The Weekly Dirt: Fallout from the Alexander brothers rape allegations

Top South Florida real estate broker Oren Alexander and his brother, Alon, were accused in lawsuits of raping two women more than a decade ago in New York. 

The complaints, filed in March under the Adult Survivors Act, allege that the twin brothers sexually assaulted two women in 2010 and 2012, and that they have engaged in a similar pattern of behavior against other women over the years.

The Alexanders’ attorney Jim Ferraro denied the allegations. 

Oren and his brother, Tal, co-founded Official, a brokerage firm backed by the white label firm Side in 2022, after a decade with Douglas Elliman. Tal is not named in the complaints. 

Since The Real Deal published the story reporting the rape allegations, my colleagues Sheridan Wall and Ellen Cranley have followed the aftermath. Oren announced he was taking a “pause” from Official. His name and bio were removed from the company’s website, and co-founders Nicole Oge, Richard Jordan and Andrew Wachtfogel are continuing to lead the firm alongside Tal. Later in the week, his real estate licenses in Florida and New York were marked inactive. His listings were transferred to Tal and Isaac Lustgarten. 

Official has leaned on the Alexanders’ name recognition and connections to attract top talent and grow in New York, Miami and other parts of the country. Now, that recognition is costing them. 

On Thursday, sources told us that JDS Development Group, the company led by developer Michael Stern, is cutting ties with Official, with a formal announcement expected in the coming days. Official was leading sales of the Dolce & Gabbana-branded condo project planned for 888 Brickell Avenue. 

The company appears to still be leading sales of the Rosewood Hotels-branded condo development at the Raleigh in Miami Beach that Shvo and Deutsche Finance plan. (Sales are not doing well at the project, per recent reports in WSJ and Business Insider.) Shvo has not returned requests for comment, following our reporting on more alleged victims making contact with the plaintiffs’ attorney, Evan Torgan of Torgan Cooper + Aaron. Torgan said mid-week that he and his partners had been in touch with 28 alleged victims of the Alexander brothers. 

We will continue to follow the story. We can be reached at kk@therealdeal.com, sheridan.wall@therealdeal.com and ellen.cranley@therealdeal.com. 

What we’re thinking about: The flood of new condo construction financing. More than $1 billion in loans closed last week. Is this it or is there more to come? Send me a note at kk@therealdeal.com. 

CLOSING TIME 

Residential: Spec developer Philippe Harari’s AquaBlue Group sold the waterfront mansion at 98 La Gorce Circle in Miami Beach for $62.5 million. A hidden buyer purchased the property. 

Commercial: Tishman Speyer paid $100.2 million for the fully leased warehouse complex at 3150-3250 Northwest 33rd Street in Pompano Beach. IDI Logistics sold the 35-acre Rock Lake Business Center. 

NEW TO THE MARKET 

The oceanfront estate at 387 Ocean Boulevard in Golden Beach hit the market for $55 million. The six-bedroom, seven-and-a-half-bathroom mansion spans 11,600 square feet on a 1-acre lot. Lydia Eskenazi and Jonathan Bigelman with One Sotheby’s International Realty are sharing the listing with Official’s Isaac Lustgarten. 

A thing we’ve learned 

South Florida’s coral reef tract has lost 90 percent of its hard corals over the last 40 years, according to the Miami Herald.  

Elsewhere in Florida 

• Excessive rainfall flooded streets, homes, businesses and vehicles across South Florida last week. Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for Broward, Collier, Lee, Miami-Dade and Sarasota counties, Yahoo News reports. 
• A federal jury in West Palm Beach ruled that Chiquita Brands is liable for eight killings led by the right-wing paramilitary group that Chiquita bankrolled from 1997 to 2004, according to the New York Times. The banana producer was ordered to pay $38.3 million to 16 family members of farmers and other civilians. 

The Florida Panthers were on the verge of winning the Stanley Cup as of Thursday evening, with Game 4 set for Saturday. This would mark the first title in franchise history, according to AP.