Allison Mack

Allison Christin Mack (born July 29, 1982) is an American actress. She played Chloe Sullivan on the superhero series ''Smallville'' (2001–2011) and had a recurring role on the comedy series '' Wilfred'' (2012–2014).

Mack was a member of NXIVM, a cult and multi-level marketing company. In 2018 she was arrested by federal authorities on charges of sex trafficking, sex-trafficking conspiracy, and forced labor conspiracy related to her involvement in NXIVM and its subgroup, DOS. Mack pleaded guilty to racketeering and racketeering conspiracy charges and in 2021 was sentenced to three years in prison. She served 21 months in Federal Correctional Institution, Dublin, in California and was released in July 2023.

Early life

Mack was born on July 29, 1982, in Preetz, West Germany, to American parents Jonathan Mack, an opera singer, and Mindy Mack, a schoolteacher and bookkeeper. Her parents were in West Germany at the time of her birth because Jonathan was performing there; they lived in West Germany for two years before moving to the United States.

Career

Early work

Mack's first job was for a German chocolate company in a series of print ads and commercials. She went into modeling for a short period and studied at the Young Actors Space in Los Angeles at age seven.

Mack's first major television role was in an episode of the WB/ CW series '' 7th Heaven'', in which she gained attention playing a teenager who cut herself. In 2000 she co-starred in the short-lived series '' Opposite Sex''. Her film credits include roles in '' My Horrible Year!'' ( Eric Stoltz's directorial debut), '' Camp Nowhere'', and in the Disney film '' Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves''.

''Smallville''

In October 2001, Mack began starring as Chloe Sullivan (an original character created for the show), one of Clark Kent's best friends in the WB/ CW television series ''Smallville''. Mack earned several awards and nominations for her portrayal of Chloe, including the Teen Choice Award for Best Sidekick in 2006 and 2007. She appeared as a series regular for nine seasons and returned as an intermittent main cast member in the tenth and final season, including the two-part series finale. From 2003 to 2006, Mack's character appeared in her own miniseries ''Smallville: Chloe Chronicles'' and ''Smallville: Vengeance Chronicles''. In 2008, Mack made her directorial debut in ''Smallville'' season 8 episode " Power".

In 2002, Mack made a couple of appearances along with her ''Smallville'' castmate Sam Jones III in R. L. Stine's miniseries '' The Nightmare Room''. In 2006 she voiced Clea, a museum curator, in an episode of '' The Batman''. Adding to her DC Comics resume, she lent her voice for Power Girl in the animated feature '' Superman/Batman: Public Enemies'' (2009). Mack was also listed as a member of the Iris Theatre Company.

After ''Smallville''

In March 2012, Mack was cast in a recurring role in the second season of the FX sitcom '' Wilfred''. She played Amanda, the love interest of Elijah Wood's lead character Ryan. Mack returned to ''Wilfred'' for one episode of the fourth and final season. In 2014, Mack guest-starred as a policewoman named Hilary in an episode of the Fox thriller '' The Following''. On March 21, 2015, she tweeted that she would be appearing in '' American Odyssey'' as Julia, who befriends Suzanne, the daughter of Anna Friel's lead character Sgt. Odelle Ballard.

Involvement with NXIVM and fallout

Mack was a member of NXIVM, an organization founded by Keith Raniere and headquartered in Albany, New York. Throughout its existence, advocates of NXIVM characterized it as a benign multi-level marketing company selling professional and personal development courses, while critics described it as a cult.

NXIVM and DOS

Mack joined NXIVM in 2006 after attending a two-day introduction to "Jness", a women's group within NXIVM, eventually becoming a high-ranking member of the organization. Mack was co-creator of "The Source", a NXIVM program that recruited actors. She was also a member of "Simply Human", an a cappella NXIVM singing group, and the emcee of "A Capella Innovations", a multi-day festival. Hosted by NXIVM in 2007 and 2008, the events were billed as a university singing showcase and were alleged to be "a front to draw impressionable undergrads into NXIVM."

In 2015, Raniere created a secret subgroup within NXIVM called " Dominus Obsequious Sororium" (DOS), of which Mack was allegedly second-in-command. DOS was structured as a pyramid group with Raniere at the top (and the only man in DOS) with subordinates including Mack and others as Raniere's first-line DOS masters. DOS was ostensibly built around female empowerment but mainly provided a means to traffic women for Raniere's gratification. According to prosecutors, Mack and others recruited women by telling them they were joining a women-only organization that would empower them, with Raniere's status as the leader of DOS concealed from new recruits. As a pre-condition for joining DOS, women were required to provide "collateral", which included nude photographs, damaging information about family and friends, and rights to their assets. Recruits were told their collateral could be released if they left DOS or told anyone about DOS's existence. Recruits were also controlled in several other ways, including requirements to seek permission, physical isolation, forced participation in "readiness drills", sleep deprivation, extremely restrictive diets, and being subject to corporal punishment.

Mack reportedly recruited four women into DOS, including India Oxenberg, daughter of actress Catherine Oxenberg. As directed by Raniere, Mack and others required their recruits to be branded with a symbol representing Raniere's initials, with the branding ritual following a script created by Raniere. Mack's recruits were unaware that the brand was composed of Raniere's initials, and said that Mack had told them that the brand was a symbol of the elements: air, earth, fire, and water. Former NXIVM member Sarah Edmondson stated in a 2017 ''New York Times'' exposé and a 2018 A&E special on cults details about DOS that she had been branded in an initiation ceremony at Mack's house. In a ''New York Times'' interview, Mack claimed that the human branding was her idea.

