A 2011 article in the Albany Times Union detailed a bitter court battle between attorneys representing former members and one put in charge of NXIVM’s legal affairs, which included the breaking down of different notes detailing various charts and diagrams showing the various levels and rates of the group.
As the years went on, NXIVM and its spiritual leader, Keith Raniere, gained even more attention from detractors, who accused “Vanguard” of operating a business model that could be classified as a multilevel marketing scheme.
One of the major components of the argument (and one that shows up in the HBO series) is the use of different colored sashes and stripes that are earned by climbing the ranks of the organization by doing things like paying for courses, getting new members to join, and other metrics.