Judge Valerie Caprioni shut down the brothers’ motion to dismiss, and they are poised to attend trial in January. Details on their defamation lawsuit against “The Real Deal” are also now available.
Luxury brokers Tal and Oren Alexander, and their security executive brother Alon Alexander, have been denied their motion to dismiss the sex-trafficking charges against them, court documents released this week show.
Judge Valerie Caprioni of the Southern District of New York determined that the three brothers will head to trial for sex trafficking in January as planned. However, the judge did dismiss a charge for attempted sex-trafficking of one alleged victim identified as “Victim 5,” because it falls outside the five-year statute of limitations.
Caprioni’s ruling also snuffs out the defense’s argument, calling into question whether or not the brothers’ conduct fell under the definition of sex trafficking.
“As much as Defendants want to characterize the charged conduct as just men behaving badly, that is not what the Indictment charges,” the order by Caprioni states. “The charges are that three grown men conspired to entice women and girls to travel in interstate and foreign commerce, to provide things of value to those women and girls, and to use force and drugs in order to have sexual contact with those victims.”
Attorneys for the brothers had also argued that the indictment against them should be dismissed because the crimes the federal government was prosecuting should be considered a local matter under individual states’ jurisdictions where the crimes allegedly happened. Judge Caprioni likewise shut down this argument.
“While Defendants assert that their alleged illegal conduct amounts to no more than the occasional local ‘date rape’ … that badly misrepresents the nature of the charges,” Caprioni wrote. “The charges in the Indictment, which the Court must accept as true at this stage of the case, make clear that it is not charging sexual assaults that serendipitously occurred when ‘a group of 20- and 30-somethings [went] on vacation and one side of the romantic equation fund[ed] part of the vacation.”
Caprioni added, “This is far from a ‘local’ crime; it stretches from Martha’s Vineyard to New York to Florida to Israel and involves the movement of women and girls from various Points A to various Points B where they would be, as planned by Defendants, sexually assaulted. Prosecuting this case federally simply does not run afoul of the balance between federal and state authority.”
The judge likewise rejected arguments from the Alexanders’ attorneys regarding the definition of “anything of value” in the sex-trafficking statute as being too broad. “To the extent Defendants argue that ‘there is no cash for sex’ … their argument is irrelevant,” Caprioni wrote.
Judge Caprioni also rejected a request by the defendants to suppress evidence obtained in Tal’s New York City apartment and evidence from a Facebook account associated with the brothers.
The brothers are also seeking to bar testimony in their trial from two of the government’s expert witnesses, and part of “Victim 4’s” testimony. Oral arguments by the defendants’ attorneys on the topic will be heard by the judge on Monday.
All three brothers have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them, and Tal Alexander’s lawyers, Milton Williams and Deanna Paul, have called the lawsuits filed by dozens of women against the brothers “frivolous.”
News of their alleged sex crimes first came to light in the spring of 2024 when they were named as perpetrators in multiple lawsuits regarding allegations of sexual assault and rape dating back to 2010 and taking place in multiple cities. The brothers were indicted by the federal government for sex trafficking in December 2024.
Prior to their arrests, Tal and Oren Alexander had made names for themselves as top luxury agents first at Douglas Elliman, and then at Side, where they launched their now-defunct brokerage, Official Partners.
All three brothers are currently being held in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, where alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO murderer Luigi Mangione is also being held.
Litigation with The Real Deal
News of lawsuits filed against the brothers in 2024 was first reported on by The Real Deal, which is now facing a defamation lawsuit from the Alexanders.
The brothers initiated the suit in June, but only filed their complaint on Nov. 3.
“TRD intentionally and recklessly published a series of false and misleading stories accusing the Alexanders of rape and sexual abuse,” the complaint, filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, states.
The complaint further alleges that the publication engaged in a “smear campaign” against the brothers through reporting that was “far from fair, full or balanced” in order to gain clicks and grow their subscriber base. The brothers also allege in the complaint that TRD declined to publish evidence contradicting claims in the lawsuits against the brothers.
The Alexanders are seeking $500 million in punitive and compensatory damages from the new outlet’s publisher, Korangy Publishing, Inc.
Amir Korangy, publisher and founder of The Real Deal, responded to the lawsuit in a post on LinkedIn in June, calling it a “legal stunt.”
“Let’s be clear: this lawsuit is not about justice,” Korangy wrote. “It’s an attempt to stop investigative journalism and bully a newsroom for doing its job. The Real Deal‘s reporting was fair and conscientious, and we are confident the courts will see this for what it is — a frivolous and cynical attempt to weaponize the legal system.
“The First Amendment is the cornerstone of a free society. When powerful figures use the courts to punish the press, they’re not just attacking a media outlet — they’re attacking the public’s right to know. We look forward to this case being tossed out, and we believe those who abuse the legal process to silence the press should be held accountable.”
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