Arrest and conviction

On April 20, 2018, Mack was arrested by the FBI in Brooklyn on charges of sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy and forced labor conspiracy. The federal indictment accused Mack of "recruiting women to join what was purported to be a female mentorship group that was, in fact, created and led by Keith Raniere." Mack was one of the "top members of a highly organized scheme which was designed to provide sex to aniere" Prosecutors accused Mack of concealing Raniere's status as the leader of DOS as she coaxed recruits to provide highly damaging personal information, nude photos and rights to personal assets. After Mack recruited women to join DOS, "under the guise of female empowerment, she starved women until they fit aniere'ssexual feminine ideal." Mack directly or implicitly required her recruits to engage in sexual activity with Raniere. In exchange, Mack received financial and other benefits from Raniere.

On April 24, 2018, Mack was released from Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn on a $5million bond and held under house arrest under the custody of her parents in California. During Mack's arraignment proceedings, prosecutors also accused her of entering a sham marriage with Nicki Clyne to help Clyne circumvent US immigration laws.

Guilty plea and sentencing

Under the original indictment, Mack faced a minimum of 15 years to life in prison if found guilty. In March 2019, it was revealed in court that Mack and the other defendants in the case were in "active plea negotiations" as Raniere appeared in court to plead not guilty to additional child pornography charges related to the case.

According to a filing by the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Mack sat down for proffer sessions to assist the government in the prosecution of Raniere starting in April 2019. Mack detailed the inner workings of DOS. "Mack also provided details regarding crimes committed by other first-line DOS masters, including assignments to seduce Raniere and efforts to find Raniere a virgin successor. Mack detailed Raniere's role in devising assignments for Mack's slaves, including, among other things, Raniere's repeated requests for nude photographs from Mack's DOS slaves; Raniere's instructions regarding the seduction assignment; and Raniere's encouragement of the use of demeaning and derogatory language, including racial slurs, to humiliate DOS slaves." Mack provided information to the government about Clare Bronfman's attempts to harass and threaten DOS victims. Mack also provided a recording in which Raniere detailed how he wanted the branding ceremony conducted.

On April 8, 2019, Mack pleaded guilty to racketeering and racketeering conspiracy and admitted to state law extortion and forced labor. In June 2019, Raniere was found guilty on all charges and was sentenced to 120 years in October 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States delayed court proceedings, including the sentencings of Mack and other NXIVM defendants. In 2021, prosecutors began the process of sentencing Mack. Under advisory sentencing guidelines, Mack faced 14 to 17.5 years behind bars. The U.S. Attorney credited Mack with providing "detailed and highly corroborated information" and advocated for favourable sentencing for Mack.

Days before the sentencing, Mack released a statement in which she repudiated Raniere, saying that her involvement with NXIVM was "the biggest mistake and greatest regret of erlife" and expressed remorse in regard to those affected. In addition to the letter, her attorneys asked for no jail time in consideration for Mack's remorse and her cooperation with Raniere's prosecution.

On June 30, 2021, Mack was sentenced to three years in prison and three years of probation, 1,000 hours of community service and a fine of $20,000. On September 13, 2021, Mack reported to Federal Correctional Institution, Dublin, in Dublin, California to begin her prison sentence. She was released early on July 3, 2023, after serving 1 year, 9 months, and 20 days of a 3-year sentence.

Civil lawsuit

In January 2020, Mack, Raniere, Clyne, and other NXIVM individuals were named as defendants in a civil lawsuit filed in federal court by 80 former NXIVM members. The lawsuit details allegations of fraud and abuse and charges of being a pyramid scheme; as well as exploitation of its recruits, conducting illegal human experiments, and making it "physically and psychologically difficult, and in some cases impossible, to leave the coercive community."

Fictional portrayal

In 2019, Catherine Oxenberg produced the Lifetime television film '' Escaping the NXIVM Cult: A Mother's Fight to Save Her Daughter'' with actress Sara Fletcher as Mack.

Personal life

Mack had a long-term relationship with Canadian actor Chad Krowchuk during the 2000s when she was residing in Vancouver, British Columbia, where ''Smallville'' was produced.

In February 2017, Mack married Canadian actress Nicki Clyne, a fellow NXIVM member. The marriage was alleged to have been a sham to get Clyne around U.S. immigration laws. India Oxenberg, a witness at Mack and Clyne's wedding ceremony, later confirmed that the marriage was fake and orchestrated by Raniere to keep Clyne in the United States. In December 2020, Mack filed for divorce from Clyne. Mack and Clyne were both sexual partners with NXIVM founder Keith Raniere. In 2025, Mack married a man named Frank.

It was reported in 2020 that Mack had attended classes at UC Berkeley.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mack, Allison
1982 births
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
21st-century American criminals
American female gangsters
Actresses from Los Angeles
American child actresses
American film actresses
American television actresses
American voice actresses
Criminals from California
Female sex offenders
Living people
NXIVM people
People convicted of racketeering
People convicted of sex trafficking
Prisoners and detainees of New York (state)
People from Preetz
Orange County School of the Arts alumni
Female perpetrators of sex trafficking