Lawsuits pile up against luxury real estate brokers over sexual assault allegations

Alleged victims continue to come forward as prosecutors release disturbing video evidence

Lawsuits pile up against luxury real estate brokers over sexual assault allegations

New lawsuits have been filed against wealthy real estate brokers Tal, Oren, and Alon Alexander, who are accused of drugging and sexually assaulting multiple women.

The brothers, known for their luxury real estate dealings in New York and Miami, were arrested in December and remain in federal custody in New York.

Prosecutors allege that the Alexander brothers "worked together, and with others known and unknown to repeatedly and violently drug, sexually assault, and rape" victims across multiple locations, including New York, Miami, and internationally. The accusations span over a decade. Since their arrests, more than 60 alleged victims have come forward, with 11 additional women filing lawsuits this week in New York Supreme Court.

"There are a lot of victims, and [the Alexander brothers] deserve some form of accountability for sexually assaulting these women," said Andrew Van Arsdale, managing partner at AVA Law Group Inc., which represents several of the plaintiffs.

Fresh lawsuits

The latest lawsuits, filed by AVA Law Group and Curis Law, describe incidents in which the women say they were drugged and then assaulted by the brothers. Most of the plaintiffs remain anonymous, except for Leah Peters, who publicly named herself in her lawsuit.

Peters claims she met Oren Alexander at a Miami house party in 2018, where he struck up a conversation and offered to give her a tour of the property. According to her lawsuit, he led her to a bedroom, then "aggressively threw her on to the bed and forcibly sexually assaulted her."

Another plaintiff alleges that, in 2013, Tal and Oren Alexander invited her to a party in New York City. After being handed a drink, she says she felt “lightheaded and disoriented” before the brothers allegedly raped her. Another woman claims she met the brothers in Miami in 2011, and after they promised VIP access to an after-party, she was instead taken to their hotel room, given an alcoholic drink, and lost consciousness. When she woke up, she says the brothers "took turns" sexually assaulting her.

Van Arsdale said the pattern in the accusations is consistent.

"They used their wealth to allegedly do whatever they wanted," he told Fox News Digital. "And that's why I think it's an important story, and I really hope that other people who may be operating in a similar way can wake up and take notice and hopefully change their pattern of behavior."

Antigone Curis, founder of Curis Law, added, "We commend these survivors for coming forward and standing up against their abusers and look forward to pursuing justice on their behalf."

Defense alleges case was manipulated

The Alexander brothers have denied all allegations and pleaded not guilty to the federal charges, which include conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and multiple counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion.

Tal Alexander’s attorneys, Milton Williams and Deanna Paul, dismissed the lawsuits as a “cash grab.”

“For months, we’ve watched orchestrated efforts encouraging women to profit from past sexual experiences with the Alexander brothers,” the attorneys stated. “These frivolous lawsuits, filed days before the law’s look-back window is set to expire, are a transparent attempt at a cash grab."

Alon Alexander’s attorney, Howard Srebnick, also disputed the claims, saying that one of the plaintiffs voluntarily spent the night at Alon's residence after consuming multiple alcoholic drinks.

"She did not file a police report, she did not seek medical attention, she did not sustain any physical injuries, she offers zero forensic evidence that she was drugged or that Alon had any sexual contact with her (much less that he raped her), and she does not identify anyone on the planet Earth who corroborates her demand for money," he said.

Srebnick also stated that Alon took a lie detector test, which "concluded with 99.7% certainty that he truthfully declared that he never drugged any woman, nor had sex with any woman who he believed was drugged."

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Defense attorneys are also alleging that the high-profile personal injury law firm Morgan & Morgan played an active role in shaping the criminal case against the brothers. In a court motion, the attorneys argue that Morgan & Morgan "are not acting as a neutral third party, they are part of the prosecution team" and demand that state prosecutors turn over any evidence the firm provided.

The defense further claims that Morgan & Morgan attorney Carissa Peebles "controlled which information reached law enforcement and when, reinforcing that she, not the police, was leading the case."

Peebles dismissed these allegations, calling them a distraction from the charges against the brothers.

"This motion is completely meritless and a desperate attempt by the defendants to shift the narrative away from the crimes they’ve been charged with," she said. "To assert that we have done anything improper is absurd and a purposeful distraction from the defendants’ actions."

Victim statements

Prosecutors have released video statements from some of the alleged victims. One woman, whose identity remains protected, described the psychological trauma she experienced after the alleged assaults.

"I was scared for my life, just because of what I just experienced," she said. "Not only the rapes, but just, like, how they were."

She also recalled a 2016 incident where she thought she was meeting Alon Alexander for a barbecue in Miami Beach. Instead, she alleges that Oren Alexander and another man, Ohad Fisherman, were waiting for her arrival. Court documents state that Alon and Oren discussed which of them would assault her first.

"I was just like 'Please no, please no,’" she said in her statement.

She also claims that Fisherman held her down while Alon and Oren sexually assaulted her.

As part of the investigation, authorities executed a search warrant at Tal Alexander’s Manhattan apartment in December. Prosecutors say they found multiple hard drives containing sexually explicit videos of women who appeared to be incapacitated.

In a letter to the court, prosecutors wrote that the videos show "Alon and Oren Alexander and other men engaged in sexual contact with women who are visibly under the influence of alcohol or other substances."

In some footage, prosecutors allege that at least one of the brothers and another man "physically manipulated the women’s bodies in order to have sex with them while the women did not actively participate in the sexual activity or turned away."

The Alexander brothers remain in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. A judge denied bail, citing them as a flight risk and a danger to the community. The court also stated that the evidence against them is strong.

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The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office confirmed that the defense’s motion regarding Morgan & Morgan’s involvement will be heard by a judge on February 27. Meanwhile, the civil cases continue to mount. So far, 17 women have sued the Alexander brothers, seeking damages.

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