One of the former eXp Realty agents accused of sexual assault is himself now suing his former brokerage and its leader, Glenn Sanford, alleging defamation.
Michael Bjorkman filed a lawsuit against the company in April, Inman reported. Bjorkman is seeking more than $20 million in damages, as well as legal fees and interest.
The lawsuit stems from a company earnings call held in November, according to the suit. During the call, Sanford referred to Bjorkman and another former agent, David Golden, as “two bad actors,” according to the complaint. Sanford allegedly referred to Bjorkman as a “sex trafficker and racist” and mentioned the possibility of jail time for the former agent.
Bjorkman has been accused in multiple lawsuits of allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting women at industry events. Criminal charges against Bjorkman were dismissed by a district attorney’s office, however, and the complaint claims that Sanford accused Bjorkman of assault.
The first lawsuit came to light early last year, alleging Bjorkman and Golden used “means of force, fraud or coercion” to lead women to engage in a sex acts. A second lawsuit followed at the end of the year, which also took aim at Sanford and the company’s apparent lack of response.
A third lawsuit was filed against eXp relating to sexual assault in January, though Bjorkman and Golden are not named in that suit. In February, four female agents expanded their claims against Sanford, Bjorkman and Golden.
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The barrage of legal cases are ongoing. New York state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli cited the allegations in January while calling for an independent probe into the brokerage.
eXp denied the claims in Bjorkman’s lawsuit, saying the allegations have “no basis in fact or law.”
In addition to defamation, Bjorkman’s complaint also alleges that eXp hasn’t paid him money that he is owed, that the company breached its contract with him and broke good faith laws.