Update: This story was updated following publication with a full statement from attorney James Ferraro.
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Prominent Miami-based luxury broker Oren Alexander and his twin brother, private security executive Alon Alexander, have been accused in two separate lawsuits filed in New York County Supreme Court of sexually assaulting and raping two women more than a decade ago, The Real Deal reported.
The lawsuit complaints date back to March and are regarding incidents that took place in 2010 and 2012 between two women and the twins, and allege that they are emblematic of a pattern of similar behavior with other women.
The lawsuits were filed just before a New York State law eliminating the civil statute of limitations for sexual assault cases, the Adult Survivors Act, was set to expire. The law allowed survivors of assault who were over the age of 18 at the time of their assault to sue their alleged perpetrators no matter how long ago the crime had taken place.
Oren and his older brother, Tal Alexander, began their real estate careers at Douglas Elliman. The pair made a name for themselves by founding The Alexander Team and becoming some of the top agents in New York City and Miami. They founded their own firm, Official, in 2022, and now operate across New York, Florida, California and Aspen.
The lawsuits name Rebecca Mandel and Kate Whiteman as plaintiffs, and Alon and Oren Alexander — and in the latter case, also Ivan Wilzig — as defendants. Both plaintiffs are being repped by the law firm Torgan Cooper & Aaron.
Tal Alexander was not named in either lawsuit.
Douglas Elliman declined to comment on the lawsuits. Oren Alexander and Official did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Torgan, Cooper & Aaron, the firm representing Mandel and Whiteman, was also not immediately able to comment to Inman. A rep for Wilzig did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
James Ferraro, an attorney for the Alexanders, was traveling and unavailable to immediately comment to Inman. However, Ferraro told The Real Deal that the firm was in possession of “very powerful” evidence that shows Whiteman’s allegations are “totally made up.”
Ferraro’s team also emailed the following full statement to Inman: “This suit was brought public after Mr. Alexander chose not to give in to a demand in the tens of millions of dollars. We are confident this matter will be resolved in Mr. Alexander’s favor given an extensive collection of powerful evidence including, phone records, text messages, emails and other documents whose content clearly debunks these claims.”
Regarding Mandel’s lawsuit, Ferraro told The Real Deal he found the filing “very bizarre.” Ferraro has long known the Alexanders, and Oren has represented Ferraro in real estate transactions in both New York City and Florida.
Mandel’s complaint describes how she first met Oren and Alon around 2009 at a night club called SL in New York’s Meatpacking District. At that time, she was 18 years old, and continued to bump into the twins around the city.
Around September 2010, she bumped into Oren and Alon at SL Nightclub again and the three began talking. The complaint alleges that Alon then “insisted” on buying Mandel a drink, which she said was the first drink she consumed that night. Shortly afterwards, Mandel said things became “hazy,” and she later came to believe that the drink had been intentionally drugged.
The complaint then alleges that under the ruse of attending a party, the twins invited Mandel to go with them to a friend’s apartment. However, when they arrived, all was quiet and no one was at the apartment.
“Plaintiff was frustrated and upset over having been misled,” the complaint states. “She voiced her discontent and attempted to leave, but defendants assured her that they would just hang out for a little bit. Plaintiff regretfully obliged and entered the apartment.”
Shortly thereafter, the complaint alleges that both twins “sexually abused, assaulted, pinned groped, harassed, battered and fondled” Mandel, and would switch off between holding Mandel down while raping her.
The complaint from Whiteman describes how she first met the twins around 2008 and would often see them around New York City. It alleges that Oren would frequently text Whiteman and try to get her to go out with him and Alon would sometimes pretend to be his brother and also call or text Whiteman to try and entice her on Oren’s behalf. The complaint said Whiteman would always decline.
Around Memorial Day weekend in 2012, the twins learned that Whiteman would be going to the Hamptons for the holiday weekend. Around Saturday, May 26, 2012, Whiteman went to Dune Night Club with some friends, the complaint states, and as she was leaving the club, Alon appeared and forcefully led Whiteman to an SUV where Oren was waiting inside.
Allegedly, the driver of the vehicle sped off and the twins would not tell Whiteman where they were headed.
Ultimately, the group arrived to a remote estate that Whiteman later discovered was “Sir Ivan’s Castle,” a home owned by recording artist Ivan Wilzig (who is also known as “Sir Ivan”) that was often used to host large parties. Wilzig was named in the complaint with the allegation of negligence.
Once at the house, Whiteman was forced through the garage by the twins. When she tried to escape through the house via a staircase, a security bouncer allegedly forced her back into the garage. There, the complaint states, the twins forced her to strip and change into a sarong while her phone and other belongings were locked up into a locker by Oren. Afterwards, the twins led Whiteman upstairs into a bedroom where they allegedly “sexually assaulted, abused, raped, pinned, groped, harassed, battered and fondled,” her.
The complaint states that Whiteman was so distressed after the incident, that she stayed in bed “for months” and “very rarely left her home” while grappling with depression, anxiety and fear for her safety. Whiteman also allegely continues to have nightmares as a result, and “has had many issues in resuming everyday life.”
The defendants in both cases have until August 19 to respond.
The Alexander brothers grew up in a real estate family under their father, Shlomy Alexander, who is a spec home developer. Oren and Tal have represented major deals in recent years, including the sale of the $238 million penthouse at 220 Central Park South to Ken Griffin in 2019.
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