The Alexander brothers allegedly financed independent journalists who published favorable accounts of their sex-trafficking case, allegations the writers deny, as the wealthy siblings worked to counter federal charges before their convictions and sentencing.
Tal Alexander, 40, and his 39-year-old twin brothers, Oren and Alon, were found guilty in March of conspiracy to commit sex crimes, including offenses involving minors. On Oct. 27, each brother received a 30-year prison sentence.
Prosecutors said the brothers worked together and with other men to traffic women, repeatedly drugging, sexually assaulting and raping numerous victims.
The trio now also faces civil lawsuits filed by women who say they were abused by the brothers.
Oren Alexander, Tal Alexander and Alon Alexander attend Chanukah With The Stars Gala on December 10, 2014 at Harmonie Club in New York City. (Photo by J Grassi/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, two independent journalists who reported on the proceedings have become part of the controversy.
Daniel Mael was identified in a New York Times report as one of two writers allegedly paid to present the brothers in a favorable light.
Mael rejected that characterization in a phone interview with News Outlet, saying his stories reflected his own assessment of the case.
He also denied the Times’ claim that he received $15,000 to publish “sympathetic posts” during the trial. The report said publisher Frank Parlato received $10,000 for similar coverage.
Mael declined to provide details about his financial arrangement with Juda Engelmayer, the Alexanders’ publicist.
Oren Alexander, center, and his twin brother, Alon, center-right, speak to their attorney, Joel Denaro, during their bond hearing after being charged with multiple state and federal crimes, including sex trafficking and rape, at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, in Miami. (Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald via AP, Pool)
“Engelmayer offered to help subsidize part of the cost of covering the case, and I accepted,” Mael wrote in a Nov. 5 statement posted on X.
“No one requested favorable coverage, no one dictated a single word, and no one exercised the slightest editorial influence over my reporting.”
Parlato likewise declined to say whether he had been paid for his work.
In an email to News Outlet, he insisted that his reporting was independent.
“I have never spoken to the Alexander brothers,” Parlato wrote. “Nobody tells me what to write. Nobody sees my stories before publication.
“I wrote about the brothers from court records, before trial, when they were presumed innocent. I write what I believe is true.”
Oren Alexander and Tal Alexander speak at a panel at the Rockstars of Real Estate Event, Sept. 3, 2013, in New York. (Amy Sussman/Invision for DETAILS Magazine/AP Images, File)
Engelmayer told News Outlet that the brothers had effectively been “convicted in the court of public opinion” before their trial began.
“The coverage was extensive, overwhelmingly negative, and largely driven by the allegations against them,” he wrote. “There was very little interest in examining anything that might challenge the prevailing narrative.”
He said he approached independent journalists so the defense perspective “was at least heard,” particularly by reporters willing to ask questions that had received little attention elsewhere.
Mael posted regular trial updates on his Substack, including details that at times undercut the brothers’ defense.
In a recap of the trial’s eighth day, Mael described a text from Alon Alexander referring to how he “took down a 17 year old” as “perhaps the most damning piece of evidence.”
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Real estate brokers Oren and Tal Alexander and their brother Alon, who were found guilty of repeatedly drugging, sexually assaulting, and raping dozens of female victims, listen as their lawyers argue for a lesser sentence on their behalf at a New York courtroom in New York, US, October 27, 2026 in this courtroom sketch (REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg)
He also objected to the Times’ suggestion that his reporting attacked or discredited prosecution witnesses.
“I never ever criticized the motives of the women on the stand,” Mael said. “Ever.”
Mael maintained that his reporting was independent and factually sound despite receiving financial support from Engelmayer.
Parlato’s website, The Frank Report, ran articles in July and August 2025 that questioned the case against the Alexanders and suggested they might be innocent.
One article, titled “What If Everything You’ve Been Told About the Alexander Brothers Case Is Wrong? And Other Matters,” was written by Engelmayer.
Brothers on trial
The Alexander brothers were raised in an affluent Miami family.
Oren and Tal became prominent real estate brokers, selling luxury properties to celebrities and wealthy clients in New York, Miami, Aspen and other high-end markets.
Real estate brokers Tal Alexander (right) and his younger brother, Oren Alexander, outside their Miami Beach home on Friday, Feb. 1, 2019. (Getty Images)
Alon served as an executive at Kent Security, the family’s Miami-based private security business.
Their lavish lifestyle included private aircraft, superyachts and invitations to exclusive parties. Prosecutors alleged that the brothers exploited those settings to target women.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the brothers used their “wealth and prominence to create and facilitate opportunities to sexually assault women.”
For years, prosecutors said, they met women through dating apps, nightclubs, parties and promoters, then attracted them with luxury travel, lavish accommodations and access to influential figures and Hollywood celebrities.
After isolating the women, the brothers allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted them, sometimes together and at other times with additional men.
Some of the alleged attacks were recorded, according to prosecutors.
Oren Alexander and his twin brother, Alon, attend a bond hearing after being charged with multiple state and federal crimes, including sex trafficking and rape, at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, in Miami. (Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald via AP, Pool)
Eleven women testified during the trial, while prosecutors said more than 70 women had come forward with similar allegations.
Now that the criminal case has concluded, three women are moving forward with civil lawsuits against the brothers.
During sentencing, the brothers denied drugging, raping or trafficking anyone, though they expressed regret for aspects of their past conduct.
Prosecutors requested life imprisonment, while defense attorneys sought the 15-year minimum sentence.
Assistant US Attorney at US Attorney’s Office Elizabeth Espinosa addresses the court and argues for a life sentence during the sentencing of real estate brokers Oren and Tal Alexander and their brother Alon, who were found guilty of repeatedly drugging, sexually assaulting, and raping dozens of female victims, at a New York courtroom in New York, US, October 27, 2026 in this courtroom sketch. (REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg)
Judge Valerie Caproni also ordered each brother to serve 10 years of supervised release. Alon and Oren were fined $300,000 apiece, while Tal was fined $350,000.
The Alexanders’ attorney did not respond to News Outlet’s request for comment.
