The Alexanders, facing rape claims and agent exodus, plot Official rebrand

Oren and Tal Alexander are back at the top of the firm they stepped back from after disturbing allegations against them.  

Since early June, roughly a dozen women have come forward to accuse the Alexanders of raping and drugging them as early as the brothers’ time in high school. These claims, detailed in lawsuits, reporting by The New York Times and Wall Street Journal, and elsewhere prompted an ongoing FBI probe. 

The brothers stepped back from Official, the Side-backed firm they launched with Nicole Oge, Richard Jordan and Andrew Wachtfogel, as the co-founders began discussing their full exit from the business. The Alexanders have denied the allegations. 

Official lost the exclusive sales and marketing assignments for its two highest-profile new developments. Agents fled the firm. 

And the Alexanders’ exit negotiations soured. 

James Cinque, an attorney representing Oren and Tal, told Business Insider earlier this week that the Alexanders “never said they were going to leave,” suggesting those conversations were misrepresented by their former business partners, whom the Alexanders met during their decade-long careers at Douglas Elliman. 

Cinque said that the brothers were taking over the company and would be announcing details “very soon.” 

The development is a shock to those inside and outside the company, weeks after the brothers announced their respective pauses and the firm sought to distance itself from its two most visible co-founders. Their headshots and bios were removed from Official’s website. 

The Alexanders are now plotting their return, trying to hold onto Official’s remaining agents. They plan to rebrand the company, with Tal at the forefront, sources told The Real Deal.

That plan is already in progress. As of Thursday, Oren and Tal’s headshots and biographies were back on Official’s website. Oge, Jordan and Wachtfogel were removed as founders. 

What’s left of Official

Before Oren and Tal announced they were taking full ownership of Official, agents from California to Miami were leaving in droves. The firm’s West Coast operations are almost entirely sapped, with just one agent remaining in Aspen, an outpost the brokerage opened just six months ago. 

Los Angeles-based heavy hitters Tyrone McKillen, Brent Watson and Marco Salari have all left the firm after short stints as founding brokers. At least seven brokers in New York and Miami have also jumped ship since the news broke earlier this summer, including Jennifer Goldstein and Farid Moussallem. 

Goldstein returned to Douglas Elliman. Moussallem is now with One Sotheby’s International Realty, leading sales for a former Official project, Michael Stern’s Dolce & Gabbana-branded 888 Brickell Avenue. Anna Sherrill, who left One Sotheby’s in May to join Official as head of sales for Shvo’s Rosewood-branded Raleigh Miami Beach project, is back at One Sotheby’s and back with the project. Stern and Shvo both cut ties with Official.

Business as usual?

As additional claims of sexual assault mounted against Oren, Tal and their brother, Alon, the Alexander brothers removed themselves from Instagram, where they had a huge following. 

And despite rumors they fled to Israel, they have been spotted in Bridgehampton, at a Barry’s Bootcamp class in Miami, and Oren was seen in Ibiza, behind a DJ booth. 

In mid-July, Tal submitted a notice of commencement for his planned waterfront home in Miami Beach. The Alexander Group, led by their father Shlomi, is the general contractor. Though Tal rents an apartment in New York, he is domiciled in Florida. 

But the Alexanders now appear to already be back in the driver’s seat of Official’s future. 

With decimated ranks, lost projects and exited co-founders, the Alexanders are attempting to keep other key agents, sources say. Isaac Lustgarten, Oren’s partner leading the Alexander Team in Miami, is rumored to be leaving. Lustgarten did not respond to requests for comment. 

It’s unclear if they will reactivate their licenses, or with which firm. Side said that the Alexanders’ licenses aren’t active with the brokerage. A spokesperson declined to comment further.

The Alexanders are still facing response deadlines in the lawsuits: as soon as Monday, Aug. 19 for Oren to respond to Rebecca Mandel’s New York lawsuit.  

Cinque, their attorney, did not answer questions about the Alexanders’ plans, nor did he comment on their retention efforts. 

“As we have told you we are in a quiet period and will absolutely announce plans once final,” Cinque wrote in an email.  

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