Luxury real estate brokers Tal and Oren Alexander, along
with their brother Alon, on Friday pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring
to drug and sexually assault dozens of women nearly two months after their
arrest.
The three Alexander brothers arrived in Manhattan federal
court together in handcuffs, shackles and drab beige jail clothing.
They pleaded not guilty to federal sex trafficking charges
in their first court appearance in New York after being arrested in Miami in
December. Their transfer was delayed for weeks as they tried unsuccessfully to
secure bail.
"Oren Alexander pleaded not guilty today because he is
innocent, as a polygraph examination has already revealed," Richard Klugh,
an attorney for Oren, said in a statement after the pleas were entered.
"The government continues to make hyperbolic statements
in court regarding the number of accusers, and the government's misguided
efforts to solicit witnesses -- to prop up a baseless and publicity-driven case
-- have yielded no credible evidence of any crime. Oren looks forward to
further establishing his innocence."
Prosecutors announced plans to file additional charges,
stating that more than 60 women alleged they were raped by at least one of the
brothers. The three siblings have been accused of luring women to nightclubs
and parties, then drugging and sexually assaulting them.
"We do intend to bring a superseding indictment in this
case," prosecutor Elizabeth Espinosa said. "I think we will need
another month or two."
Espinosa said that investigators gathered a
"substantial" amount of evidence, including accounts from alleged
victims, as well as data from iCloud, Instagram, Facebook, dating apps, cell
phones, laptop computers and electronic storage devices.
In a January court hearing, when the brothers were still in
Florida, prosecutor Andrew Jones said FBI agents found multiple hard drives in
a closet of Tal's apartment during a search.
They allegedly contained "a large quantity of sexually
explicit videos and photos" showing the brothers with drunk, naked women
who were unaware they were being recorded. According to prosecutors, some of
the women tried to hide or flee from the camera when they realized they were
being filmed.
Defense attorney Deanna Paul, who is representing Tal, called
the allegations "speculative" and questioned what the videos depict,
prompting U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni to interject.
"In my view, having a sex with a woman who is
incapacitated is likely rape," Caproni said.
On Friday, Caproni scheduled the trial for Jan. 5, 2026,
anticipating it will last at least a month. Defense attorneys have until
early May to file a motion to dismiss. The next in-person court hearing is
scheduled for mid-July.
All three brothers face 15 years to life in prison if
convicted of the federal charges. Oren and Tal were prominent New York and
Miami real estate agents, working with wealthy and celebrity clients.
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