Oren, Alon and Tal Alexander were denied bail in a Manhattan courtroom Wednesday, after a judge ruled that all three are a danger to society and could flee the country. while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.
“The burden of proof is heavy,” said U.S. District Court Judge Valerie E. Caproni after a three-hour hearing in which the brothers’ attorneys sought to overturn their arguments. government on detention. They created stories for profit.
The three brothers strongly denied the accusations, through their lawyers. Oren and Tal Alexander have, for decades, been two of the most prominent real estate agents in the country, selling some of the most prestigious properties in Miami and New York. Alon Alexander, who is Oren’s twin, was a socialite in both towns with his brothers.
The judge acknowledged the possibility of false accusations, but cited the government’s statement that more than 40 women had made similar allegations. “And there are inconsistencies in the details of how they were lured to the area under the control of the accused, then burned and subjected to violence,” he said.
Twins Oren and Alon Alexander, 37, were arrested in Miami Beach in December along with their older brother, Tal Alexander, 38, after months of increasingly public allegations. The three are accused of using their wealth and position to lure dozens of women, drugs and sex, according to indictments made public on the day they were arrested.
In the hearing on Wednesday, the prosecution announced that many of the alleged victims were minors at the time of the assault and rape; the brothers are all adults.
The three remain in federal prison in Florida after waiving the right to appear at a hearing Wednesday in Manhattan, where Tal Alexander and Alon Alexander filed a motion to dismiss a Miami federal judge earlier this month. this.
Judge Caproni said the three men should be brought to Manhattan next week, and will make their first court appearance before him on January 29.
Known for brokering multi-million dollar transactions in New York and Miami, Oren and Tal Alexander have reached top positions at Douglas Elliman, one of the largest brokerages in the country. In 2019, they helped sell a penthouse in Manhattan for nearly $240 million – at the time the most expensive real estate sale in US history. They later founded their own real estate brokerage, Official. Alon Alexander is an executive at a family-owned private security firm.
Judge Caproni denied the men’s attorneys’ request that they be released on bonds totaling more than $115 million and a form of house arrest with private guards to prevent them from fleeing.
“The defendants argue that the dangers and risks of flight can be mitigated because they have the resources to create, in effect, a private prison outside of the Bureau of Prisons,” Judge Caproni said.
This type of arrangement, he said, is similar to a two-tier system where wealthy inmates are released before trial while others remain behind bars. “I didn’t just fall off the big truck,” the judge said, adding that the attorneys recommended a private prison sentence.
He cited previous court rulings that prohibit such arrangements. In reading the opinion, he said that “it is a fundamental principle of justice to protect the interests of rich and poor criminals in equal measure, and the hand is always extended to each.”
The indictment charges the trio with one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and separate counts of trafficking a woman by force, fraud and coercion. He was identified only as Victim-2 in the complaint. Tal Alexander is also charged with trafficking a second victim, identified as Victim-1.
The indictment states that, at times, the defendants “physically controlled and restrained the victims during the rape and sexual abuse and ignored screams and obvious requests to stop.” It also says the brothers gave women drugs, including cocaine, psilocybin and GHB, a so-called date-rape drug that causes unconsciousness and memory loss.
On Wednesday, Andrew Jones, the federal prosecutor, said that the government has investigated more than 40 women who have accused the brothers of rape or sexual violence, with accusations dating back almost 20 years. He said the government also obtained video evidence, found on a computer hard drive at Tal Alexander’s New York apartment, showing multiple women having sex with them. brother but it turns out that he is drunk or incompetent.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan said in a recent letter to Judge Caproni that in some cases, at least one of the brothers and another man physically manipulated the women. to have intercourse with them.
In court, Mr Jones called the alleged sex-trafficking scheme a “playbook” conspiracy, describing how the brothers targeted women through dating apps and club promoters. , luring them with the promise of an expensive trip, and then drugging them before attacking them.
At least two-thirds of the women interviewed, prosecutors said, described a level of intoxication that was “grossly disproportionate” to the amount of alcohol they had consumed, and many said they had been hit and run.
“Some of these women say, ‘I couldn’t even scream,'” added Mr. Jones.
According to the indictment, Oren, Tal and Alon Alexander conspired in a sex trafficking scheme for at least 14 years. Together with other men, they organized domestic and international events and trips to petition, influence and report women, who were later tortured, the indictment said.
Tal Alexander’s attorney, Deanna Paul, acknowledged the allegations were serious. “That doesn’t make them right,” he said. He later called the allegations “an organized effort to encourage women to profit from past sex with brothers.”
Alexander’s family wealth was the focus of much discussion at the hearing. Howard Srebnick, Alon Alexander’s attorney, introduced the brothers’ parents, Shlomo and Orly Alexander, who were present in the courtroom. The parents pledged all their assets to help secure the release of their children before the trial.
“They were willing to risk everything,” Mr. Srebnick said, gesturing to the couple.
The parents immigrated to the United States from Israel before their son was born and became wealthy. They own a waterfront mansion in Miami’s exclusive Bal Harbor neighborhood worth $14 million.
At several points during the hearing, Judge Caproni asked the defendants’ attorneys to limit their arguments to the narrow issue of whether the brothers would pose a danger or flee if granted bail.
He reminded that they are in custody and not yet in court.
