Nicole Daedone, Forced Labor Conspiracy, New York 2024

Brooklyn, New York - An indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging Nicole Daedone, founder and former Chief Executive Officer of OneTaste, Inc., with forced labor conspiracy.

Nicole Daedone, 56, and Rachel Cherwitz, former Head of Sales of OneTaste, are charged with conspiracy to commit forced labor in connection with a years-long scheme to obtain the labor and services of a group of OneTaste members, including volunteers, contractors, and employees of OneTaste.

Cherwitz was arrested this morning and is expected to appear in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California this afternoon. Cherwitz will be arraigned in the Eastern District of New York at a later date. Daedone remains at large.

The indictment alleges that between approximately 2004 and 2018, Daedone and Cherwitz deployed a series of abusive and manipulative tactics in order to obtain the labor and services of a group of OneTaste members who were volunteers, contractors, and employees of OneTaste. Daedone and Cherwitz intentionally targeted for recruitment to OneTaste individuals who had suffered prior trauma and advertised that OneTaste's courses and teachings could heal past sexual trauma and dysfunction.

Daedone and Cherwitz also undertook tactics designed to render the OneTaste members dependent on OneTaste for their shelter and basic necessities, and to limit the OneTaste members' independence and create a reliance on OneTaste for basic needs.

This prosecution serves as a reminder to both employer and employee that no matter the marketing mantra, this conduct is never acceptable, said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace. The FBI will continue to ensure that anyone willing to engage in a forced labor scheme is held accountable in the criminal justice system, said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael J. Driscoll.

The indictment charges Daedone and Cherwitz with conspiracy to commit forced labor, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1589. If convicted, they face up to 20 years in prison.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/onetaste-founder-and-former-head-sales-indicted-forced-labor-conspiracy