The a number of months-long authorized battle the brothers confronted in opposition to a number of ladies who alleged sexual assault got here to a head on Wednesday with their arrests within the wake of an FBI probe.
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After a flurry of sexual assault and rape claims had been made in opposition to high luxurious brokers Tal and Oren Alexander this 12 months, the brothers, together with Oren’s twin, Alon, had been arrested in Miami on Wednesday.
Federal prosecutors in New York introduced the arrests, Enterprise Insider reported. All three brothers have continued to disclaim the allegations in opposition to them.
The information comes after it was made public in July that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had begun a probe in opposition to the brothers in relation to the sexual assault claims that had been made in opposition to them, relationship again so far as to when the brothers had been in highschool, in response to a Wall Avenue Journal report. The WSJ additionally reported on Wednesday that the arrests had been associated to a joint investigation between the FBI and authorities in New York.
James Cinque, a lawyer for the Alexanders, didn’t instantly reply to Inman’s request for remark. Representatives for Wigdor Regulation, which is representing Angelica Parker in a lawsuit in opposition to Tal Alexander, posted a response to the arrests on X, which additionally they despatched to Inman.
“We are glad to hear that there will finally be some measure of accountability for the Alexander brothers and justice for their many victims,” the assertion attributed to Accomplice David E. Gottlieb mentioned. “We applaud all the survivors who have had the strength and courage to speak up about their unimaginable experiences after years of pain and suffering.”
Legal professionals for Kate Whiteman and Rebecca Mandel at Torgan Cooper + Aaron, who filed separate lawsuits in opposition to Alon and Oren Alexander, didn’t instantly reply to Inman’s request for remark.
The ladies filed separate lawsuits in March accusing Oren and Alon, who’s a non-public safety government, of rape and assault for situations relationship again to 2010 and 2012. Then Tal Alexander was sued in June by Angelica Parker, who alleged that the dealer sexually assaulted and raped her in 2012. Within the intervening weeks between when the lawsuits in opposition to Oren and Alon grew to become public and when Tal was sued, round two dozen ladies got here ahead to legal professional Evan Torgan, a accomplice at Torgan Cooper + Aaron, and made related allegations of sexual assault in opposition to the brothers.
Tal and Oren Alexander grew to become high brokers at Douglas Elliman over the course of their 10-year profession on the agency, closing a few of the priciest offers in New York Metropolis and Miami with shoppers like Citadel CEO Ken Griffin and WeWork founder Adam Neumann.
In 2022, they cut up from Douglas Elliman to launch Facet-backed agency Official with cofounders Andrew Wachtfogel, Nicole Oge and Richard L. Jordan. After allegations got here to gentle in opposition to Tal and Oren, every brother seemingly agreed to step down from their roles on the agency. Nevertheless, because the weeks went on and pressures mounted, it was revealed that possession negotiations among the many 5 cofounders fell aside. Finally, Wachtfogel, Oge and Jordan relinquished their possession in Official and departed the agency in August.
Allegations surrounding the Alexander brothers and their unhealthy conduct had been one thing of an open secret for years, investigations by The WSJ and The NYT confirmed. Management at Douglas Elliman had additionally confronted scrutiny in latest months, as questions rose about how a lot they could have identified in regards to the allegations whereas the brokers had been nonetheless affiliated with Douglas Elliman.
Throughout a press convention by the U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace for the Southern District of New York on Wednesday, U.S. Legal professional for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams mentioned that the Alexander brothers had wielded their wealth and standing to be able to “create and facilitate opportunities to sexually assault women” for years, which has been detailed in a newly unsealed federal indictment.
In what Williams known as “heinous” conduct, the Alexander brothers used journey and and different social alternatives to at occasions “lure” victims to a trip property or location, in response to a FBI investigation.
“This conduct, as alleged, was heinous,” Williams mentioned, naming the brothers’ actions “sex trafficking.”
Every brother faces one depend of conspiracy to commit intercourse trafficking and one depend of intercourse trafficking of a sufferer by power, fraud or coercion, in response to the indictment. Tal additionally faces a further depend of intercourse trafficking of a sufferer by power, fraud or coercion.
The brothers might face jail sentences of 15 years to life, in response to prosecutors.
Throughout the press convention, New York prosecutors additionally urged federal judges in Manhattan and Miami to maintain the brothers detained, claiming they “pose an ongoing and significant danger to the community and present a serious risk of flight.”
“Let me add this — we are not done,” Williams mentioned, suggesting prosecutors’ work within the investigation would proceed.
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