The co-founders of Official are pulling out of the two-year-old brokerage, leaving brokers Oren and Tal Alexander as the sole owners of the firm that was thrown into disarray after rape claims surfaced against them.
Chief growth officer Nicole Oge, CEO Richard Jordan, and Andrew Wachtfogel, the president of its new development division, told Business Insider they were “forfeiting ownership” and leaving control of the brokerage in the hands of the Alexanders, who stepped back after The Real Deal first reported allegations against them. Oren and Tal’s licenses have been inactive since they stepped back from the firm.
The three co-founders confirmed the move in a statement to TRD, saying “these events have significantly limited the ability of our agents and development teams to operate and transact with clients.”
“We could not be more disappointed that we were not informed by Tal and Oren of these lawsuits and threats to our firm, and that our talented teams are now prevented from continuing Official on its path,” Oge said in a statement.
Oren and Tal have denied the claims.
The change in ownership, effective Aug. 15, follows weeks of unsuccessful negotiation with the brothers over their ownership stakes.
Oren and Tal’s attorney, James Cinque, disputed that. Cinque said the brothers “never said they were going to leave,” according to Business Insider. “They want to continue with the business.”
“Official is concluding ownership and management changes to ensure continued excellent service to its markets,” Cinque said in a statement. “Tal and Oren Alexander wish the three members who are departing to pursue new opportunities the best of luck and much success. The Alexander brothers are excited about their new lineup and will be announcing details very soon.”
A spokesperson for white-label firm Side, which backs the firm, declined to confirm to the outlet if they would continue to work with the Alexanders.
“Side would never have entered into a partnership with the Alexander brothers had Side known of the serious accusations against them,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
The allegations threw the firm into disarray after surfacing in early June.
Oge wrote in the following week that Oren was “immediately isolated from the business” after the allegations became public and that “the process of removing him from ownership is well underway.” Tal, after he was accused in a lawsuit filed in June of raping a woman in an alleged group attack orchestrated by Oren, said he would “take a leave from” the brokerage.
In the past week, at least five brokers have left the firm, which the Alexanders founded after a decade at Douglas Elliman.
The departures come two months after TRD first reported on two lawsuits claiming that Oren and his twin, Alon, had raped and sexually assaulted women, and after Tal was sued by a woman who claimed he and Alon raped her. Oren is facing a fourth lawsuit alleging he raped another woman in New York in 2015.
Last month, Tyrone McKillen, one of Official’s founding agents on the West Coast, left the firm with his eight-person team, gutting the brokerage’s California operations. The top broker, who joined Official just over a year ago, will operate his team, known as Plus Real Estate, as part of his Plus Development Group.
— Katherine Kallergis, Sheridan Wall and Ellen Cranley
Read more
Residential
National
Official exodus: Miami, New York agents depart brokerage tainted by allegations against co-founders
Residential
National
What is Official without the Alexanders?