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In the latest development in the sexual assault and rape allegations against luxury brokers Tal and Oren Alexander, new reports claim that executives at their longtime firm, Douglas Elliman, and its most recent white label partner, Side, knew about the brothers while they were working at the company Sexual misconduct occurred.
Interviewed insiders New York Times and wall street journal Oren allegedly warned at least one top executive at Douglas Elliman that he could be publicly accused of sexual assault. The executive reportedly dismissed the conversation at the time and did not consider it further.
“The recent lawsuits and media coverage regarding the Alexanders are shocking and disturbing, and Douglas Elliman expresses our utmost sympathy to anyone who may have been a victim of sexual assault by the Alexanders,” a rep for Douglas Elliman said in a statement. said in an emailed statement to Inman.
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Three former members of Tal and Oren’s real estate team at Douglas Elliman tell us wall street journal Oren frequently bragged about his sex life and showed photos of him and his brothers – including security chief Aaron Alexander, who has also been accused of sexual assault and rape – with naked women.
Trish’s mentor Los Angeles Million Dollar Listing Fame also comes with it New York Times and claims she was drugged by Oren Alexander at a party in 2014.
“I still have a hard time remembering details,” said Tutt, who claimed she blacked out after sharing a drink with Oren. “To remain silent for so long was damaging on so many levels, and it’s debilitating to think about what happened now.”
Another agent at Douglas Elliman said he found Tutt in the bathroom with Oren that night and took her out of the room. The agent did not give his name for fear of retaliation. He said he informed a senior executive at the company of the incident but did not make a formal complaint.
Public relations director Barbara Wagner, who has worked with Douglas Elliman for more than 16 years, also came forward. era Confirmation of the allegations against the Alexander family has been circulating within the company for a long time. Wagner now runs his own company and is not affiliated with Douglas Elliman.
“These allegations are so pervasive that they have been known to the residential real estate industry for over a decade,” Wagner said.
Douglas Elliman’s top agent, Jessica Cohen, also reported being hospitalized in 2010 after attending a party with the three Alexander brothers, but what exactly happened is unclear. Send timestamped photos to New York Times Cohen is shown spending an entire evening with his brothers. That night, a bystander spotted her alone on the street and called 911, according to a medical report. Her vomit-stained clothes were removed.
Cohen said she held discussions with other colleagues at Douglas Elliman, including former CEO Dottie Herman, as she tried to piece together what happened that night. Douglas Elliman said Herman did not remember the conversation.
In 2012, Cohen also recalled playing chess that night with Howard Lorber, president and CEO of Douglas Elliman Inc., telling the executive that she believed He may have been drugged by Tal and Oren. She asked Lorber to keep the matter secret for fear of the consequences if it became public.
“I was scared,” Cohen told New York Times. “I was afraid they were going to hurt me.”
A Douglas Elliman representative said a formal complaint was never issued and Lorber wanted to respect Cohen’s wishes for confidentiality.
“Douglas Elliman is committed to creating a safe, comfortable work environment free of sexual assault or harassment,” the company said in a statement to Inman. “As for Oren and Tal Alexander, the company has never received Any complaints of sexual assault or harassment and management is not aware of any such allegation. If any such complaints are received, they will be thoroughly investigated in accordance with our policies and procedures, as has been the case with other companies at the company from time to time. Complaints filed by staff are the same.
“At least a decade ago, an agent told a senior executive that he had passed out at a social event,” the statement continued. “She said she had no idea what, if anything, happened, she did not specify who might have been involved, and she insisted on absolute confidentiality. Douglas Elliman respected her wishes, and she has been with the company ever since key colleague. The agent said she had spoken to another executive separately, but she did not recall discussing the topic with her agent.
New York Times The report notes that before Tal and Oren signed with white-label company Side to launch, concerns were raised with Side’s leadership by different agents on at least two separate occasions. However, a statement Side sent to Inman indicates that such a conversation is unlikely to occur because the company adheres to a policy of confidentiality before entering into a new partnership.
“Side does not share information about the partnership with outside agents until the new company is actually formed, so it is unlikely that agents from other brokerages would have informed anyone at Side of these allegations before the company was formed,” an email said. Side’s statement said. “We first heard of these allegations the day before they were published. Had we become aware, we would never have moved forward or maintained the partnership.
Brian Meier has been with Douglas Elliman for more than a decade and is now part of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. As the investigation continued, Meyer reported much of what others had also said — that their reputations for sexual assault had been an open secret in the industry for years. He also said the entire company knew Lorber was aware of at least one such case.
“Said knew about these things but continued to cooperate with them,” Meier told era.
A New York female agent who asked not to be named also told us New York Times She told then-Side executive Meredith Moore that she would not work with the company if it partnered with the Alexander family.
Moore later conveyed these concerns to CEO Guy Gal, but received no response. A few weeks later, Moore was included in a series of layoffs at Side.
“I got the message across, but there seemed to be no sense of urgency,” Moore said. “He didn’t mention it again.”
The revelation that the Alexander brothers’ former agency knew something about their history of problems with women comes weeks after news broke that the Alexander brothers had become targets of an FBI investigation. Now, dozens of women are speaking out about their alleged encounters with the Alexanders, telling stories of being drugged, sexually assaulted and/or raped by them, sometimes in coordinated attacks.
There are currently two lawsuits pending against Oren and Alon, and one lawsuit against Oren, Alon, and Tal. The incidents cited in the lawsuit date to 2010 and 2012.
Tal and Oren both stepped down as official co-founders last month.
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Email Lillian Dixon