(Bloomberg) — A major real estate developer is considering cutting ties with the brokerage co-founded by Oren Alexander as fallout spreads from sexual assault allegations against the agent.
The firm, Official, is overseeing sales at 888 Brickell, a 90-story building in Miami being developed with Dolce & Gabbana. But the company behind the project, JDS Development Group, has been weighing its options since the allegations became public, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified citing private information.
Alexander said Tuesday that he was stepping away from Official after two women alleged in separate civil lawsuits that he and his twin brother Alon drugged and raped them more than a decade ago. Since then, more women have come forward, according to a lawyer for the plaintiffs.
Oren Alexander wrote in an Instagram post earlier this week that he’s focused on fighting what he called “baseless civil claims.” He didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. A spokesperson for JDS declined to comment.
An Official spokesperson said its teams are “in place and operational” across all of its projects including 888 Brickell and Oren Alexander had no involvement in the building’s sales operation.
“Our new development team helmed by co-owner and co-founder Andrew Wachtfogel has proven the depth of its expertise by securing extraordinary assignments in two short years,” an Official spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “Official’s partners choose us for our unmatched, deep bench of agents and marketing experts that can deliver more than anyone else in the business. Rumors are an unavoidable part of our industry, but results matter and we will continue to deliver.”
Alexander and another brother Tal, who has not been named in the lawsuits and is still working at Official, are major real estate agents in cities including New York and Miami, working on luxury deals. The pair has an extensive roster of ultra-wealthy and celebrity clients, and have set records including the most expensive US home sale ever, a $238 million Manhattan penthouse.
Official is seeking to stem the fallout from the lawsuits. The brokerage, which often teams up with developers to help market new buildings, sent a note to those firms assuring them that the news “will not impact any of our projects or the services we provide,” according to a letter seen by Bloomberg News.
Oren and Tal Alexander launched Official in 2022 with a small group of executives who had, like them, worked at Douglas Elliman Real Estate. Oren Alexander focused largely on South Florida while Tal has led sales in New York. The brothers ran their own sales team within the firm and notched $810 million in transactions across New York, South Florida and other luxury markets, making it the top-selling mid-sized US team by volume, according to RealTrends.
Evan Torgan, an attorney representing the two women who have sued the twins in New York, said his firm has spoken with at least 28 additional women who describe similar interactions with the brothers. Some intend to file their own civil complaints for incidents that allegedly took place in New York, South Florida and Aspen, Colorado, he said.
–With assistance from Felipe Marques.
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