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Once the titans of luxury real estate, brothers Tal and Oren Alexander, along with a third sibling, now face a Manhattan jury this week to answer charges that they orchestrated a yearslong sex trafficking ring.
Tal, Oren and Oren’s twin, Alon Alexander, who was an executive at his family’s private security firm, have vehemently denied the sex crime charges against them, as well as other allegations.
Prosecutors allege the brothers orchestrated a yearslong pattern of sexual abuse involving numerous women across multiple states. The defense has argued that the encounters were consensual and that the government has overreached.
The brothers’ trial gets underway in Manhattan federal court with jury selection starting Tuesday. The case begins just weeks after one of the Alexanders’ first accusers was found dead.
KEY ACCUSER IN ALEXANDER BROTHERS RAPE CASE DIES JUST ONE WEEK BEFORE FEDERAL TRIAL BEGINS: REPORT
Kate Whiteman, 45, was found dead in Australia late last year, according to The New York Times. The coroner in New South Wales told the Times that Whiteman’s cause of death was under investigation.
Criminal defense attorney Todd Spodek, who served as lead defense counsel in the 2019 trial of con artist Anna “Delvey” Sorokin, said the case presents an “uphill battle” for the defense.
“They have to ask the right questions via the judge to uncover biases that won’t be direct or clear. If you have a case where double digits of women are coming forward with the same type of allegation and the same modus operandi, that’s a real issue,” Spodek said. “Anyone’s natural tendency is to say, ‘Look, at this point, you have multiple people saying the same thing.’ It is going to be a hard fought voir dire for the defense here — no question about it.”
In an Oct. 17 opinion, Judge Valerie E. Caproni expressed skepticism about some of the arguments defense lawyers offered as they tried to get the charges thrown out.
“As much as Defendants want to characterize the charged conduct as just men behaving badly, that is not what the Indictment charged,” she wrote.
With more than 60 accusers identified across criminal and civil proceedings, Spodek said the volume of allegations creates a risk that prospective jurors arrive with preconceived conclusions.
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The timing of the prosecution’s most recent filing has also drawn attention. Just days before jury selection, federal prosecutors added a new charge tied to an alleged 2012 incident, expanding the scope of the case. Defense lawyers have criticized the move as prejudicial.
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“The timing certainly is suspect, and I do think they are putting themselves in the best possible position to get a guilty verdict — which is what you would expect from federal prosecutors,” Spodek said.
“They are analyzing the case in a fluid process; they may have explored multiple charges upfront and decided to only indict on a few for now, then supersede with new charges later. There are strategic reasons why they do that, but it also happens when a case develops to a point where they are confident they can get a conviction.”
ALEXANDER BROTHERS ACCUSED OF CRUISE SHIP SEX ABUSE AHEAD OF REAL ESTATE MOGULS’ TRAFFICKING TRIAL
Spodek said one of the defense’s central challenges will be persuading jurors to separate emotion from evidence.
“Multiple individuals claiming they were victimized by the brothers does not necessarily mean stronger proof,” he said. “Each complainant and each victim needs to be judged based on the evidence in that particular case.”
In the Sorokin case, Spodek framed his client’s conduct within the broader context of New York’s “fake it till you make it” hustle culture.
“The defense will need to ensure that the case is decided by evidence, documents, and timelines — not by headlines, gossip, or the defendants’ status as affluent real estate figures,” Spodek said. “If I were on the defense team, I’d want to ensure upfront that jurors understand that in high-profile cases, multiple people saying the same thing is just a number. We’ve seen this with Harvey Weinstein and Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs.”
Defense lawyers have signaled they may rely on digital evidence, including text messages and photographs, that they say show consensual relationships between the brothers and some of the accusers.
Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo said the jury will hear evidence at trial of group sex, threesomes and promiscuity.
“The case is about sex and sexuality,” he said.
In court papers, defense lawyers wrote that they believe “that many witnesses are going to testify untruthfully on direct examination — whether it be because of their own current situation, their motive to lie for monetary gain, or their situation at the time.”
These witnesses “do not want to admit to the world that they consensually engaged in sexual activity with any of the Alexander brothers,” the lawyers said.
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The trial is expected to last several weeks, with opening statements scheduled after a jury is seated. If convicted, the brothers could face decades in prison.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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