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In the most recent development in allegations of sexual assault and rape against luxury brokers Tal and Oren Alexander, new reports claim that executives at their long-time firm, Douglas Elliman, and their most recent white-label partner, Side, knew about allegations of sexual misconduct while the brothers were associated with the firms.
Individuals familiar with the matter who spoke with The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal alleged that Oren had warned at least one senior executive at Douglas Elliman that he might be publicly accused of sexual assault. The executive reportedly dismissed the conversation at the time and did not think about it further.
“The recent lawsuits and press reports concerning the Alexanders are shocking and disturbing, and Douglas Elliman expresses the utmost sympathy for anyone who may have been a victim of sexual assault by them,” a representative for Douglas Elliman said in a statement emailed to Inman.
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Three former members of Tal and Oren’s real estate team at Douglas Elliman told The WSJ that Oren would frequently boast about his sex life and show off pictures of him and his brothers — including security executive Alon Alexander who has also been accused of sexual assault and rape — with naked women.
Tracy Tutor of Million Dollar Listing LA fame also came forward to The New York Times and alleged that she had been drugged by Oren Alexander at a party in 2014.
“I am still struggling to remember the details,” Tutor said, claiming that after sharing a drink with Oren, she blacked out. “Staying silent for so long has been damaging on so many levels, and remembering now what happened feels debilitating.”
Another Douglas Elliman agent said he found Tutor that evening in a bathroom with Oren and removed her from the room. The agent did not disclose his name out of fear of retaliation. He said he informed a top executive at the firm about the incident at the time but did not file a formal complaint.
Barbara Wagner, a public relations executive who worked with Douglas Elliman for more than 16 years, also came forward to The Times to confirm that allegations against the Alexanders had been floating around the firm for a long time. Wagner now runs her own firm and is not affiliated with Douglas Elliman.
“These allegations were so widespread that they were common knowledge in the residential real estate industry for more than a decade,” Wagner said.
Top Douglas Elliman agent Jessica Cohen also reported being hospitalized after a party spent with all three Alexander brothers in 2010, although exactly what transpired is unclear. Time-stamped photos sent to The NYT show Cohen spending time with the brothers throughout the evening. A medical report shows that a bystander found her alone in the street that night and called 911. Later, she woke up at Manhattan’s Mount Sinai West Hospital; her vomit-covered clothes had been taken off her.
In trying to piece together what happened that night, Cohen said she talked it over with other Douglas Elliman colleagues, including former CEO Dottie Herman. Douglas Elliman said Herman had no recollection of the conversation.
Then in 2012, Cohen also recalled that evening in confidence to Douglas Elliman Inc. President and CEO Howard Lorber over a game of chess, telling the exec she believed she may have been drugged by Tal and Oren. She asked Lorber to keep the incident a secret, out of fear of the consequences if it went public.
“I was terrified,” Cohen told The NYT. “I was afraid they would hurt me.”
A Douglas Elliman representative said that no formal complaint was ever issued and that Lorber wanted to respect Cohen’s wishes regarding confidentiality.
“Douglas Elliman is committed to fostering a workplace environment that is safe, comfortable and free of sexual assault or harassment,” the firm said in a statement sent to Inman. “As to Oren and Tal Alexander, the Company never received any complaints of sexual assault or harassment, nor was management aware of any such claims. Had any such complaints been received, those complaints would have been thoroughly investigated consistent with our policies and procedures, as has been the case with complaints made from time to time against others at the Company over the years.
“Over at least a decade ago, a broker told a senior executive about having blacked out at a social event,” the statement continues. “She said that she did not know what, if anything, happened, she did not specify who may have been involved, and she insisted on absolute confidentiality. Douglas Elliman respected her wishes, and she has been a valued colleague at the company since then. Another senior executive who the broker says she separately spoke to has no recollection of speaking with the broker about this subject.”
The NYT report states that on at least two separate occasions before Tal and Oren signed on to launch Official with white-label firm Side, different brokers raised concerns to Side’s leadership. A statement sent to Inman from Side, however, suggests that such conversations could not have taken place, since the firm upholds a policy of confidentiality prior to launching new partnerships.
“Side does not share information about partnerships with outside agents prior to the actual launch of the new company, so it is not possible that agents from other brokerages could have informed anyone at Side about these allegations before the launch of the firm,” an emailed statement from Side said. “The first time we heard about the allegations was a day before they were published. We never would have moved forward with or maintained a partnership had we been aware.”
Brian Meier, who was with Douglas Elliman for over a decade and is now affiliated with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, said that at a dinner he was invited to with Side executives, he was specifically asked what he knew about sexual assault allegations against the brothers. Meier reported much of what others have also said as the investigation has continued — that their reputation for sexual assault had been an open secret in the industry for years. He also said that it was known throughout the firm that Lorber was aware of at least one such case.
“Side knew about this stuff and still went forward with them,” Meier told The Times.
A New York-based female broker who wished to remain anonymous also told The NYT that she told then-Side executive Meredith Moore she would not work with the company if it partnered with the Alexanders.
Moore then passed those concerns along to CEO Guy Gal but received little reaction. Moore was included in a series of Side layoffs a few weeks later.
“I passed along the message, but there did not seem to be a sense of urgency,” Moore said. “He did not bring it up again.”
The revelations about the Alexander brothers’ former brokerage firms having some knowledge about their problematic history with women comes a few weeks after news broke that the brothers have become the target of an FBI probe. Dozens of women have now made public their alleged encounters with the Alexanders, recounting stories of being drugged, sexually assaulted and/or raped by them, sometimes in coordinated attacks.
There are currently two active lawsuits against Oren and Alon, and one against Oren, Alon and Tal. The incidents referenced in the lawsuits date back to 2010 and 2012.
Tal and Oren both stepped down from their positions as co-founders at Official last month.
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