Formerly renowned as major players in the luxury real estate market, brothers Tal and Oren Alexander, along with a third sibling, are currently standing trial in Manhattan. This week, they face serious allegations of orchestrating a sex trafficking operation that spanned several years.

Tal, Oren, and Alon Alexander, who previously held an executive position at his family’s private security business, have strongly refuted the sex crime charges levied against them, along with other accusations.

Prosecutors claim that the brothers engaged in a prolonged pattern of sexual misconduct involving numerous women across different states. However, their defense maintains that these interactions were consensual and accuses the government of overstepping its bounds.

The trial for the Alexanders is commencing in Manhattan’s federal court, with jury selection having started on Tuesday. This legal battle emerges just a few weeks after the mysterious death of one of the Alexanders’ initial accusers.

Oren and Tal Alexander are pictured speaking at a real estate panel during the Rockstars of Real Estate Event on September 3, 2013, in New York. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Invision for DETAILS Magazine/AP Images, File)

According to The New York Times, Kate Whiteman, aged 45, was discovered deceased in Australia late last year. The New South Wales coroner informed the Times that the investigation into Whiteman’s cause of death is ongoing.

Criminal defense attorney Todd Spodek, who served as lead defense counsel in the 2019 trial of con artist Anna “Delvey” Sorokin, said the case presents an “uphill battle” for the defense.

“They have to ask the right questions via the judge to uncover biases that won’t be direct or clear. If you have a case where double digits of women are coming forward with the same type of allegation and the same modus operandi, that’s a real issue,” Spodek said. “Anyone’s natural tendency is to say, ‘Look, at this point, you have multiple people saying the same thing.’ It is going to be a hard fought voir dire for the defense here—no question about it.”

In an Oct. 17 opinion, Judge Valerie E. Caproni expressed skepticism about some of the arguments defense lawyers offered as they tried to get the charges thrown out.

“As much as Defendants want to characterize the charged conduct as just men behaving badly, that is not what the Indictment charged,” she wrote.

With more than 60 accusers identified across criminal and civil proceedings, Spodek said the volume of allegations creates a risk that prospective jurors arrive with preconceived conclusions.

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)

The timing of the prosecution’s most recent filing has also drawn attention. Just days before jury selection, federal prosecutors added a new charge tied to an alleged 2012 incident, expanding the scope of the case. Defense lawyers have criticized the move as prejudicial.

“The timing certainly is suspect, and I do think they are putting themselves in the best possible position to get a guilty verdict—which is what you would expect from federal prosecutors,” Spodek said. 

“They are analyzing the case in a fluid process; they may have explored multiple charges upfront and decided to only indict on a few for now, then supersede with new charges later. There are strategic reasons why they do that, but it also happens when a case develops to a point where they are confident they can get a conviction.”

Spodek said one of the defense’s central challenges will be persuading jurors to separate emotion from evidence.

“Multiple individuals claiming they were victimized by the brothers does not necessarily mean stronger proof,” he said. “Each complainant and each victim needs to be judged based on the evidence in that particular case.”

In the Sorokin case, Spodek framed his client’s conduct within the broader context of New York’s “fake it till you make it” hustle culture.

“The defense will need to ensure that the case is decided by evidence, documents, and timelines—not by headlines, gossip, or the defendants’ status as affluent real estate figures,” Spodek said. “If I were on the defense team, I’d want to ensure upfront that jurors understand that in high-profile cases, multiple people saying the same thing is just a number. We’ve seen this with Harvey Weinstein and Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs.”

Oren and Alon Alexander attend Jeff Gordon’s Last Lap on Nov. 22, 2015, at The Villa, Casa Casuarina in Miami Beach, Florida.  (Aaron Davidson/Getty Images for J Group)

Defense lawyers have signaled they may rely on digital evidence, including text messages and photographs, that they say show consensual relationships between the brothers and some of the accusers.

Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo said the jury will hear evidence at trial of group sex, threesomes and promiscuity.

“The case is about sex and sexuality,” he said.

In court papers, defense lawyers wrote that they believe “that many witnesses are going to testify untruthfully on direct examination — whether it be because of their own current situation, their motive to lie for monetary gain, or their situation at the time.”

These witnesses “do not want to admit to the world that they consensually engaged in sexual activity with any of the Alexander brothers,” the lawyers said.

Damian Williams, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, speaks during a news conference in New York on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. Luxury real estate brokers Oren and Tal Alexander and their brother Alon were arrested and charged with sex trafficking. (Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The trial is expected to last several weeks, with opening statements scheduled after a jury is seated. If convicted, the brothers could face decades in prison.