Charges of sex trafficking against two luxury real estate brokers and their brother have been expanded to now include six victims, including an underage girl, according to a superseding indictment filed by Manhattan federal prosecutors on Thursday.
Oren and Tal Alexander — who reigned over the luxury real estate markets in both Miami and New York, as well Oren’s twin Alon Alexander — were initially indicted in Manhattan in December and accused of sex trafficking two victims by force, fraud or coercion. All three brothers were accused of trafficking the first victim; Tal Alexander was accused alone of trafficking the second.
The new indictment widens the scope of charges against all three brothers. It says one or more of the brothers variously used force, fraud or coercion in trafficking the five women and the girl, and said the scheme dated back to 2009.
The women and girl, who are not named in the indictments, represent only a fraction of the dozens of women federal prosecutors say the brothers used their wealth and status to lure, drug and sexually assault and rape going back two decades to their high school years.
The three men pleaded not guilty to the initial charges and are expected to soon be taken back into Manhattan federal court to be arraigned on the new charges.
The case, which began with the men’s arrests in Florida in December, has shaken the high-end real estate industry and led to the downfall of Oren Alexander, 37, and Tal Alexander, 38, who had reached the uppermost ranks of one of the nation’s largest real estate brokerages.
Oren and Tal Alexander helped broker the sale of a nearly $240 million penthouse in Manhattan — at the time, the most expensive residential sale in United States history. They then co-founded their own real estate brokerage, called Official. Alon Alexander, 37, did not work in real estate, but he socialized with his brothers.
The three men are being held in a federal detention center in Brooklyn awaiting their trial, which the judge, Valerie E. Caproni, has scheduled for January.
Oren and Alon Alexander also face state sex-trafficking charges in Florida, and have both pleaded not guilty. Tal Alexander does not face state charges.
Debra Kamin reports on real estate, covering what it means to buy, sell and own a home in America today.
Benjamin Weiser is a Times reporter covering the federal courts and U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, and the justice system more broadly.
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