The Alexander brothers appear to have settled into life at the New York City federal detention center where they have been held since early 2025.
In fact, they have asked to remain there.
All three were sentenced last week to 30 years in federal prison after a jury found them guilty in March of sex-trafficking offenses. Prosecutors said the brothers drugged and raped women as part of a scheme spanning more than a decade. The men continue to deny any wrongdoing.
Following sentencing, inmates are typically transferred from facilities such as the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), which primarily houses people awaiting trial or sentencing, to longer-term federal prisons.
However, in an October 30 court filing, attorneys for twins Oren and Alon, 39, and their older brother Tal, 40, asked the judge to let them stay at MDC while their appeals proceed—a process that could last years. The judge had already rejected the request during their October 27 sentencing.
Defense attorney Deanna Paul urged the judge to reconsider, pointing to what she called “unique circumstances.” She argued that many of the appeals issues are shared by all three brothers and that their legal teams need to meet with them collectively.
Judge Valerie Caproni rejected the request again on November 2, saying the brothers would have 60 to 90 days before their transfer. She told the attorney bluntly to “make efficient use of the time.”
Yet sources familiar with the brothers’ lives at MDC have described their conditions and treatment to the Daily Mail, suggesting they may have additional reasons for wanting to remain there.
Oren Alexander, 37, (in red) and his twin brother (in green), Alon, were sentenced to 30 years in prison along with their older brother, Tal
The brothers have drawn strength from their Jewish faith behind bars. They are pictured here in Israel wearing tefillin, traditionally worn during prayer by more conservative and Orthodox Jews
Rabbi Chaim Pollack, a prison chaplain who visits the siblings every other day, said they have formed friendships with about 30 other Jewish inmates, who eat and pray together.
“It is a community and they all look out for each other. They have Shabbos [the Jewish Sabbath] meals together and go to services. There is a very tight bond,” Pollack said.
The group meets twice each week for services in the prison chapel.
“Usually on Sundays there are religious services, with a rabbi coming in, and Thursdays also,” Pollack said. “All the Jews get together. It’s like a two-hour service.”
Pollack was introduced to the brothers by Oren’s cellmate, David Motovich, a convicted fraudster who operated a multimillion-dollar check-cashing scheme.
“I am usually in MDC from 9am to 3.30pm. I usually see a whole slew of people. Sometimes, I see the brothers exclusively. I usually see them every other day,” Pollack said.
“Some days it is just an hour, but other times it has been more than four hours. It depends on what needs to be done.”
Pollack, who also assists the brothers with legal guidance, added: “Sometimes we need to type up an email that needs to be sent out later. You cannot use the internet inside the visiting room, so the only thing I can do is prepare material to send out later. We prepare and research, and that takes time. I work together with them.”
Happier times: The family pictured on vacation in 2022. From front left: mother Orly, Alon and his wife, Shani, Arielle Alexander and her ex Tal, Oren and his wife Kamila, and father Shlomy
The brothers apologized at sentencing for leading philandering, debauched lifestyles but denied drugging or raping anyone. A court-released photo shows the three brothers partying on a boat with one alleged victim redacted
Pollack said that as well as helping them spiritually and legally, he also tries to make their stays as comfortable as possible.
He has arranged for the prison vending machine to be stocked with kosher food, for example.
‘Sometimes we have kosher food, fresh vegetables, fresh fruit, sometimes bagels and lox,’ he said. ‘Non-Jews have burgers and pizza. Why can’t you have kosher?’
For Hanukkah, Pollack arranged latkes, apple sauce, sour cream and donuts. ‘There is no reason to suffer more than you have to,’ he said.
The brothers also worry that leaving MDC means they will be split up.
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Judge Caproni has recommended they be sent to separate facilities to serve their sentences because their crimes show they are a ‘bad influence’ on one another (several of their victims alleged they were raped by multiple brothers at the same time).
But Pollack warned they could be vulnerable if moved to different prisons because of their wealth and status, saying wealthy inmates are seen as opportunities for money or commissary goods.
‘And you have to understand [at MDC] they have the Jewish community within the prison, [it] is very tight together. One looks out for the other. They only have each other.’
Pollack said they had increasingly been leaning on each other and their Jewish friends for protection after two of the brothers were attacked.
The Daily Mail understands that Alon and Tal had been working on computers in the library ahead of their sentencing when another inmate rushed into the area.
The inmate, who has harassed them before, was tackled by an officer and sprayed with pepper spray before he could reach them. The incident left both brothers shaken and more aware of their surroundings.
Juda Engelmayer, the Alexander family’s PR strategist who speaks regularly with the siblings, said, there was concern within the family about where they will end up.
‘We don’t know what will happen when they get moved,’ he said. He said MDC is convenient for the legal and appeal teams in New York and gives the brothers more time together. ‘I think it’s just better circumstances for them right now.’
Another benefit of being in Brooklyn is that the brothers’ families can make regular trips from Miami to visit – and MDC appears lenient with timings and physical contact
Alon Alexander with his wife Shani Zigron, who is standing by him despite his conviction
As is Oren’s wife, Kamila Alexander. She was instructed, along with their parents, to stay away from the brothers’ sentencing to spare them ‘heartache’
‘The family more or less try to make it every Friday,’ Pollack said.
‘They let you hug the kids. Maybe this is not for a rabbi to say, but they let them kiss the wives, you know? They can comfort each other. And they get over an hour, it’s a good amount.’
He said the prison had also been accommodating about timing for Jewish visitors who observe Shabbat, which begins at sundown on Friday.
‘There’s a special memo, it took a while to get it approved, but for the Jewish visitors to come in at 10 o’clock in the morning on Fridays,’ said Pollack.
With their request to stay at MDC denied, the brothers are now pushing to be sent to a prison in Florida, closer to their families and their children.
Pollack said it is their young families that keep the brothers going.
He revealed that Alon’s wife brought their two daughters, ages four and six, to visit last Friday, just days after the brothers’ sentencing.
‘Alon was being a father,’ he said. ‘He was playing with them. There were some toys.’
Tal and his soon-to-be ex-wife Arielle, who is in the process of divorcing him
Tal, who is divorcing, struggles most with not seeing his son. ‘It’s difficult because he doesn’t see his son,’ Pollack said. He added that Tal is optimistic he will remarry. Oren married Brazilian model Kamila Hansen in 2023 and they have one son together.
With at least 60 more days at MDC, the brothers know they will remain close to family for Thanksgiving and Chanukah – one less worry while they focus on their appeal.
‘The fear of the unknown is over now. They know where they stand now,’ said Pollock.
He said they feel relief ‘that the charade is over and they could focus on what needs to be done.’
‘Thirty years is not a joke. They are still optimistic. That is the Jewish faith and they are working on their appeal.’