Real Estate Titan Brothers Face Sex Trafficking Charges

UPDATE Dec 11, 2024 1:20 PM CST

Three brothers, two of whom are luxury real estate brokers, have been charged in connection with an alleged sex trafficking conspiracy. According to an indictment unsealed Wednesday, Tal and Oren Alexander used their positions in real estate to lure women to isolated locations where they were drugged and raped, sometimes by multiple men, the Wall Street Journal reports. Prosecutors believe there were dozens of victims. The three brothers—including Oren's twin Alon, who does not work in real estate—were arrested in Miami Beach on Wednesday, reports the New York Times. The federal charges follow lawsuits filed against the brothers earlier this year.

Jul 27, 2024 3:50 PM CDT

For years, the Alexander brothers were among the giants of luxury real estate in the US. When billionaire Ken Griffin shelled out $240 million for a New York City penthouse in 2019—then the most expensive residential sale in the US—it was Tal and Oren Alexander who helped broker the sale. As the New York Times and Wall Street Journal report, they became stars at the prestigious Douglas Elliman firm before forming their own company, Official, in 2022. Now, however, both have resigned from their own business amid lawsuits alleging sexual assault.

• Two women sued Oren and his twin, Alon, who is not in real estate but is a frequent presence with his brothers at parties. The twins are 37.
• A third woman sued the twins as well as Tal, 38. All three brothers deny the allegations.

• The Times has spoken to 10 women alleging assault by the brothers, seven of whom say they believe they were drugged.
• The Journal reports that such allegations have swirled around the brothers for roughly 20 years, going back to when they were in high school in Miami. Several tell the newspaper that the standard advice for girls at Miami Country Day School was to avoid accepting drinks from the brothers at house parties. Similar warnings continued afterward. "I'm just writing to let you know if you're a girl and you know this guy [Tal] you need to be really, really careful," one woman wrote to another in 2010.
• One woman speaking out about an alleged assault for the first time is Tracy Tutor, a broker at Douglas Elliman Beverly Hills who is featured on the show Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles. She tells the Times she blacked out after having a drink with Oren Alexander at a cocktail party in 2014. "I am still struggling to remember the details," says Tutor, 48. "Staying silent for so long has been damaging on many levels, and remembering now what happened feels debilitating."
• Read the full Times story or the full Journal story.

(More sexual assault allegations stories.)