Isabella Pollok, 31, pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy on Wednesday
A former Sarah Lawrence College student has pleaded guilty to helping her former classmate’s father launder money he made by blackmailing and pinning down young women he met after moving into her on-campus housing was.
Isabella Pollok, 31, filed a guilty plea to money laundering conspiracy charges in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday, admitting she understood some of the money laundered was generated through sex trafficking.
“I know what I did was wrong and against the law,” Pollok told a federal judge as she filed the plea.
Pollok’s family has long insisted that she herself was a victim under the spell of Lawrence “Larry” Ray, who for a decade exploited his daughter’s close circle of friends, using threats and violence to enrich himself with millions of dollars. while he lives ruined hers.
But prosecutors said she was aware of Ray’s heinous schemes and manipulative “sex cult,” and lived with him in Manhattan for about 10 years after graduating, sharing in the wealth extorted from her classmates.
Isabella Pollok leaves court with her attorney after pleading guilty to the Sarah Lawrence sex cult case. She was the only co-defendant charged along with convicted mastermind Larry Ray
Pollok’s family has long insisted that they themselves were the victim of Lawrence “Larry” Ray’s spell, which took advantage of his daughter’s close circle of friends
But prosecutors said Pollok was aware of Ray’s heinous schemes and manipulative “sex cult,” and lived with him in Manhattan for about 10 years after she graduated
Pollok’s surprising guilty plea came five months after Ray was convicted of charges including racketeering, conspiracy, forced labour, sex trafficking and obstruction of justice.
Ray, 62, is due to be sentenced on December 1 when he could face life in prison.
Larry Ray, 62, faces life in prison if convicted in December
Pollok faces up to five years in prison and a fine of between $30,000 and $300,000 when Judge Lewis J. Liman convicts her in February.
Ray’s trial chronicled his psychologically manipulative relationship with young women he met in the fall of 2010 at Sarah Lawrence College, a small New York liberal arts college.
Ray moved into his daughter’s dorm after completing a prison sentence for a securities fraud conviction.
Prosecutors said he was able to carry out his crimes with the help of his daughter and Pollok after befriending the young ladies and posing as a fatherly figure who could help them overcome their problems.
But as time went on, the young victims found themselves trapped in a nightmare.
Prosecutors say that in one case, Ray tied one of his victims to a chair, covered her head with a plastic bag and nearly suffocated her before forcing her to hand over $500,000 she had earned through forced prostitution
Ray’s daughter Talia was not charged in the case, although a federal judge ruled there was enough evidence to name her as a potential co-conspirator in Ray’s trial.
Ray’s daughter Talia was not charged in the case, although a federal judge ruled there was enough evidence to name her as a potential co-conspirator in Ray’s trial
Pollock is seen in an undated photo ahead of her arraignment in the sex cult case
As part of her plea, Pollok had to admit that she knew some of the money she conspired to launder from 2014 to 2019 was generated through sex trafficking
“I know what I did was wrong and against the law,” Pollok told a judge in her pleading
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Pollok (seen with her attorney) faces a maximum sentence of five years, which is also consistent with the established federal policy area of her offense
Assistant US Attorney Molly Bracewell said during Pollok’s plea hearing that the government would have used much of the same evidence that would have been disclosed at Ray’s trial had Pollok chosen to go to trial.
During Ray’s trial, jurors were shown portions of video and audio footage showing Ray convincing college students that they had harmed him and his property and owed him hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation.
He also convinced some of them to admit that they had tried to poison him.
One woman testified at his trial that she was convinced she tried to poison him and paid Ray $2.5 million out of her earnings as a prostitute after he persuaded her to sell herself to men in order to to try to compensate him.
She said she gave Ray the $2.5 million over four years in installments that averaged between $10,000 and $50,000 a week.
But Ray’s lawyers claimed he was bullied by former friends who made up their stories, and that the young people he dragged into his daughter’s dorm made him feel paranoid and offended.
US Attorney Geoffrey Berman points to a photograph showing Lawrence Ray during a news conference in New York in February 2020
Larry Ray features in a court sketch during his trial that chronicles his psychologically manipulative relationships with young women he met at Sarah Lawrence College in the fall of 2010
Ray’s lawyers claimed he was bullied by former friends who made up their stories
“Everyone was after him, Larry believed,” said federal defender Marne Lenox, portraying his daughter’s friends as “storytellers” whom he believed had deliberately poisoned him.
The process was twice interrupted when Ray was taken to the hospital in an ambulance with unknown illnesses.
As part of her plea, Pollok had to admit that she knew some of the money she conspired to launder from 2014 to 2019 was generated from illegal activities like sex trafficking.
Bracewell said it’s unclear if Pollok might need to be registered as a sex offender in some states in the future, depending on their rules.
David Bertan, an attorney for Pollok, said in court that her attorneys are pleased that the settlement agreement reached last month will allow his client to “move on with her life”.
Pollok did not speak to reporters as she exited the courtroom.
