‘Deception, fraud and coercion': the Miami property magnate brothers accused of rape

The Guardian

06-04-2025

The Alexanders are the ultimate Miami crime story: three brothers from one of Florida's wealthiest families, opulent real estate, luxury yachts and fast cars; there are drugs, fashion models and A-list celebrities. And, ultimately, a trio who flew too close to the sun, only to crash back down to Earth.
The downfall of the Alexander twins Alon and Oren, and their elder sibling Tal, is reflected in their current residence, a federal jail in New York ahead of their trial next year. They face charges including rape, sexual assault and the sexual trafficking of dozens of victims.
Jail is a world away, in every respect, from their affluent playboy lifestyle in south Florida's glitziest city, where many of their alleged crimes took place and where prosecutors say they began their almost quarter-century reign of depravity.
It started with parties while the trio attended Miami's Michael M Krop senior high school, when, according to a lengthy Vanity Fair account of the brothers' activities published this month, teenage girls were plied with drugs and alcohol and would wake up with unclear recollections of being raped by multiple people.
These gatherings, the report said, often took place in waterfront Miami Beach mansions owned by the Alexander family or their wealthy friends, where teenage attendees would arrive in convoys of luxury vehicles, such as BMWs and Cadillacs, and with porn playing on back-seat DVD systems.
After university, according to an eight-page justice department indictment filed in the southern district of New York, the brothers perfected their technique. They split their time between Miami, New York and other upscale locations such as the Hamptons and Martha's Vineyard.
Using their money and influence once again, prosecutors said, they built their own sex-trafficking network at a time when Tal, 38, and Oren, 37, were forging successful careers in real estate. The men were first representatives for the high-end firm Douglas Elliman, then moved on with their own, now defunct brokerage, Official, that sold condos for tens of millions of dollars apiece.
A fawning New York Times profile in 2022 portrayed a lifestyle of members' clubs, expensive restaurants and penthouse living. Celebrity clients were reported to include Ye, Jared and Ivanka Trump, the rapper and producer Timbaland, the supermodel Adriana Lima and the fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger.
Back in Miami, the hedonism and revelry continued unchecked. The brothers were spotted regularly on private jets and super yachts, in supercharged sports cars and 'bringing the party and eye candy wherever they went', according to Vanity Fair. It noted that Alon, who was not part of his siblings' real estate business, was 'frequently along for the ride'.
All the while, according to a press release accompanying the justice department indictment, the three 'worked together and with others to engage in sex trafficking, including by repeatedly drugging, sexually assaulting, and raping dozens of female victims.
'[They] used deception, fraud, and coercion to cause victims to travel with them or meet them in private locations for various trips and events. The Alexander brothers used the promise of luxury experiences, travel, and accommodations to lure and entice women to these events, and then, on multiple occasions, forcibly raped and sexually assaulted women who attended.
'At times, multiple men, including one or more of the brothers, participated in these assaults. In some instances, the defendants physically restrained and held down their victims during the rapes and sexual assaults and ignored screams and explicit requests to stop.'
Some of the women, prosecutors said, were recruited out of state, or abroad, and flew to Florida and New York, thus introducing sexual trafficking to the list of charges.
One specific allegation, part of a succession of civil lawsuits by accusers filed last year that set the FBI and other federal investigators on a path to criminal charges in December, is from an unnamed woman. She said she met Alon Alexander on a dating app, and traveled to Florida with two friends to celebrate New Year in December 2016.
She accepted an invitation from him to attend a barbecue and pool party at his 'luxury condo' in Miami Beach, her lawsuit says, but was greeted by Alon and Oren Alexander, and a man they introduced as a cousin, locked in a bedroom and raped by the brothers as the cousin held her down.
The experience, the court document says, showed their 'complete and utter disregard for the lifetime of trauma, shame, emotional turmoil they imposed' and left her 'forever changed and fearful of the demonic defendants'.
Evidence recovered during FBI searches of Alexander properties immediately before their December 2024 arrests included videotapes the brothers allegedly recorded of some of their encounters, which they kept as 'trophies'.
Prosecutors say they have spoken with more than 60 women who allege they were assaulted by one or more of the brothers, or their friends and acquaintances, and hope publicity might encourage more to step forward.
All three brothers, through lawyers, have consistently denied all of the allegations against them, and say any sexual encounters were fully consensual. If convicted, they face sentences ranging from 15 years to life.
To observers, the Alexanders' story has parallels in other well-publicized cases in which accused sexual predators have used wealth, power and influence to cover up crimes and aggressively pursue their accusers. Among those cited are Harvey Weinstein and Sean 'Diddy' Combs, who is incarcerated at the same Brooklyn detention center as the Alexanders and Luigi Mangione, the alleged murderer of the UnitedHealthcare chief executive, Brian Thompson.
'They were raised as very wealthy, entitled kids, and no-one ever really said no to them. From a young age they were able to have whatever they wanted, which eventually started moving into sexual things,' said Leslie Dobson, a clinical and forensic psychologist who has followed the Alexanders' case closely.
'What makes things even more twisted is accusations the twins were having sex together with women. It shows the severity of their entitlement, how much money they had, how many people were stroking their egos, how narcissistic and psychopathic they are, and that it morphed into sadism and this complete disregard for human emotion.
'Yet they could easily compartmentalize it and go back to their wives.'
Dobson said that the brothers' wealth, with parents who are also facing a lawsuit from five women who allege they enabled their sons to 'abuse, assault, batter, drug, and rape', gave them a sense of invincibility.
'They were going about it in a way that they didn't think they were going to get caught, because they were spending money on these parties and events, and on these individuals, and also on protection and bodyguards and safety,' she said.
'Other people, once you need that level of stimulation, you're going to get arrested, you're going to get caught, because the things you are going to do are going to be really blatantly illegal. But if you can just order someone, like Uber Eats and it gets delivered to you in a limousine, it's a completely different picture.'
Although much of what the Alexanders are accused of took place in Miami, they may never face justice there. They were extradited to New York in January with federal charges taking precedence over state, and it is uncertain when or if Florida authorities will move to return them.
The Miami-Dade state attorney's office did not return a request for comment.
For observers such as Dobson, who has more than 20 years' experience looking into the minds of rich and powerful criminal defendants, the sordid tale of the Alexanders and its glitzy Miami backdrop is ultimately just another one at the intersection of celebrity, dollars and depravity.
'The [civil] allegations can be paid off very easily, and people can be manipulated, as we're seeing in the Sean Combs case, people are taking their claims away,' she said.
'So there probably is some hope that money, their money, can free you over time.'
The criminal charges, she said, are a different story: 'Money buys you love, until it buys you prison.'
Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organizations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html