A prominent luxury real estate broker and his identical twin brother appeared in a Florida courtroom Thursday on sexual assault charges. Another brother who co-founded the real estate company has also been charged in what federal authorities call a years-long sex trafficking scheme.
Oren Alexander and Aron Alexander, both 37, were ordered held without bail by Circuit Judge Mindy Glaser until a hearing Friday, when their attorneys will seek to set bail. State prosecutors have argued that both men are flight risks and should remain in prison until trial.
“We are proposing bail to the state and we hope the state follows suit,” the brothers’ attorney, Joel Denaro, said at a hearing in Miami. Oren and Aron Alexander appeared via video at the hearing wearing green protective vests with their arms exposed.
Another brother, Tal Alexander, 38, appeared in Miami federal court Wednesday on federal sex trafficking charges involving all three men. Tal Alexander is scheduled to have a bail hearing Friday, with prosecutors seeking pretrial detention and Denaro also seeking bail.
None of them have yet filed charges.
Oren and Tal Alexander co-founded Official, a luxury real estate company specializing in luxury real estate with billionaire clients in cities such as New York, Miami and Los Angeles.
Federal prosecutors allege in the New York indictment that all three Alexander brothers worked together to “repeatedly and violently drug, sexually assault, and rape dozens of victims.”
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damien Williams said at a press conference Wednesday that the brothers used their wealth and influence to exploit their victims from at least 2010 to 2021. Meanwhile, the Florida indictment includes specific incidents against known victims, prosecutors said. .
According to the New York indictment, the brothers, all of whom reside in the Miami area, used “deception, fraud, and coercion” to coerce their victims into traveling with them and paying for their flights, hotels, and other expenses to party with them. He also invited them to participate in events. Officials said they sometimes committed to a romantic relationship.
During Thursday’s hearing, Oren Alexander told the judge he had specific reasons for seeking bail. His wife is nine months pregnant and “expects me to be there” during the birth.
“The law requires us to hold you without bond,” Glaser responded, noting that Oren Alexander’s attorney, Denaro, will have an opportunity to petition for release at a separate hearing.
“We do not believe he is a flight risk,” Denaro said.
U.S. prosecutors say the women were frequently provided with drugs such as cocaine, psychedelic mushrooms and GHB, and that the brothers secretly placed drugs in some of the women’s drinks. said she was left disabled and unable to fight back or escape the sexual assault.
In the Florida case, state prosecutors described a December 2016 incident in which Aron Alexander and another man were invited to a barbecue at his Miami Beach apartment. It was described as a “gang rape” of a woman who said no one else was there.
The second incident occurred in October 2017 and involved a woman who claimed she was sexually assaulted at Oren Alexander’s apartment after a real estate event. Prosecutors said the woman was made to drink a glass of wine before the attack, which left her weak and unable to control her body.
