Alexander Brothers, Real Estate Agents to the Super-Rich and Occasional Art World Partiers, Arrested
Oren and Tal Alexander, major luxury real estate brokers in New York and Miami, were arrested Wednesday in Miami on federal sex trafficking charges. Their brother, Alon, who was not a broker, was also arrested.
A federal indictment unsealed Wednesday accuses the brothers of conspiring to “repeatedly and violently drug, sexually assault and rape dozens of women” for over a decade.
“At times, the Alexander brothers arranged for these sexual assaults well in advance, using the promise of luxury experiences, travel and accommodations to lure and entice women to locations where they were then forcibly raped or sexually assaulted, sometimes by multiple men, including one or more of the Alexander brothers,” the indictment said.
The sex trafficking scheme allegedly dated back to 2010, according to the indictment.
While the Alexander brothers were not art collectors, they orbited in the same ultra-wealthy New York and Miami social worlds. The brothers grew up in Miami and were sons of a wealthy real-estate developer in South Florida. Starting in 2012, the brothers began work at Douglas Elliman, one of the top real estate brokerages in the US, where they quickly ascended the luxury real estate world.
In 2019, it was widely reported that the brothers represented billionaire and ARTnews Top 200 collector Ken Griffin in his purchase of what was then the most expensive residential sale in the US, a $238 million penthouse in 220 Central Park South, an area known as Billionaires’ Row. (However, a source close to Griffin told ARTnews that ex-Douglas Elliman CEO Howard Lorber represented him in the deal, and Business Insider reported in September that Griffin brought Lorber in after his displeasure with the brothers’ conduct.)
In 2016, the brothers represented billionaire and ARTnews Top 200 collector Leon Black in the $18.5 million sale of his MIami Beach condo. The brothers were also involved in selling the penthouses for Faena House, according to the Wall Street Journal, which was developed by Alan Faena and financed by ARTnews Top 200 collector Len Blavatnik.
Other reputed clients included WeWork founder Adam Neumann, designer Tommy Hilfiger, music producer Timbaland, and model Adriana Lima, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The brothers hosted an annual dinner and cocktail party during Art Basel Miami Beach and owned waterfront homes in Miami Beach, according to the Real Deal, a media organization that reports on the real estate industry. In addition, they were often attendees of events like the Venice Biennale and Frieze art fairs.
The Alexander brothers, according to the indictment, used their social connections and parties, events, or nightclubs to arrange their assaults.
Lawyers for the brothers declined to comment to the New York Times, Business Insider, and other publications on the charges.