Alexander twins charged with sex crimes face delay in bond review
MIAMI - Attorneys for two of the three Alexander brothers named in a federal indictment that charged the siblings in a longtime sex trafficking scheme were back in court on Monday.
Lawyers for twin brothers Oren and Alon Alexander appeared before Judge Lody Jean who will determine if they will be released on bail before their state trial begins.
On Friday, bail amounts and conditions for their release were proposed.
Proposed conditions Alon Alexander's release included a $2 million bond, secured by his father's home, and a $25,000 corporate surety bond. He will be confined to house arrest with a GPS monitor and has to stay away from his alleged victims.
As for Oren Alexander, it was a proposed bond of $3 million, secured by his father's home, and a corporate surety $25,000 bond. He will also be on house arrest with GPS monitoring and must stay away from his alleged victims.
The brothers' attorney Joel Denaro told the judge on Monday that they had put together a bond agreement on Friday but found out that the proper paperwork finalizing the bond agreement somehow didn't make it to the right people in the county jail. So this will delay their release.
The judge said the details of the house arrest may be more of a hurdle than anything else. She said she doesn't know what is going to happen in federal court where the brothers also face charges and will also be seeking bond.
The judge said that even if a bond is granted, the house arrest GPS monitor will not be fitted unless the defendant is fully bonded out from all jurisdictions holding them, whether it's a state charge or a federal charge. So she wants to see what happens in federal court before they put any funds in state court charges.
"My suggestion is don't do that. You may just lose your money," Judge Jean told Denaro. "In federal court, you may not have the government agreeing to a bond over there."
The judge said the state charges are very different than the federal charges and she expects it will be a lot harder to get bond in federal court.
The twins' older brother, Tal Alexander who facing the same charges, was not granted bond during his federal hearing on Friday. Denaro told the judge on Monday that they had filed a motion to reconsider that decision.
Denaro then asked the judge if the current matter could be reset to Thursday and she agreed.
Oren and Tal Alexander are prominent luxury real estate brokers in Miami and New York. Alon Alexander runs the family's private security company. Oren and Alon Alexander, both 37, are twins.
Who are the Alexander brothers?
Tal, Oren and Alon Alexander were indicted on federal sex trafficking charges in New York.
Officials from the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced the charges during a Wednesday afternoon news conference. Authorities have accused the brothers of running a sex trafficking scheme and allegedly assaulting dozens of women between 2010 and 2021, dating back to when the men were in high school in some of those cases.
Oren and Tal Alexander are the founders of the luxury real estate firm Official, which has offices in Manhattan and Miami Beach. Alon, Oren's twin, worked at the family's private security firm, authorities said.
Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said the brothers arranged domestic and international trips where they carried out the alleged crimes and recruited women by providing things like travel, luxury accommodations and access to exclusive events. He said they met their alleged victims in person, over social media and on dating apps.
The brothers and other men would then give the women drugs, including cocaine, mushrooms and GHB, which allegedly "caused some of the women to be physically unable to fight back or to escape," Williams said. He added the brothers also carried out other alleged attacks "by chance," at bars, clubs and social events.
The brothers were arrested in Miami Beach and face separate state felony charges along with their cousin, Ohad Fisherman, who has not yet been arrested. The Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office and Miami Beach Police held a joint conference on Wednesday on the multistate investigation.
Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle discussed three separate incidents with three different victims that occurred in December 2016, October 2017 and October 2021.
In the first incident, a victim said Alon Alexander invited her to attend a barbecue at his Miami Beach apartment along with Oren Alexander and Fisherman. The victim said she was raped by the twin brothers, who were "arguing about who was going to rape her first," Rundle said.
In the second incident, Oren Alexander invited another victim to his apartment, gave her a glass of wine and directed her toward the bedroom. At this moment, the victim said that she began to feel like "she was no longer in control of her own body" and that Oren Alexander raped her while she felt she couldn't move or speak, Rundle said.
Rundle said in the third incident, Oren Alexander raped another victim after inviting her and several friends to his house.
Williams said the brothers are expected to be taken to New York to face the sex trafficking.