Pictured
above) the former head of sales, were convicted Monday in Brooklyn
federal court after a four-week trial. Prosecutors argued the duo orchestrated
a decade-long campaign of coercion, manipulation, and sexual abuse.
Nine former OneTaste employees testified, describing the
company’s cult-like atmosphere, where Daedone and Cherwitz allegedly exploited
their authority to compel staff into a range of sexual acts under the guise of
wellness and empowerment.
“These nine
victims provided labor and services for what spanned more than a decade — from
menial tasks to sex acts,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Nina Gupta during
closing arguments.
Daedone and Cherwitz now face up to 20 years in prison after
being convicted of conspiracy to commit forced labor, following 12.5 hours of
jury deliberation over two days
The verdict marks a dramatic downfall for the women who once
promoted “orgasmic meditation” — a practice that involved group sexual sessions
and gained high-profile attention, including from Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop
website.
A series of exposés — including a Netflix documentary titled
Orgasm Inc.: The Story of OneTaste — revealed that employees were pressured to
flirt with and have sex with potential clients. Prosecutors accused the
founders of exploiting trauma survivors by promising healing through sex,
ultimately forcing them into unpaid labor and sex work
In one disturbing case, Cherwitz allegedly instructed a rape
survivor to “reenact” her assault in front of an audience, performing oral sex
while being told “I love you,” echoing what her attacker once said.
“The goal,”
Gupta said, “was to move from revulsion to turn-on.”
The company, founded in San Francisco in 2004, expanded to
cities like New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Denver. It operated under the
banner of female empowerment and wellness but, according to prosecutors,
concealed a dark inner culture.
OneTaste used terms like “muggles” and “Fourth Dimension” to
create an us-versus-them mentality. Prosecutors noted that Daedone herself once
referred to the group as a “sex cult.”
Behind closed doors, young women were allegedly directed to
perform sex acts for VIP clients. Victims, many with prior trauma, were
manipulated into joining the organization, pushed into debt, and pressured into
sexual servitude, federal authorities said
Defense attorneys argued that prosecutors convinced members
to reinterpret past experiences as abuse.
“The
government tried to shock you about sex, orgasm, forced conduct,” said Celia
Cohen, Cherwitz’s lawyer. “But not a single witness reported a crime at the
time — no police report, no call to the FBI, nothing.”
However, the jury disagreed.
“The jury’s
verdict has unmasked Daedone and Cherwitz for who they truly are: grifters who
preyed on vulnerable victims,” said U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. “They made
hollow promises of sexual empowerment while manipulating people for their own
gain.”
Attorneys for Daedone and Cherwitz said they will appeal the
decision.
“We maintain
our clients’ innocence and look forward to continuing this fight on appeal,”
said attorneys Celia Cohen, Michael Robotti, and Jennifer Bonjean in a joint
statement. “This case raised novel and complex legal issues that require review
by the Second Circuit. We are inspired by Nicole and Rachel’s strength
throughout this process.”
0 Comments