Several of the alleged victims will be allowed to testify under pseudonyms at the trial, Judge Valerie Caproni of the Southern District of New York ruled during a hearing on Thursday.
The women include accusers tapped by prosecutors to share their experiences with one or more of the brothers, who are charged with charges including sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking. Former top brokers Tal and Oren Alexander were arrested in Miami last December along with their brother Alon.
During the hearing, Caproni sided with prosecutors, who asked the court to protect the identities of seventeen alleged victims whose names have not yet been made public in a lawsuit filed against one or more of the brothers.
Oren’s attorney, Marc Agnifilo, opposed the use of pseudonyms, arguing that introducing too many false names would confuse jurors and other witnesses, and prevent those outside the courtroom from bringing forward potentially important information about the alleged victims that could help the defense.
“What the government is asking for here is truly unprecedented,” Agnifilo said.
Agnifilo referred to a saying among toxicologists: “the dose makes the poison.” He added: “The dose here is huge.”
Although Caproni largely agreed with the government’s position, her decision came with some caveats. Women with common names will take their stand with their real first name and a pseudonymous last name, while women who were minors at the time of the alleged attacks and women with easily recognizable first names will be allowed to use a pseudonym for both their first and last names.
Although their identities will be shielded from the public, the brothers’ attorneys know the real names of the alleged victims. The court will also inform the jury and all those present at the trial that the alleged victims called to the stand are testifying under assumed names.
Agnifilo said the defense would prefer that the victims use only their real first names if the court is inclined to grant prosecutors’ request. But Caproni rejected his appeal, arguing that it would be “degrading and infantilizing” to call alleged rape victims by their first names while other witnesses are called by their surnames.
All three Alexanders have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
“This case is framed by the government as a sex trafficking prosecution, despite the lack of evidence of force or coercion, and the defense contends that the government’s theory relies on recharacterization of consensual conduct as criminal activity,” a spokesperson for the brothers wrote in a statement. “These issues, the defense expects, will be tested at trial.”
It’s unclear how many alleged victims prosecutors plan to introduce at trial, but based on discussions in court, it appears they are working with more than 20. The latest version of the indictment, filed last month, listed seven victims in connection with substantive charges, while prosecutors named another 17 alleged victims in connection with the conspiracy charge during a hearing shortly afterward.
Caproni previously said that while she will not limit the number of victims prosecutors can call before trial, she will not allow the entire roster to testify in support of the conspiracy.
At another hearing last week, Caproni agreed to postpone the trial from January 5 to January 26. By the time the proceedings begin next year, the Alexander brothers, who are being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, will have been in custody for more than a year.
Not so fast…
Could 2026 be the year that interest rates lose their reputation as the bogeyman of residential real estate?
Earlier this week, the Federal Reserve voted to cut interest rates by a quarter point, which was the third step this year. While the central bank’s decision is not directly tied to the federal funds rate, it often influences fluctuations in mortgage rates, which have remained high in recent years.
Although mortgage rates have fallen in anticipation of the Fed’s announcement, they are still above 6 percent, significantly higher than the historically low rates many homeowners have achieved during the pandemic. That discrepancy created a “lock-in” effect, where owners who may have already sold their homes are left holding on to their mortgages.
If the past year is any indication, it looks like mortgage rates will hover around 6 percent for the foreseeable future. It’s likely that time will outweigh favorable interest rates for many sellers, so in the absence of drastic macroeconomic changes, we can finally put the interest rate whining to bed.
NYC deal of the week
The most expensive deal to hit the market this week was an apartment at Extell Development’s 50 West 66th Street. The apartment was traded for $22.7 million, or $6,700 per square foot, to an anonymous entity known as Little Tiger Love. Unit 43N spans 3,400 square feet and has four bedrooms and four bathrooms.
Douglas Elliman’s Janice Chang and Timothy Hsu were on the list.
Read more
Federal Judge Dismisses Alexander’s Sex Trafficking Trial
Prosecutors add minor charges to Alexander Bros. sex trafficking case
The Alexanders prepare for a trial
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