NEW YORK (Reuters) – The founder of OneTaste, a sexual wellness company that claims to teach “orgasmic meditation,” has been charged with running a cult-like conspiracy involving forced labor, federal prosecutors said on Tuesday.
Founder Nicole Daedone, who served as chief executive until 2017, and former head of sales Rachel Cherwitz were accused of inducing volunteers, contractors and employees to incur debt to take courses that they claimed could heal sexual trauma and dysfunction.
Prosecutors in the New York City borough of Brooklyn said the defendants also subjected OneTaste members to surveillance in communal homes, instructed them to engage in sex acts for “freedom and enlightenment,” and failed to pay promised wages.
Daedone, 56, is at large, while Cherwitz, 43, was arrested on Tuesday and is expected to appear in a California federal court.
Lawyers for both could not immediately be reached.
Founded in 2004, California-based OneTaste was the subject last year of the Netflix documentary “Orgasm Inc,” which followed its rise and the emergence of “disturbing allegations” from members.
OneTaste did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York Editing by Leslie Adler)
