Three brothers, including two of the country’s most successful luxury real estate agents, were convicted of: sex trafficking On Monday, after a five-week trial, they were accused of drugging and raping dozens of women, beguiling them with their wealth and lavish lifestyle.
The verdict came after 11 women testified. manhattan In federal court, they were sexually assaulted by one or more of the brothers: twins Oren and Alon Alexander, 38, and Tal Alexander, 39. All three shook their heads when the jury foreman said “guilty” 19 times in a row, a powerful inference that could land them in prison for life.
Tal Alexander buried his head in his crossed arms. Their shocked parents sat in the gallery behind them. Aaron Alexander’s wife covered her face with her hands and appeared to be holding back tears.
Judge Valerie E. Caproni has scheduled sentencing for Aug. 6. The brothers have been jailed since their arrest in 2024 and their lawyers said they would appeal the sentences.
“We believe in our client’s innocence and we will not stop fighting until we win, and we believe one day we will win,” defense attorney Marc Agnifilo said outside the courthouse.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton praised the sentence for vindicating victims of crimes that often go unreported and unpunished.
“The truth is, sex trafficking and other federal sex crimes occur in all walks of life, but we haven’t done enough to eradicate it,” Clayton said in a statement.
Dozens of women say they were drugged and beaten
The verdict represents a crushing defeat for Oren and Tal Alexander, who were once known as the real estate “A Team” for their high-volume sales and celebrity clients. The brothers started their own company after breaking industry giant Douglas Elliman’s sales records. Aaron Alexander runs his family’s private security company.
Victims testified that they met the brothers at nightclubs, parties and on dating apps and were assaulted after accepting their invitations to free vacations to the Hamptons; Aspen, Colorado; and a Caribbean cruise. According to prosecutors, more than 60 women said they were raped by one or more brothers.
Defense lawyers said the accuser had a faulty memory or was hoping to cash in on the brothers’ wealth. Their lawyer admitted that the brothers were both womanizers. But they insisted any sex was consensual.
In addition to the top charge, Aaron Alexander and Tal Alexander were found guilty of sex trafficking of a minor, while Aaron Alexander and Oren Alexander were found guilty of aggravated sexual abuse by use of force or intoxication and sexual abuse of a physically incapacitated person. Oren Alexander was also found guilty of sexual exploitation of a minor after prosecutors showed the jury a video he recorded in which he appeared to attack a drugged 17-year-old.
Lawsuit exposes real estate world’s open secrets
In addition to the criminal cases, the brothers have faced about two dozen lawsuits over the past two years, including one filed last week in which Bravo’s “Million Dollar Listing LA” star Tracy Tutto accused Oren Alexander of drugging and assaulting her while she was attending a real estate event in New York City.
When the first lawsuit was filed, multiple women came forward claiming they too had been assaulted, and the brothers’ inappropriate behavior was an open secret in the real estate community. The government took notice and opened a criminal case.
During the trial, many women who testified said they believed the brothers had poisoned their drinks. Some people describe feeling like they have lost control of their bodies.
One woman testified that she met the brothers at a party in actor Zac Efron’s Manhattan apartment in 2012. She said she had little interaction with the actor, who has not been accused of any wrongdoing, and that later that night she went to a nightclub and woke up naked to find a naked Aaron Alexander standing over her.
“I don’t want to have sex with you,” she testified she told him. “Haha, you already did that,” she remembers him snapping as he “laughed in my face.”
Testimony questions money-driven accusations
Prosecutors disputed the suggestion that the plaintiffs hoped to profit from the lawsuit. Prosecutor Elizabeth Espinoza told jurors that only two people had pending lawsuits and that both were wealthy.
A woman who testified in court said she was raped by Alon Alexander in Aspen, Colorado, in 2017 when she was 17 years old. She said she was the daughter of a billionaire.
“I don’t want their money. I just don’t want them to have it,” she told jurors.
Lindsey Acree, an artist and gallery owner, testified that she was raped by Tal Alexander and another man at a Hamptons home in 2011 after she felt paralyzed after a glass of wine.
The woman said she filed the lawsuit last year even though she “never needed their money” because the Alexanders “kept calling us money worshippers, extortion artists, liars.”
“If there’s a kid with a stick who keeps hitting people, you take his stick away,” she told the jury. “Money is their stick, so you take it away so they can’t hurt other people anymore.”
