OneTaste Founder Nicole Daedone Sentenced to 9 Years for Forced Labor Conspiracy

U.S. District Court Judge Diane Gujarati sentenced Nicole Daedone to nine years in federal prison Monday, telling the packed Brooklyn courtroom that Daedone's actions "stripped victims of their dignity" and that she "does not appear to be remorseful." The conviction of the 58-year-old founder of OneTaste, Inc. caps a years-long federal investigation into a San Francisco wellness company that prosecutors say weaponized the language of female empowerment to extract unpaid labor and sexual services from its members.

U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella framed the case in unambiguous terms: "Coercion disguised as wellness or empowerment is still exploitation and it is a crime that causes harm to vulnerable victims." Prosecutors had pushed for the 20-year statutory maximum, arguing in court filings that Daedone's scheme left "scores of victims financially, emotionally and psychologically scarred."

OneTaste built its brand around "orgasmic meditation," offering in-person and online workshops framed as a path to female liberation. Behind that presentation, according to trial evidence, was a decade-long apparatus of control. Daedone and Cherwitz used economic, sexual and psychological abuse, intimidation and indoctrination to force OneTaste members into sexual acts they found uncomfortable or repulsive, including performing sex acts with prospective investors and clients. Daedone and Cherwitz also promised to pay members wages and commissions for work performed on behalf of OneTaste and subsequently failed to pay the amounts owed, or changed members' employment statuses or locations without advance notice.

One victim, speaking at the sentencing hearing, described how she had believed in Daedone's "so-called feminist mission" only to be "left with significant financial damages and emotional harm," telling the judge: "In reality, I fell into Nicole's trap. I was the perfect target." Daedone declined to address the court.

Rachel Cherwitz, OneTaste's former head of sales, was sentenced the same day to 78 months in prison for her role in the conspiracy. The court ordered Daedone to forfeit $12 million, a figure that matches the proceeds she collected when she sold her stake in the company in 2017, which prosecutors argued represented the direct proceeds of criminal forced labor. Seven identified victims will share $887,877.64 in court-ordered restitution.

Judge Gujarati was direct about the nature of the enterprise: "What she was doing wasn't about enlightenment or operating in a different dimension." The conviction and sentences together establish a legal precedent for applying federal forced-labor statutes to organizations that use psychological and financial coercion rather than physical confinement, signaling that prosecutors can pursue similar groups operating under wellness or spiritual branding. For the seven formally recognized victims, the restitution order provides partial financial redress; advocates say the full accounting of harm across a decade of operations reaches far beyond what the court's restitution figure captures.