Alexander Brothers' Alleged Media Manipulation Sparks Outrage
The Alexander brothers allegedly paid independent journalists for writing favorable coverage of their sex-trafficking trial – claims those writers have denied – as the wealthy trio sought to beat the federal charges before they were convicted and sentenced.Tal Alexander, 40, and his 39-year-old twin brothers, Oren and Alon Alexander, were convicted in March of conspiracy to commit sex crimes, including with minors. They each were sentenced on Oct. 27 to 30 years in prison.The jet-setting trio was found guilty of working together and with others to engage in sex trafficking, including by repeatedly drugging, sexually assaulting, and raping numerous female victims.Now, the brothers face civil litigation from women who say they were victims.Oren Alexander, second left, and Alon Alexander, second right, attend a bond hearing in Miami on Dec. 13, 2024. Bloomberg via Getty ImagesBut two independent journalists who covered the proceedings also are facing accusations.Daniel Mael is one of two writers accused in a New York Times piece of accepting payment to portray the trio of brothers in a positive way.But that’s not true, Mael said in a phone call with Fox News Digital. He simply wrote about his own conclusions, he said.Mael rejected claims from the New York Times report that he was paid $15,000 for writing “sympathetic posts” about the brothers during their trial. In the report, publisher Frank Parlato was said to have been paid $10,000 for similar writings.Mael declined to discuss the details of his financial agreement with the Alexanders’ publicist, Juda Engelmayer.Engelmayer “offered to help subsidize part of the cost of covering the case, and I accepted,” Mael wrote in a statement on X on Nov. 5.“No one requested favorable coverage, no one dictated a single word, and no one exercised the slightest editorial influence over my reporting.”Parlato also declined to discuss whether he was paid for his writing.In an email to Fox News Digital, he maintained his coverage was independent.“I have never spoken to the Alexander brothers,” Parlato wrote. “Nobody tells me what to write. Nobody sees my stories before publication.“I wrote about the brothers from court records, before trial, when they were presumed innocent. I write what I believe is true.”“By the time the Alexander brothers went to trial, they had already been convicted in the court of public opinion,” Engelmayer told Fox News Digital in an email. “The coverage was extensive, overwhelmingly negative, and largely driven by the allegations against them. There was very little interest in examining anything that might challenge the prevailing narrative.”Brothers Oren, Tal, and Alon Alexander listen as their lawyers argue for a lesser sentence in a New York courtroom on Oct. 27, 2026. REUTERSTo make sure the defense’s perspective “was at least heard,” he contacted independent journalists who might be willing to cover the trial, he said. He sought those who would ask “the questions that weren’t being asked elsewhere.”Mael published frequent trial updates on his Substack. And sometimes, he presented evidence that weakened the defense’s case.A text from Alon Alexander referencing how he “took down a 17 year old,” was “perhaps the most damning piece of evidence,” Mael wrote in a recap of the trial’s eighth day.He bristled at the New York Times’ suggestion that he covered the trial with a bias against witnesses for the prosecution.“I never ever criticized the motives of the women on the stand,” he said. “Ever.”Mael asserted that his writing was independent and accurate, even though it was supported financially by Engelmayer.Parlato’s online platform, The Frank Report, published articles suggesting the Alexanders’ innocence in July and August 2025.One of the published pieces, “What If Everything You’ve Been Told About the Alexander Brothers Case Is Wrong? And Other Matters,” was written by Engelmayer.Brothers on trialThe Alexander brothers grew up in a wealthy Miami family.Oren and Tal were star real-estate agents who sold palatial homes to celebrities and the ultra-wealthy in New York, Miami, Aspen, and beyond.Alon worked as an executive at the family’s Miami-based private security company, Kent Security.Oren Alexander, left, Tal Alexander and Alon Alexander attend the Chanukah With The Stars Gala at Harmonie Club in New York on Dec. 10, 2014. They were all sentenced to 30 years in prison. Patrick McMullan via Getty ImagesTheir lifestyle put them on private jets and superyachts, and at exclusive parties. And they used that world as a hunting ground, prosecutors said.The brothers, who resided primarily in New York and Miami, Florida, used their “wealth and prominence to create and facilitate opportunities to sexually assault women,” according to the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.For years, they identified women through dating apps, clubs, parties, and promoters, then lured them with trips, luxury accommodations, and access to powerful people and Hollywood celebrities.Once the women were isolated, the brothers drugged them and sexually assaulted them—sometimes together or with other men.Alon, Oren, and Tal Alexander were all found guilty of sex trafficking. REUTERSIn some cases, they recorded the attacks.Eleven women testified at their trial. Prosecutors said more than 70 women came forward with similar accounts.With the criminal proceedings finalized, three women are pursuing civil cases against the trio of brothers.Lexi Zettle, one of the victims, speaks to the media outside Manhattan federal court on Oct. 27, 2026. AP Photo/Yuki IwamuraAt sentencing in their criminal trial, the brothers denied drugging, raping or trafficking anyone. But they did express regret over their past behavior.Prosecutors sought life in prison. The defense had asked for the 15-year minimum sentence.Judge Valerie Caproni also imposed 10 years of supervised release on each brother, with fines of $300,000 for Alon and Oren and $350,000 for Tal.The Alexanders’ attorney did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
