New York Judge Deems Alexander Brothers Flight Risk, Denies Bail

Real Estate|New York Judge Deems Alexander Brothers Flight Risk, Denies Bail

Oren, Alon and Tal Alexander were denied bail in a Manhattan courtroom on Wednesday, after a judge ruled that the three brothers posed both a danger to the community and might flee the country as they awaited trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.

“The weight of the evidence is strong,” said Judge Valerie E. Caproni of Federal District Court after a three-hour hearing in which the brothers’ lawyers sought to undermine the government’s argument for detention, suggesting that the dozens of women who have accused them of assault were concocting stories for profit.

The three brothers, through their lawyers, have strenuously denied the charges. Oren and Tal Alexander were, for decades, two of the country’s most prominent real estate agents, brokering some of the flashiest properties in Miami and New York. Alon Alexander, who is Oren’s twin, was a regular fixture on the social circuit in both cities alongside his brothers.

The judge acknowledged that there was a possibility of some false accusations, but cited the government’s assertion that more than 40 women had made similar allegations. “And there is a consistency in the detail about how they are lured into areas under the defendants’ control, then drugged and assaulted,” she said.

Oren and Alon Alexander, twins who are 37, were arrested in Miami Beach in December along with their older brother, Tal Alexander, 38, after months of mounting public allegations. All three are accused of using their wealth and status to lure, drug and sexually assault dozens of women, according to an indictment made public on the day of their arrest.

At the hearing on Wednesday, a prosecutor revealed that several of the alleged victims were minors at the time of the assaults and rapes; the brothers were all adults.