Founders of US real estate brokerage charged with sex trafficking

NEW YORK: Two real estate agents known for promoting flashy properties in New York and Miami have been arrested on sex trafficking charges, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday, accusing them of raping dozens of women.

The Manhattan US Attorney’s office accused brothers Oren Alexander, 38, and Tal Alexander, 37, the co-founders of the luxury real estate brokerage known as Official, as well as their brother Alon Alexander, 37, of drugging and sexually assaulting women for more than a decade starting in 2010.

The brothers were arrested in Florida on Wednesday morning and are expected to be transferred to New York. Prosecutors are seeking to have them detained pending trial. They face up to life in prison if convicted.

“The defendants used their wealth and positions to create and facilitate opportunities to sexually assault women,” Damian Williams, the Manhattan U.S. Attorney, told reporters. “This office is determined to investigate and prosecute anyone who engages in sex trafficking, no matter how powerful or wealthy or famous you may be.”

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In an eight-page indictment, prosecutors said the brothers often invited women to parties or trips, where they would rape them alone or together, sometimes within hours of meeting them. They sometimes offered the victims travel or concert tickets after the assaults, according to the indictment.

They each face one count of sex trafficking conspiracy and one count of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion. Tal Alexander faces an additional count of sex trafficking.

A lawyer for Tal Alexander declined to comment. Alon Alexander will enter a not-guilty plea, his lawyer Isabelle Kirshner said in a statement.

Susan Necheles, a lawyer for Oren Alexander, said: “Oren Alexander is innocent. The evidence will show that neither he nor his brothers ever committed a crime.”

Oren and Tal Alexander stepped down from their roles at Official in June, the New York Times reported. Alon Alexander has worked as an executive at a private security firm, prosecutors said.

Official did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company focuses on brokering high-end real estate sales and rentals in New York, Miami, the Hamptons near New York and Aspen, Colorado. It was involved in brokering a $14.3-million deal in Bay Harbor, Florida in May, prosecutors said.

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Tal Alexander since 2019 has rented an apartment on a strip of skyscrapers near Manhattan’s Central Park known as “billionaire’s row,” prosecutors said.

Alon and Oren Alexander own properties in Miami Beach with private docks, prosecutors said in a court filing aiming to persuade judges the brothers were flight risks and should be jailed.

Oren, Tal and Alon Alexander have also been sued in civil court over sexual-assault allegations. All three brothers have denied the allegations.

Williams’ office has prioritized sex trafficking cases in recent years, having secured the conviction of Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell and brought charges against hip-hop impresario Sean “Diddy” Combs. Maxwell recently lost an appeal of her conviction, and Combs has pleaded not guilty.