For more than a decade, Oren and Tal Alexander built a luxury real estate empire, selling ultra-luxury properties across the country. But prosecutors allege that behind the scenes, the brothers and their sibling, Alon Alexander, used their influence to sexually abuse dozens of women.
As their federal sex trafficking trial begins in New York, prosecutors and defense attorneys are preparing to present sharply conflicting narratives about the lives, relationships and alleged crimes of the three men.
At least eight accusers are expected to testify, including a woman who was 16 at the time of her alleged assault.
The brothers face sentences ranging from 15 years to life in prison if convicted. All three have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Here is what we know about the brothers and the sex trafficking case.
What are they accused of?
The brothers are accused in a 12-count superseding indictment of conspiring over more than a decade to drug, sexually assault and rape dozens of women, sometimes involving multiple perpetrators. Prosecutors allege the assaults were at times planned in advance, with women flown to vacation destinations under the guise of exclusive travel opportunities.
“For years, they wanted to lure in girls with promises of parties and trips, and when they got there, the defendants raped them. The brothers used whatever means necessary, sometimes drugs, alcohol, sometimes brute force, to carry out their rapes. Some of the victims were underage, some said no, some were incoherent, but none of that mattered to the brothers because they were going to have sex with these victims no matter what,” Prosecutor Madison Smyser said in her opening statement. “For over a decade, they masqueraded as party boys when really they were predators.”
Defense lawyers acknowledge that their clients had sexual encounters with some of the women involved, but maintain the interactions were consensual.
“This case is about shame, opportunity and money … the truth is something far more ordinary, three brothers: successful? Yes. Ambitious? Yes. Social? Yes. Single men who liked and pursued women at nightclubs, bars, restaurants, and apps. That is not trafficking, that is dating, that is hooking up, the government is trying to turn their life of partying into one of the most serious crimes we have, sex trafficking,” Teny Geragos, attorney for Oren Alexander, said.
Deanna Paul, who is representing Tal Alexander, acknowledged that the brothers were “womanizers,” but said there is no evidence her client “acted unlawfully” toward the women.
The brothers, who have been the subject of numerous civil lawsuits, have been held without bail since their arrests in December 2024 in Miami, where they lived. They have denied all allegations of misconduct. Many of the lawsuits are still pending.
Defense attorneys have tried to have the charges dismissed, arguing that prosecutors have repeatedly altered the indictment and added new counts without giving the defense sufficient time to investigate.
The most recent superseding indictment added a new charge of sexual abuse by physical incapacitation against Oren Alexander and his twin, Alon Alexander. According to prosecutors, the alleged assault of a woman who was “physically incapable of declining participation” occurred around January 2012 aboard a Bahamian-flagged cruise ship that departed from and returned to the United States.
Witness testifies she felt ‘powerless and terrified’ after alleged assault
One witness, who testified under the pseudonym Katie Moore, testified Tuesday that she was drugged and raped by Alon Alexander following a night out at a New York City club.
Moore said she was handed a drink and felt her “body starting to sway.”
“In that moment, it felt sudden. I know I wasn’t drunk or losing control; there was no gradual fade out. I had never experienced that sort of loss of control of my body before,” she told the court.
Moore said that Alon and Tal Alexander made her and her friend leave the club, and she vaguely remembers getting into a cab.
“The next thing I remember is coming to instantly, like a switch, and I was laying naked across a bed with Alon standing over me, who was naked as well,” she testified. “In that moment, I had no idea what happened. … I tried to get out of the bed a few times, but Alon kept pushing me back down. … Finally, he sat down on the bed, and I was able to get up, and I said, ‘I don’t want to have sex with you,’ and he said, ‘You already did.’”
She testified that she said “no” multiple times but Alon Alexander “wasn’t listening.”
“There was no regard for me. It was like I wasn’t there; he was so in his own world,” she said. “I was feeling very powerless and terrified.”
The charges against the brothers are not related to Moore’s alleged assault. She told the court that she did not file charges against them at the time because she “did not want it to define my future.”
Who are the Alexander brothers?
Oren and Alon Alexander are 38-year-old twins, and Tal Alexander is their 39-year-old brother. Tal and Oren Alexander co-founded the real estate company Official, specializing in luxury properties in New York, Miami and Los Angeles.
Alon Alexander went to law school and worked as an executive at the family’s private security company.
Their parents, Shlomi and Orly Alexander, have defended them, previously stating that they believe their sons are “innocent and hope that they are judged solely on the evidence presented in court, free from speculation or public narrative.”
“Our family has been living with this ordeal since allegations first appeared in civil lawsuits and were widely publicized long before any criminal charges were filed, and the toll has been deeply painful,” they said.
Legal analysts have said the case presents significant challenges for prosecutors. NBC News legal analyst Danny Cevallos noted that allegations of sex trafficking carry a higher burden of proof than allegations of sexual assault.
“As sexual assault cases, these might be difficult for the prosecution,” Cevallos said. “As sex trafficking cases, however, they are even more difficult. This case raises a thorny legal question: Is this the kind of conduct that we think of when we think of sex trafficking?”
He added that jurors might dismiss accusers based on their proximity to wealth and glamour. “Jurors should not look with skepticism at victims just because they were models living in a world of fine Champagne and yachts and international travel,” Cevallos said. “But the prosecution has to be concerned that they might.”