ALBANY — A federal judge in New Jersey delivered an unwelcome birthday present to NXIVM leader Keith Raniere on Monday: an order demanding the organization pay more than $1.3 million to an investigative firm it hired to dig up dirt on a cult expert.

Senior U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden ruled in favor of Interfor, a New York-based company that NXIVM recruited in 2004 to — among other tasks — investigate Rick Ross, leader of the Cult Education Institute, who NXIVM had sued the previous year.

The judge, who presided over a 2017 non-jury trial on the matter, ordered NXIVM to pay $1,360,157 to Interfor, which is headed by Juval Aviv, a former Israeli intelligence officer. The figure includes legal fees and other costs.