MIAMI (AP) — A federal judge ordered that a prominent real estate broker be held without bond Friday on sexual assault and trafficking charges , saying he is a flight risk as she rejected his family's pledge of $115 million in real estate holdings to secure his release. Magistrate Judge Lisette Reid's ruling likely means that Tal Alexander's brothers, twins Oren and Alon Alexander, will also be denied bail when they appear in Miami's federal court next week as the proposed security package would have covered all three. Earlier Friday, a Florida judge had granted Oren a $3 million bond and his twin $2 million on state charges stemming from the same investigation but they were ordered held pending their own federal hearing.
Reid agreed with the prosecution's argument that Tal Alexander, because of the family's wealth, would be a flight risk if released even if he was placed under house arrest and wore a GPS monitor, saying those provisions have “proven not to be foolproof” in other cases. Federal prosecutor Lauren Astigarraga had argued that if Alexander, who is Jewish, fled to his parents' homeland of Israel on a private jet, it would prove difficult to impossible to extradite him back to the United States. The 38-year-old is facing a likely life sentence if convicted on all counts.
Astigarraga also argued that the seriousness of the charges against Alexander shows that he is a danger to the community and that he could try to intimidate the victims who might testify agai.
