Leaders of 'orgasmic meditation cult' OneTaste say government is trying to outlaw sex and jail people for 'funsies'

Two former leaders of an 'orgasmic meditation cult' are attempting to throw out sex trafficking charges against them for second time in their bombshell Brooklyn court battle. 

Attorneys for the OneTaste execs, Rachel Cherwitz and Nicole Daedone, argued that the counts should be dropped because an FBI agent in charge of the probe ordered a key witness to destroy evidence which could have aided their defense. 

'The government is trying to criminalize sex,' Cherwitz's attorney Duncan Levin told the reporters outside the federal courtfederal court. 

'It’s not their job to be creative and see if they can put someone in prison for funsies,' he added.

The two women are accused of forcing volunteers, contractors, and employees into sex acts using cult-like tactics in the federal indictment.

Documents seen by DailyMail.com claim that FBI agent Elliot McGinnis advised  former OneTaste employee Ayries Blanck to delete an email account during his investigation into the group. 

The defense says emails in the account could have contained information undermining Blanck's claims of abuse while working for OneTaste. 

Blanck claimed in a Netflix documentary that OneTaste 'forced and manipulated her into having sex and taking part in orgasmic meditation with OneTaste staff, supervisors, and customers'. 

OneTaste denies this, and the company launched a counter suit against Netflix for claiming it aired 'completely false' accusations – and against Blanck for allegedly breaching a $325,000 settlement by speaking with the streaming service. 

Netflix first aired Orgasm Inc: The Story of OneTaste in 2022, five months before Daedone and Cherwitz were indicted for allegedly forcing women into sex acts. Both women deny the accusations.

Now, lawyers for Daedone and Cherwitz are claiming that the deleted email account may also have detailed Blanck's journals, which comprised the basis of the documentary. 

The emails could also include further conversations between Blanck and the FBI, along with employees of the orgasmic meditation cult, the lawyers say.

Their letter argues: 'The involvement of the FBI in advising a key witness to delete emails represents a grave breach of protocol and a miscarriage of justice.

'It is fundamental to the integrity of the judicial process that all relevant evidence is preserved and available for examination.

'The destruction of evidence, especially when advised by a federal agent, is a direct affront to the principles of fairness and transparency that underpin our legal system.'

According to the letter, Blanck and McGinnis exchanged emails which she asked the federal agent if she should 'disband and cancel the old email account.'

The back and forth came after she received messages from two other purported OneTaste employees.

McGinnis told Blanck that she should delete the account because the emails serve her no purpose 'other than making you feel uneasy.'

Daedone and Cherwitz were all smiles as they appeared in the Brooklyn court on Wednesday to add this latest argument to their ongoing case for a dismissal.

The two women donned their power heels with coordinated beige business blazers and matching skirts for the appearance. They even stopped to beam at onlookers and embrace each other outside the courthouse. 

The government has until August 14 to respond to the new allegations in the motion to dismiss, and a hearing to discuss the FBI claims has been set for later this year. 

Blanck became involved with OneTaste in 2012 and was 'positive' about her involvement until 2014 when she split with her partner.

The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, focuses on the final 15 minutes of the documentary, which discusses Blanck experiencing 'sexual violence' that was 'condoned' by the company.

As part of the most recent court documents, lawyers for both women claim that McGinnis, was also 'directly involved' in the Netflix show.

His name can be seen written on a notepad in the documentary, before the witness appears to speak on the phone.

The letter continued: 'Agent McGinnis appears to have been intimately involved in the public relations aspect of this case even before an indictment was returned, calling into question both his objectivity and judgment.'

Two other witnesses interviewed by McGinnis have also said they were 'coerced and pressured' by him into identifying themselves as victims in the case.

Cherwitz and Daedone separately argued that prosecutors used a privileged document to tailor the charges in the indictment.

Jennifer Bonjean, a lawyer for Daedone, said in a statement that the investigation 'was corrupted out of the gate where it was led by a rogue FBI agent whose idea of a sound investigation was regurgitating scandalous tabloid allegations, he knew to be false and directing government witnesses to destroy potentially exculpatory evidence.'

'The government seeks to punish my client for what she thinks and believes, not for any crimes she has committed. But that is not how our criminal justice system was intended to work,' she added.

Judge Gujarati denied Cherwitz and Daedone's motion to dismiss in May, rejecting arguments from their legal team that the indictment was legally deficient.

In 2018, the FBI launched an investigation when ex-customers came forward saying they were left in debt after paying for expensive classes, and former employees said they were told to engage in sexual relations with potential clients to close sales.

Prosecutors say that between 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, including volunteers, contractors, and employees.

The indictment alleges that the duo used tactics designed to render the OneTaste members dependent on the group for their shelter and basic necessities and to limit members' independence and control.

Members of OneTaste were allegedly kept in 'residential warehouses' where they were forced into sex acts.

The alleged victims were subjected to 'constant surveillance' and isolated from friends and family.

When members could no longer afford OneTaste classes, they were pressured to take on debt, and that at times Daedone and Cherwitz even assisted them in opening new credit cards, according to the indictment.

Daedone and Cherwitz have both pleaded not guilty to the charges and are free on $1 million and $300,000 bonds respectively.

OneTaste's current leadership team say they stand behind the defendants.

Cherwitz is still working with the company, but Daedone has taken a step back since being indicted last year.