NEW YORK (AP) — Communications from jail show the leader of a cult-like self-improvement group in upstate New York has no remorse over his conviction last year on charges he turned some of his followers into sex slaves, even calling his conspiracy “noble,” prosecutors said Friday in court papers.

The papers filed in federal court in Brooklyn ask a judge to give Keith Raniere a sentence of life in prison at a sentencing later this year, in part for showing “a complete lack of acceptance of responsibility for his crimes.” They say Raniere has stayed in touch with members of his NXIVM organization since his conviction on sex-trafficking charges last year, casting himself in emails as a victim and encouraging them to keep the group alive.

“This situation has been a purely political, envy driven, money-powered lie to destroy a community, and keep me either incarcerated for life or otherwise ‘disposed of,'” prosecutors say Raniere wrote in one missive.

In an email to actress Nicki Clyne, Raniere defended his formation of a secret sorority that prosecutors said was comprised of brainwashed female “slaves” who were branded with his initials and forced to have sex with him.

In a statement, defense attorney Marc Agnifilo said Friday that his client “maintains his innocence and he still believes in his teachings.”