Watch CBS News

Alexander brothers sentenced to 30 years in prison for sex trafficking

The Alexander brothers were each sentenced Tuesday to 30 years in federal prison for sex trafficking, after the trio was convicted of drugging and raping dozens of women over more than a decade.

Federal prosecutors had accused Alon and Oren Alexander, 39, and their brother, Tal Alexander, 40, of exploiting their wealth, power and social status to lure and sexually assault women, including, they alleged, two teenagers. 

Their sentences also include 10 years of supervised release.

"Today's sentence makes clear that this craven, sinister conduct is extraordinarily serious and will be met with serious punishment," U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald said in a statement Tuesday. "Our Office is proud to seek justice on behalf of victims, and we are deeply grateful to the brave victims in this case who came forward to ensure that the defendants can no longer harm others."

Some women provided victim impact statements in the New York City courtroom where the sentences came down. New York was one of several locations where victims said they were assaulted by the Alexander brothers, who lived in Miami. The sentencing hearing lasted about six hours.

As they spoke of the "life sentence" of trauma and pain they say they're facing, some of the women cried and addressed the brothers as they gave their statements.

"I never imagined my first time to the Hamptons would become a nightmare," said Bela Koval. "What looked like a beautiful place became a mansion of horror, a place full of dark secrets."

Lindsey Acree said she decided not to read her written statement. 

She addressed Oren, saying: "Why? For you? Because you did some really messed up stuff. I don't think, a life sentence doesn't even begin to cover it."

Acree spoke emotionally about her 8-year-old daughter and said she will do whatever it takes so her child doesn't live in a world where people are as "demented as you guys are."

"I'm going to walk out of this room and I hope something I did makes a difference," Acree said. The victims in the courtroom clapped as she walked out.

A woman using the pseudonym Isa Brooks — who said she was raped by Tal, Alon and their friends at 16 years old — recalled how "their eyes went black as though I was being mauled by animals." 

"The reverberations of this have lasted half my life," Brooks said. "It radically altered the trajectory of my life." 

Katie Moore described the brothers as "hardened criminals with no remorse." She said Alon and Tal had carried on a casual conversation as Alon raped her. 

"They can't even show respect for myself and these women by looking us in the eye as we speak today," Moore said while looking at the brothers. "We are not disposable. And they are not untouchable."

The women and prosecutors asked U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni to impose maximum sentences on each of the brothers, while defense lawyers asked for the minimum of 15 years. 

Caproni described the conduct of the brothers as "monstrous."

"The witnesses credibly described sadistic, misogynistic sexual predators," Caproni said. 

She also noted that the evidence was "overwhelming that they administered drugs surreptitiously."

Caproni also indicated it was unclear if the brothers should be imprisoned together, saying she did "not have the adequate expertise to conclude they should not be incarcerated together."

Before their arrests in December 2024, Alon and Oren had risen to prominence by way of their real estate business, earning the nickname "The A Team" while brokering luxury properties in New York, Los Angeles and Miami. Tal held an executive role at their family's private security firm after graduating from law school.

Jurors convicted the brothers in March of all 10 criminal counts that had been brought against them, including conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and multiple charges of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion. The brothers had pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Prosecutors said in a court filing that the trio raped or sexually assaulted at least 70 women, calling them "serial rapists" who used their influence as real estate scions and proximity to celebrities to take advantage of their victims, in a pattern that began as early as 2001 or 2002, when they were still in high school. According to an indictment, the brothers drugged the women whom they targeted and abused them once they were incapacitated, sometimes taking photos during the assaults. 

During their trial, the brothers' attorneys argued that the encounters were consensual, saying the three men's "obnoxious" or inappropriate banter "doesn't constitute a crime." 

But U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement at the time that the Alexander brothers' crimes "are all too prevalent in our society and all too often go unreported and unpunished," adding: "The truth is sex trafficking and other federal sex offenses are present in many walks of life and we have not done enough to root it out."

In their statements Tuesday, each of the brothers denied the allegations against them.

"My brothers and I have never drugged and raped anyone or conspired to harm," Oren told the court, adding that he had reflected on his own "stupidity" in prison and that he was "ashamed of how I behaved."

Said Alon: "I'm not a perfect man, but I'm innocent of these charges. I've never raped or trafficked anyone."

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue