Luxury Real Estate Brothers Set for Federal Sex Trafficking Trial in New York

Three brothers who built high-profile careers in luxury real estate are scheduled to face a federal jury in Manhattan on Tuesday on sex trafficking and related charges that span more than a decade. Twins Oren Alexander and Alon Alexander, both 38, and their older brother Tal Alexander, 39, are accused of arranging lavish trips, supplying drugs and sexually assaulting dozens of women between 2009 and 2021.

Jury selection and trial schedule

Selection of jurors is expected to take roughly two days in U.S. District Court in Lower Manhattan. Opening statements have been penciled in for next Monday, and the proceeding is projected to continue until early March.

Indictment rewritten multiple times

Federal prosecutors filed a third superseding indictment last Thursday—only days before jury selection—after revising the document twice in the previous two months. The government’s newest version maintains sex trafficking, conspiracy and sexual exploitation counts but trims some narrative language while adding other allegations. Defense attorneys say the late changes have hampered their ability to prepare, calling the rewritten counts “last-minute” and asking Judge Valerie E. Caproni to dismiss or restrict them at trial.

Alleged pattern of recruitment and assault

According to prosecutors, the brothers met prospective victims on dating platforms, at nightclubs, through social gatherings and via party promoters. Investigators contend the men then offered plane tickets, luxury lodging in destinations such as New York’s Hamptons and access to expensive entertainment. Once at these sites, the indictment claims, victims were provided cocaine, psychedelic mushrooms or other substances—or had their drinks secretly drugged—before being raped.

The government argues that the free travel and amenities constitute “something of value” under federal sex trafficking statutes, framing the encounters as commercial sex acts. The defense rejects that theory, saying consensual relationships cannot be transformed into trafficking based solely on gifts or hospitality.

Defense response and bail status

Attorneys for the brothers acknowledge sexual contact with several accusers but insist each liaison was consensual. They contend no woman was forced or coerced and label the government’s case an unprecedented expansion of trafficking law. Since their arrest in Miami in December 2024, the Alexanders have been held without bail after the court deemed them a potential flight risk.

Specific counts and compulsory minimums

The superseding indictment includes a sexual exploitation of a minor charge against Oren Alexander. Prosecutors say he persuaded or coerced a 17-year-old girl in April 2009 to engage in a filmed sex act while incapacitated. Conviction would carry a mandatory minimum prison term of 15 years. Defense lawyers argue that the teenager’s birth certificate was issued in a region that is now a war zone in a former Soviet republic, complicating authentication.

Judicial rulings ahead of trial

Judge Caproni has shown some receptiveness to defense complaints over late evidence. Last Friday she barred a prosecution witness intended to bolster the conspiracy charge, ruling that the government missed an October 17 deadline to disclose the testimony. The judge has also excluded proof of Alon Alexander’s 2019 marriage, deciding it cannot be used to suggest he withdrew from any alleged conspiracy.

Imagem: imagem internet 18

Accuser’s death in Australia

The New York Times reported last week that a 45-year-old Australian woman who had accused Oren and Alon Alexander of sexual assault was found dead near Sydney late last year. A spokesperson for the New South Wales coroner’s office reportedly labeled the death non-suspicious. Prosecutors have not indicated whether the incident will affect their witness list.

Real estate careers and company background

For more than ten years, Oren and Tal Alexander were prominent brokers of high-end properties in New York, Miami and Los Angeles. They later co-founded the firm Official, which marketed multimillion-dollar homes to celebrities and international investors. Their twin brother Alon, who attended law school, served as an executive at the family’s security business.

Conspiracy dispute and statutory interpretation

The defense maintains that the government’s approach transforms any gift leading to sexual activity into a potential trafficking offense—an interpretation they say Congress never envisioned. A similar argument has rarely been tested in court, and legal scholars will watch how Judge Caproni instructs the jury on the definition of “commercial sex act.” The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts notes that jury instructions must track statutory language while explaining complex legal concepts in plain terms.

Next steps

If the judge declines to dismiss contested counts, jurors will hear evidence on each charge, including conspiracy, sex trafficking, and sexual exploitation of a minor. Should the brothers be convicted, sentencing would occur later in the year; several counts carry potential life terms.

Opening statements are expected to outline starkly different narratives: the prosecution’s portrayal of a years-long scheme versus the defense’s assertion of consensual relationships and government overreach. The jury’s task will be to weigh testimony from numerous accusers, medical experts, digital evidence and travel records against the brothers’ denials.

Crédito da imagem: Associated Press