Jury Deliberates in Alexanders Trial

After five weeks of testimony, the federal case against Oren, Alon and Tal Alexander is now in the hands of a jury.

Deliberations began Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, capping a trial that has drawn plenty of attention from the real estate world and beyond. Prosecutors say the brothers ran a long-running scheme to lure women to luxury destinations including New York City, The Hamptons and Aspen, where they were drugged and sexually assaulted. The brothers have pleaded not guilty to the remaining 10 federal counts after prosecutors dropped two charges late in the trial.

A verdict is expected to come early this week. Whatever the outcome, the case has already become one of the most closely watched criminal trials involving figures connected to residential real estate in years.

If jurors convict, the brothers could face lengthy prison sentences and a permanent end to careers that once put them among the most recognizable young brokers in luxury real estate. An acquittal would not necessarily end the saga either. Civil lawsuits and reputational fallout could linger, as seen in a recently filed complaint by top broker Tracy Tutor, who accused Oren Alexander of sexually assaulting her at a 2014 Elliman event.

But for now, the focus is on the five weeks of testimony that jurors must weigh.

Prosecutors built their case around sweeping conspiracy allegations that stretched from 2008 to 2021. Eleven women took the stand to describe alleged assaults by one or more of the brothers, often after nights out or luxury trips that prosecutors said followed a consistent pattern. According to the government, the brothers would bring women to private homes or hotels, supply the alcohol and sometimes drugs and then assault them.

To support that narrative, prosecutors presented a large cache of communications recovered from phones and hard drives seized after the brothers’ 2024 arrests. Messages and emails discussed recruiting women for weekends in the Hamptons or trips to Aspen and the Bahamas. In one exchange about a Hamptons share house, the brothers talked about bringing girls to the property and even floated a kind of informal “tax” on anyone who showed up without them.

Some of the most disturbing evidence came from a graphic blog circulated among the brothers and friends as far back as 2008. Prosecutors argued the posts reflected the same attitudes toward women that appeared in later messages and conduct. Defense attorneys countered that the material amounted to crude and juvenile “locker room talk” rather than proof of criminal activity.

Another thread in the trial involved the brothers’ social circle. Prosecutors showed messages involving other men who were part of the group’s travel plans or parties, including figures tied to the real estate industry. None of those individuals have been accused of wrongdoing, but the exchanges illustrated the environment prosecutors say surrounded the alleged scheme.

The defense took a far more streamlined approach. After prosecutors rested following four weeks of testimony, the defense called only a handful of witnesses and wrapped its case in roughly a day.

Instead, attorneys focused their efforts on closing arguments. Their message to jurors was straightforward. The brothers were arrogant, crude and promiscuous, but not criminals.

One defense lawyer described them as “entitled assholes,” while arguing that prosecutors had failed to prove a coordinated sex trafficking conspiracy. Attorneys also pointed to inconsistencies in the women’s accounts, suggested some memories were influenced by media coverage and argued there was no concrete evidence that the brothers secretly drugged anyone.

Prosecutors pushed back hard in their rebuttal, telling jurors the defense was trying to distract from what they called overwhelming evidence of a repeated pattern of abuse.

Now the case is in the jury’s hands. For the real estate sphere that the Alexanders once dominated, it will mark the end of one chapter in a case that has hovered over the broader industry for over a year.

There was plenty of other news this week. Walker & Dunlop found $134 million of fraud, Ivana Trump finally sells her townhouse and we dive deeper into one of Jeffrey Epstein’s Manhattan investments. These stories and more below.

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