Prosecutors in New York will tell a jury this week that three brothers from a wealthy Florida family raped, sexually assaulted and trafficked dozens of women during a decades-long reign of terror and depravity.
The high-profile trial in Manhattan with elements of money, fame and power has parallels in other recent sex-trafficking cases held there, including the conviction and sentencing of the musician Sean “Diddy” Combs last year on prostitution-related charges.
Tal Alexander, 39, and his younger siblings Alon and Oren, who are 38-year-old twins, face up to life imprisonment if convicted of a range of charges relating to alleged assaults of victims they met in bars, nightclubs and on dating apps, and whose drinks they are said to have spiked.
The trial in federal court in Manhattan, which observers say could last about a month, will hear that the brothers conspired together and with others to lure the women and attack them. It was scheduled to begin on Monday before the winter storm forced the closure of all US district courts in New York.
Many of the encounters took place in New York, where Tal and Oren Alexander were building a high-end real estate company, and other affluent locations such as the Hamptons and Martha’s Vineyard, prosecutors will say.
Other assaults allegedly took place in south Florida, where the trio enjoyed a privileged upbringing, and where their families maintained residences. According to a Vanity Fair profile published last year, “industry peers and impressionable young women alike saw them sailing on yachts and lounging on jets – typically belonging to their far wealthier clients – bringing the party and eye candy wherever they went”.
The three have pleaded not guilty to all allegations in an eight-page indictment filed in the southern district of New York in December 2024, which is the bedrock of the case against them.
The brothers already faced 11 counts. Oren and Alon Alexander pleaded not guilty this month to an additional charge of assaulting a woman who was incapacitated on board a cruise ship in January 2012.
According to the original indictment, “the defendants, and others known and unknown, operated a long-running sex-trafficking scheme, as part of which they raped and sexually assaulted women to whom they had provided material benefits, including domestic and international travel to vacation destinations, luxury accommodations at high-end hotels and vacation properties, and access to other luxury experiences and events.
“The defendants used deception, fraud, and coercion to cause victims to travel with them or meet them in private locations. Thereafter the brothers used various methods, including drugging the victims and, at times, physical force, to rape and sexually assault the victims – sometimes alone and sometimes together.”
The Alexanders, who are represented by the same New York law firm that defended Combs in his sex-trafficking and kidnapping case, have spent months in jail in New York city’s Metropolitan detention center.
Juda Engelmayer, president and chief executive of Herald PR, who is representing the Alexander family, told the Guardian in a statement that the charges represented an irregular expansion of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which extended the statute of limitations in certain cases.
“This federal case is built largely on allegations tied to events said to have occurred years ago in Florida that were first pursued through civil litigation. Those civil cases were heavily promoted, amplified and recycled long before any federal prosecution, creating a process in which accusations were effectively cultivated through lawsuits rather than uncovered through independent criminal investigation,” Engelmayer said.
“The government has now repackaged those civil allegations under an expansive and unprecedented interpretation of the act; one that stretches the statute far beyond its original purpose.
“The evidence will show that these were consensual adult relationships, that no one was trafficked or coerced, and that nothing of value was obtained or withheld. This case depends on hindsight and narrative, not facts, and we are confident the truth will be clear when the evidence is tested in court.”
The brothers’ parents, Orly and Shlomi Alexander, issued their own statement. “The emotional toll has been immense, not only on our sons but on our entire family,” they said.
“We know who our boys are, and we believe in their innocence. We trust that when the evidence is examined carefully and fairly in a courtroom, rather than shaped by rumor or assumption, the truth will emerge. Our only hope is for an objective judge, a just process, grounded in facts, where the outcome is determined by evidence, not by headlines.”
Prosecutors provided glimpses of their strategy at a pre-trial hearing earlier this month. Two girls who were under 18 at the time of their alleged assaults in 2009 are expected to testify, along with at least six others referenced in the indictment.
Investigators said they spoke to at least 60 women, with an additional 15 to 20 of them possibly taking the stand, according to the Miami Herald. The victims will be permitted to give evidence anonymously.
Katherine Kallergis, a Florida-based reporter with the Real Deal, the New York real estate publication that first reported allegations against the brothers in June 2024, said a number of influential names in investment and luxury property could also find themselves implicated.
“Oren and Tal were prominent real-estate brokers, so this was a huge story for the real-estate industry,” she said.
“People want to see what the prosecution presents because they’ve referenced videos, they’ve talked about how this alleged team involved other people, so who else are they going to name? Are there co-conspirators? What evidence do they have?”
Ultimately, Kallergis said, “It’s the women who come forward and tell their stories … I can’t speak for them obviously, but I think that when you’re in that kind of situation, they hope that there’ll be some kind of justice.”
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
