Tal Alexander (left) and Oren Alexander (right).
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New York federal prosecutors indict top real estate agent Taru Oren Alexander and his brother Aron drugged and raped “dozens of victims” over a period of more than a decade..
The brothers “used their wealth and position to create opportunities to rape and sexually assault women,” according to a newly unsealed federal indictment charging them with sex trafficking. “It helped,” he said.
At times, he would “lure” women to luxury travel destinations, where he would sexually assault them, the indictment says.
They also allegedly “collaborated with others known and unknown” to carry out the sex trafficking scheme. Damien Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, declined to say who else is being investigated in the case.
The brothers, who were synonymous with Manhattan’s luxury real estate market until allegations against them first surfaced earlier this year, were arrested in Miami on Wednesday morning.
They are each charged with one count of sex trafficking conspiracy and one count of sex trafficking of a victim by force, fraud or coercion, according to an eight-page indictment in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. He is charged with one count of trafficking. Tal Alexander faces additional charges of sex trafficking of a victim by force, fraud, or coercion.
According to prosecutors, if convicted, the brothers could be sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.
Also on Wednesday, Florida State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle announced separate charges against Oren Alexander and Aron Alexander related to sexual assault allegations in the state.
Fernandez Rundle announced at a press conference that Oren was charged with two counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual assault by multiple perpetrators in two separate incidents. Aron is facing charges of sexual assault by multiple perpetrators.
New York prosecutors also asked federal judges in Manhattan and Miami on Wednesday: keep the brothers in custody, It claimed they “posed an ongoing and significant danger to the community and posed a serious risk of flight.”
The detention memo states that although the acts charged occurred between 2010 and 2021, a federal investigation revealed that the Alexander brothers raped and sexually assaulted the victim over a period of more than 20 years, beginning when they were in high school. It has also been pointed out that it was found that
“Oren Alexander is innocent. The evidence will show that neither he nor his brother committed a crime,” Oren’s attorney Susan Necheres said in a statement to NBC News.
Aron and Oren’s attorney, Isabel Kershner, did not respond to a request for comment. Tull’s attorney, Deanna Paul, declined to comment.
“As alleged, this act was heinous,” U.S. Attorney Williams said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon.
Williams noted that the Department of Justice is still investigating the allegations against the Alexander brothers and called on others with information about the case to come forward. “It’s not over yet,” he said.
Several women have filed civil lawsuits in Manhattan accusing their brothers of sexual assault. The brothers deny any wrongdoing.
“I’m glad to hear that there will finally be some accountability for the Alexander brothers and some justice for their many victims,” said David Gottlieb, a lawyer for plaintiffs in many of the civil cases. statement.
“I applaud all the survivors who, after years of pain and suffering, had the strength and courage to speak out about their unimaginable experiences,” Gottlieb said.
Federal court filings released Wednesday accuse the brothers of running a long-term sex trafficking scheme by deceiving victims and coercing them into traveling with them or meeting in private locations. .
The brothers then “raped and sexually assaulted their victims, sometimes alone and sometimes together, using a variety of methods, including drugging them and sometimes using physical force.” It is said that
The indictment describes various methods the brothers allegedly used to further their scheme.
According to the indictment, the brothers arranged events and trips abroad to serve as “decoys” to lure the women, who were then “frequently” assaulted.
They also allegedly worked with party promoters to have women attend parties and events at their vacation homes, including their home in the Hamptons. Before those events took place, they and others were procuring drugs including cocaine, mushrooms and the drug GHB. date rape drug.
Southern District of New York Attorney Damien Williams (left) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) New York Field Office Assistant Director James Dennehy (right) during a press conference in New York, USA, on Wednesday, December 11, 2024.
Yuki Iwamura | Bloomberg | Getty Images
In particular, Oren and Tal allegedly “used their prominent positions in the real estate industry” to recruit women to events and parties. Aron and his family run Kent Security, a private security company.
According to the indictment, the brothers secretly ingested drugs into women’s drinks “on multiple occasions,” causing some of the women to feel physically and mentally impaired.
The indictment says the brothers would sometimes offer their victims “items such as trips, concert tickets, or other luxury experiences” “immediately” after assaulting them.
Prosecutors also alleged that he used similar tactics to rape women he happened to meet at nightclubs and parties, then lured them to other locations.
One of the brothers occasionally met the woman online and invited her to his apartment, prosecutors said in a detention memo.
The victims reported that “in most cases” one of their siblings gave them a drink at some point during the process, and that they then felt symptoms or memories that felt like they had been “unknowingly administered a disabling substance.” It is said that
“Many victims told the brothers ‘no’ or even screamed during the rapes, and each time the defendant ignored their verbal resistance,” prosecutors said in a memo. insisted.
— CNBC’s Jim Forkin contributed to this report.
