Founder of ‘orgasmic meditation’ company gets nine years in prison in forced labor case

Nicole Daedone’s legal team said they plan to appeal the conviction. Prominent attorney Alan Dershowitz has also indicated he will seek a presidential pardon from Donald Trump for both Daedone and Rachel Cherwitz.

Nicole Daedone, co-founder and former CEO of OneTaste Inc, has been sentenced to nine years in federal prison after being found guilty of running a forced labour conspiracy that targeted vulnerable women. The ruling was delivered by US District Judge Diane Gujarati in Brooklyn, following her conviction in June 2025 after a five-week trial.

Rachel Cherwitz, the company’s former head of sales, was also sentenced to six and a half years for her role in the scheme. The court further ordered Daedone to forfeit $12 million, while seven victims were collectively awarded about $890,000 in restitution, as per US Attorney's Office press release.

According to prosecutors, Daedone and Cherwitz orchestrated a years-long operation that manipulated women, many with histories of trauma, into providing unpaid or underpaid labour, including sexual services, under the guise of healing and empowerment.

“This case exposed a decade-long scheme in which the defendants used psychological, emotional, and financial coercion to control their victims and extract labor and services for their own benefit,” said Joseph Nocella, US attorney for the Eastern District of New York. “Coercion disguised as wellness or empowerment is still exploitation and it is a crime that causes harm to vulnerable victims,” added the statement.

Prosecutors argued that the duo relied on “economic pressure, psychological manipulation, physical exhaustion and emotional degradation” to maintain control, leaving victims “financially, emotionally and psychologically scarred.”

In court, Daedone chose not to speak. However, one victim described being drawn in by what she called a “so-called feminist mission,” only to suffer “significant financial damages and emotional harm.” She added, “In reality, I fell into Nicole’s trap. I was the perfect target,” according to Associated Press report.

Judge Gujarati, noting the presence of more than two dozen supporters at the hearing, said Daedone showed little remorse. “What she was doing wasn’t about enlightenment or operating in a different dimension,” the judge said. “It was criminal.”

Defence lawyers had pushed for a significantly lighter sentence of around two years, calling a lengthy prison term “bonkers.” They highlighted Daedone’s lack of prior criminal record and submitted over 200 letters praising her character and influence.

Daedone’s legal team said they plan to appeal the conviction. Prominent attorney Alan Dershowitz has also indicated he will seek a presidential pardon from Donald Trump for both Daedone and Cherwitz.

Founded in San Francisco in 2004, OneTaste marketed itself as a sexual wellness company centred on “orgasmic meditation” (OM), a practice involving manual stimulation of women in group settings.

In 2017, Daedone sold her stake in OneTaste for $12 million, a year before the company’s practices came under scrutiny. Current owners have maintained that the allegations against former executives have been misinterpreted and are unjustified, the AP report added.