(Bloomberg) -- Luxury real estate brokers Oren and Tal Alexander and their brother Alon were arrested and charged with sex-trafficking by federal prosecutors in New York on Wednesday.
According to the indictment, the three brothers worked together for “well over a decade” to “drug, sexually assault and rape dozens of victims.” They allegedly promised luxury experiences, travel and accommodations to lure women to locations where they were assaulted.
Oren and Tal were major real estate agents in cities including New York and Miami, working with an extensive roster of ultra-wealthy and celebrity clients. Since June, the two have faced multiple allegations of rape and sexual assault in a series of civil lawsuits, with some of the episodes dating back more than a decade. The third brother, Alon, also faces civil allegations of sexual misconduct.
The brothers were all arrested Wednesday morning at their respective homes in Miami Beach in connection with federal search warrants, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said at a press conference. They are each also facing state charges of sexual battery and will be arraigned on those counts before being transferred to federal custody.
Effie Blassberger, who represents Alon and Oren in the civil cases, declined to comment on the arrests. A lawyer for Tal had no immediate comment.
The three face sentences of up to life in prison if convicted on federal sex-trafficking counts.
Federal prosecutors allege the Alexanders used their “wealth and positions” to create opportunities for them to assault women. They often worked with party promoters to “ensure that there were a sufficient number of women present” at their events and also procured drugs, including cocaine, mushrooms and GHB, which was often slipped into women’s drinks.
It’s the second high-profile sex-trafficking case brought by Manhattan federal prosecutors in recent months. Rap mogul Sean Combs was charged in September with similarly using his wealth and power to lure victims to parties and gatherings where they were allegedly assaulted.
The Alexander brothers also drugged and assaulted women they encountered by chance, prosecutors said. These victims allegedly included women they met at bars and nightclubs, social events and on dating apps.
“This conduct as alleged is heinous,” Manhattan US Attorney Damian Williams said at press conference on the Alexander charges. “This office is determined to investigate and prosecute anyone who engages in sex-trafficking, no matter how powerful, wealthy and famous you may be.”
Williams also stressed that the investigation was ongoing, saying that he expected other victims to come forward and hinting that charges against other people might be forthcoming.
“They were not acting alone,” Williams said. “We will continue investigating.”
Flight Risks
In a separate filing on Wednesday, federal prosecutors asked judges in New York and Miami to deny bail to the Alexander brothers, saying they were a danger to the community and also serious flight risks because of their wealth and international connections.
The bail filing contained a number of graphic allegations not included in the indictment and said the brothers had begun engaging in sexual violence in high school. Oren and Alon are now 37, while Tal is 38.
The latest lawsuit against the three brothers was filed in June by a woman named Angelica Parker, who alleges that Tal and Alon raped her while Oren facilitated the attack.
Alon and Oren in July sought to dismiss the case and said they “emphatically deny” the allegations.
David Gottlieb, a lawyer for Parker, said in a statement: “We are glad to hear that there will finally be some measure of accountability for the Alexander brothers and justice for their many victims.”
Miami Search
Early Wednesday morning, police cars descended on Oren’s waterfront mansion, rattling one of the wealthiest corners of Miami Beach.
Law enforcement agents knocked down the property’s gate and security cameras were tossed on the ground, after being ripped off walls. Around 6 a.m., an agent yelled through a bullhorn for Oren to come out for about an hour, according to three neighbors who witnessed the scene.
At least half a dozen law enforcement agents came in and out of the property, the neighbors said. While walking their dogs, people stopped by to ask what was going on. A grocery delivery man was turned away by the FBI. He snapped photos to prove that he tried to complete the delivery.
“I guess I’ll be keeping these groceries for myself,” he shrugged.
The Miami Beach Police Department said it assisted the FBI and that it “executed several warrants simultaneously at multiple locations within our city.”
Career
Even before the charges on Wednesday, the allegations shone a spotlight on the workplace culture of Douglas Elliman Inc., where Oren and Tal Alexander worked until 2022. Some of the alleged incidents occurred while they were top producers there.
After lawsuits against the brothers were made public, the company conducted an internal inquiry, which included an interview earlier this year with then chairman and chief executive officer Howard Lorber in which he said he’d had intimate relationships with two brokers, Bloomberg News reported in November.
At the time, Douglass Maynard, a lawyer representing Lorber, disputed that his client had been found to have acted inappropriately or that he was pushed to step down. He added that Douglas Elliman didn’t have a policy against consensual relationships between employees and independent brokers.
Authorities haven’t accused Lorber of wrongdoing and he wasn’t named in the indictment against the Alexander brothers.
Even before Wednesday’s charges, allegations of sexual misconduct had forced the Alexander brothers to step down from the brokerage they co-founded, Official, as the firm was dropped from key projects and staff departed.
The Alexander brothers hold the record for the most expensive US home sale ever, a $238 million Manhattan penthouse. While Oren focused mostly on South Florida, Tal operated in Manhattan.
The case is US v. Alexander, 24 cr 676, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
--With assistance from Ava Benny-Morrison, Patricia Hurtado, Katherine Chiglinsky, Pierre Paulden and Gillian Tan.
(Updates with details on real estate industry fallout in final section.)
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