Charges of sex trafficking and abuse against two luxury real estate brokers and their brother have expanded again, and now include seven victims, according to a new superseding indictment filed by Manhattan federal prosecutors on Tuesday.
Oren and Tal Alexander — who reigned over the luxury real estate markets in both Miami and New York, as well as Oren’s twin Alon Alexander — were initially indicted in Manhattan in December and accused of sex trafficking two women by force, fraud or coercion. The initial charges were expanded in May to include six victims, including an underage girl.
Now, prosecutors have again widened the scope of charges. Together, the brothers now face nine counts related to sex trafficking and one of sexual assault against seven victims. The newest charge accuses two of the brothers of drugging and then sexually abusing a woman in 2012 while on a Bahamian cruise ship.
The allegations date back to 2009, when all three brothers were in their early 20s.
The three men were arraigned on the new charges in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday shortly after the indictment was unsealed. All three pleaded not guilty.
The Alexanders have denied all the allegations against them since last summer, when The Real Deal, a real estate publication, first reported that two women had filed lawsuits accusing Oren Alexander, 37, and his twin brother, Alon Alexander, of sexual assault. Those allegations soon swelled to also include Tal Alexander, 38, and more than two dozen lawsuits.
In December, the men were arrested in Miami on federal sex-trafficking charges. The case has shaken the high-end real estate industry and led to the downfall of Oren Alexander and Tal Alexander, 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.
According to a federal indictment released the day of their arrests, the three brothers had conspired in the sex-trafficking scheme since 2010.
The expanded indictment now covers allegations from 2009. It came one day after lawyers for Tal Alexander filed a motion to dismiss charges, claiming the government has not met the bar for federal crimes in their allegations, that the prosecution initially began investigating the brothers only because a rival real estate agent urged a relative in law enforcement to look into it, and that law enforcement relied on media coverage and lawyers for the women in order to build the case. Lawyers for Oren Alexander and Alon Alexander joined the motion to dismiss.
Legal teams for all three brothers have repeatedly called the charges baseless and have accused all of the accusers of seeking a payout.
In a statement in May, Deanna Paul, a lawyer for Tal Alexander, said that the charges do not “include conduct that qualifies as sex trafficking under federal law” and said the government was “trying to stretch a statute beyond recognition to fit a narrative.” Reached by phone on Tuesday, Ms. Paul said the defense team’s stance was unchanged.
The brothers have also filed a defamation lawsuit against Amir Korangy, the publisher of the Real Deal, seeking $500 million in damages. According to the lawsuit that they filed last week, the trade publication conducted a “targeted campaign to destroy the reputation” of all three brothers that subjected them to “public hatred, contempt, ridicule or disgrace.”
In a public statement, Mr. Korangy said the lawsuit’s goal was intimidation. “The Real Deal’s reporting was fair and conscientious, and we are confident the courts will see this for what it is — a frivolous and cynical attempt to weaponize the legal system,” he said.
Debra Kamin reports on real estate, covering what it means to buy, sell and own a home in America today.
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