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In the latest growth in allegations of sexual assault and rape in opposition to luxurious brokers Tal and Oren Alexander, new reviews declare that executives at their long-time agency, Douglas Elliman, and their most up-to-date white-label associate, Aspect, knew about allegations of sexual misconduct whereas the brothers had been related to the corporations.
People conversant in the matter who spoke with The New York Occasions and The Wall Road Journal alleged that Oren had warned a minimum of one senior government at Douglas Elliman that he may be publicly accused of sexual assault. The manager reportedly dismissed the dialog on the time and didn’t give it some thought additional.
“The recent lawsuits and press reports concerning the Alexanders are shocking and disturbing, and Douglas Elliman expresses the utmost sympathy for anyone who may have been a victim of sexual assault by them,” a consultant for Douglas Elliman mentioned in an announcement emailed to Inman.
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Three former members of Tal and Oren’s actual property workforce at Douglas Elliman instructed The WSJ that Oren would steadily boast about his intercourse life and showcase photos of him and his brothers — together with safety government Alon Alexander who has additionally been accused of sexual assault and rape — with bare girls.
Tracy Tutor of Million Greenback Itemizing LA fame additionally got here ahead to The New York Occasions and alleged that she had been drugged by Oren Alexander at a celebration in 2014.
“I am still struggling to remember the details,” Tutor mentioned, claiming that after sharing a drink with Oren, she blacked out. “Staying silent for so long has been damaging on so many levels, and remembering now what happened feels debilitating.”
One other Douglas Elliman agent mentioned he discovered Tutor that night in a rest room with Oren and eliminated her from the room. The agent didn’t disclose his identify out of concern of retaliation. He mentioned he knowledgeable a prime government on the agency concerning the incident on the time however didn’t file a proper grievance.
Barbara Wagner, a public relations government who labored with Douglas Elliman for greater than 16 years, additionally got here ahead to The Occasions to verify that allegations in opposition to the Alexanders had been floating across the agency for a very long time. Wagner now runs her personal agency and isn’t affiliated with Douglas Elliman.
“These allegations were so widespread that they were common knowledge in the residential real estate industry for more than a decade,” Wagner mentioned.
High Douglas Elliman agent Jessica Cohen additionally reported being hospitalized after a celebration spent with all three Alexander brothers in 2010, though precisely what transpired is unclear. Time-stamped images despatched to The NYT present Cohen spending time with the brothers all through the night. A medical report reveals {that a} bystander discovered her alone on the street that night time and referred to as 911. Later, she awakened at Manhattan’s Mount Sinai West Hospital; her vomit-covered garments had been taken off her.
In making an attempt to piece collectively what occurred that night time, Cohen mentioned she talked it over with different Douglas Elliman colleagues, together with former CEO Dottie Herman. Douglas Elliman mentioned Herman had no recollection of the dialog.
Then in 2012, Cohen additionally recalled that night in confidence to Douglas Elliman Inc. President and CEO Howard Lorber over a recreation of chess, telling the exec she believed she could have been drugged by Tal and Oren. She requested Lorber to maintain the incident a secret, out of concern of the implications if it went public.
“I was terrified,” Cohen instructed The NYT. “I was afraid they would hurt me.”
A Douglas Elliman consultant mentioned that no formal grievance was ever issued and that Lorber needed to respect Cohen’s needs relating to confidentiality.
“Douglas Elliman is committed to fostering a workplace environment that is safe, comfortable and free of sexual assault or harassment,” the agency mentioned in an announcement despatched to Inman. “As to Oren and Tal Alexander, the Firm by no means acquired any complaints of sexual assault or harassment, nor was administration conscious of any such claims. Had any such complaints been acquired, these complaints would have been totally investigated in keeping with our insurance policies and procedures, as has been the case with complaints made sometimes in opposition to others on the Firm through the years.
“Over at least a decade ago, a broker told a senior executive about having blacked out at a social event,” the assertion continues. “She said that she did not know what, if anything, happened, she did not specify who may have been involved, and she insisted on absolute confidentiality. Douglas Elliman respected her wishes, and she has been a valued colleague at the company since then. Another senior executive who the broker says she separately spoke to has no recollection of speaking with the broker about this subject.”
The NYT report states that on a minimum of two separate events earlier than Tal and Oren signed on to launch Official with white-label agency Aspect, totally different brokers raised issues to Aspect’s management. An announcement despatched to Inman from Aspect, nonetheless, means that such conversations couldn’t have taken place, because the agency upholds a coverage of confidentiality previous to launching new partnerships.
“Side does not share information about partnerships with outside agents prior to the actual launch of the new company, so it is not possible that agents from other brokerages could have informed anyone at Side about these allegations before the launch of the firm,” an emailed assertion from Aspect mentioned. “The first time we heard about the allegations was a day before they were published. We never would have moved forward with or maintained a partnership had we been aware.”
Brian Meier, who was with Douglas Elliman for over a decade and is now affiliated with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, mentioned that at a dinner he was invited to with Aspect executives, he was particularly requested what he knew about sexual assault allegations in opposition to the brothers. Meier reported a lot of what others have additionally mentioned because the investigation has continued — that their status for sexual assault had been an open secret within the business for years. He additionally mentioned that it was identified all through the agency that Lorber was conscious of a minimum of one such case.
“Side knew about this stuff and still went forward with them,” Meier instructed The Occasions.
A New York-based feminine dealer who wished to stay nameless additionally instructed The NYT that she instructed then-Aspect government Meredith Moore she wouldn’t work with the corporate if it partnered with the Alexanders.
Moore then handed these issues alongside to CEO Man Gal however acquired little response. Moore was included in a collection of Aspect layoffs a couple of weeks later.
“I passed along the message, but there did not seem to be a sense of urgency,” Moore mentioned. “He did not bring it up again.”
The revelations concerning the Alexander brothers’ former brokerage corporations having some information about their problematic historical past with girls comes a couple of weeks after information broke that the brothers have change into the goal of an FBI probe. Dozens of girls have now made public their alleged encounters with the Alexanders, recounting tales of being drugged, sexually assaulted and/or raped by them, generally in coordinated assaults.
There are presently two energetic lawsuits in opposition to Oren and Alon, and one in opposition to Oren, Alon and Tal. The incidents referenced within the lawsuits date again to 2010 and 2012.
Tal and Oren each stepped down from their positions as co-founders at Official final month.
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