One of the three millionaire realtor brothers facing sexual assault allegations has temporarily stepped down from the billion-dollar brokerage firm he co-owns to “clear his name” following a new lawsuit that alleges he raped a woman.
“Given the salacious nature of this false allegation and impact on OFFICIAL, Tal and his partners have decided he will take a leave from the company to focus fully on clearing his name,” one of Tal Alexander’s lawyers, Deanna Paul, said in a statement to The Daily Beast on Tuesday.
The statement added that Alexander is “eager for the case to be heard in federal court as soon as possible and rejoin the OFFICIAL team in short order.”
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Tal Alexander and his brothers, twins Oren and Alon, are heirs to a real-estate dynasty led by their father. Tal and Oren went on to found Official, a massive real estate firm which has gone viral for closing huge deals, while Alon works as an executive at a private security firm.
Official is known for selling some of the highest dollar properties around the country.
But Oren and Alon are now facing myriad lawsuits from women alleging they sexually assaulted them in tandem, and lawyers handling those suits claim that 30 more accusers have since contacted them with similar allegations.
A new lawsuit filed by a woman named Angelica Parker on June 18 was the first to name all three brothers, and the first to make allegations against Tal. She alleged that Alon and Tal engaged in a “group sexual assault” organized by Oren in 2012.
Parker alleged in her lawsuit that Oren and Alon offered her and her friend ecstasy, to which they declined, one night in 2012. Parker’s friend then left the apartment after being allegedly groped and hit on by Alon, the suit said, but Parker stayed. She alleged she was then raped by Tal and Alon “despite her very clear verbal protests.”
On another occasion years later, the lawsuit alleged, Tal “barged in” on Parker while she was alone in a room and attempted to rape her. Parker allegedly thwarted his attempt by screaming.
The lawsuit further alleged that Parker interacted with the brothers on various occasions following her rape due to their overlap in friend groups. The brothers allegedly dubbed her the “king’s rat” to their friends.
“I have little doubt that given my close relationship with my brothers, at some juncture, a lawyer or many lawyers will soon try to lump me in with the allegations against Alon and Oren,” Tal reportedly wrote in an email to colleagues on June 16 right before Parker filed her lawsuit, as previously reported by The Daily Beast.
Oren previously wrote in a since deleted Instagram post that he was “confident that through review of the extensive evidence, including text messages and other communications, that the truth will be brought to light.”
Alon’s lawyer, Isabelle Kirshner, previosly told the Wall Street Journal “our preliminary investigation of the claims has uncovered clear and irrefutable evidence that vindicates the Alexanders, which we look forward to presenting in court.”
Editor’s note: The headline on this article has been changed to reflect that Alexander plans to take a temporary leave of absence.