The Alexander brothers allegedly financed favorable coverage from independent journalists while fighting federal sex-trafficking charges, accusations the writers have denied. The payments reportedly came as the wealthy siblings sought to counter the case before their convictions and sentencing.
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 offenses involving minors. On Oct. 27, all three were sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Prosecutors said the jet-setting brothers worked together and with others to traffic women, repeatedly drugging, sexually assaulting and raping multiple victims. A jury found them guilty on those charges.
The brothers now also face civil lawsuits filed by women who say they were victimized.
Meanwhile, two independent journalists who reported on the criminal proceedings have been drawn into a dispute over the coverage.
Daniel Mael is among the writers identified in a New York Times report that accused journalists of taking money to portray the brothers favorably.
Mael denied the allegation in a phone interview with Fox News Digital, saying he reported his own conclusions rather than writing on the brothers’ behalf.
He specifically rejected the Times’ claim that he received $15,000 to publish “sympathetic posts” during the trial. The report also said publisher Frank Parlato was paid $10,000 for comparable coverage.
Mael declined to provide details about his financial arrangement with the brothers’ publicist, Juda Engelmayer.
Engelmayer “offered to help subsidize part of the cost of covering the case, and I accepted,” Mael said in a Nov. 5 statement posted on X.
“No one requested favorable coverage, no one dictated a single word, and no one exercised the slightest editorial influence over my reporting,” he wrote.
Parlato likewise declined to say whether he received compensation for his work.
In an email to Fox News Digital, however, he said his reporting 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.”
Engelmayer said he reached out to independent journalists to ensure the defense’s perspective “was at least heard.” He said he looked for reporters willing to ask “the questions that weren’t being asked elsewhere.”
Mael posted regular trial updates on his Substack, at times highlighting evidence that appeared to undermine the defense.
In a recap of the trial’s eighth day, Mael described a text from Alon Alexander referencing how he had “took down a 17 year old” as “perhaps the most damning piece of evidence.”
He also pushed back against the Times’ suggestion that his coverage was biased against prosecution witnesses.
“I never ever criticized the motives of the women on the stand,” he said. “Ever.”
Mael maintained that his work was independent and accurate despite receiving financial support from Engelmayer.
Parlato’s website, The Frank Report, ran articles questioning the case against the Alexanders in July and August 2025.
One article, titled “What If Everything You’ve Been Told About the Alexander Brothers Case Is Wrong? And Other Matters,” was written by Engelmayer.
Brothers on trial
The Alexander brothers were raised in an affluent Miami family.
Oren and Tal became prominent real-estate agents, selling luxury properties to celebrities and wealthy clients in New York, Miami, Aspen and other markets.
Alon served as an executive at Kent Security, the family’s Miami-based private security business.
Prosecutors said their privileged lifestyle brought them onto private jets, superyachts and exclusive party circuits—and that they treated those settings as hunting grounds.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the brothers, who primarily lived in New York and Miami, used their “wealth and prominence to create and facilitate opportunities to sexually assault women.”
For years, prosecutors said, they found women through dating apps, nightclubs, parties and promoters, then attracted them with travel, luxury lodging and access to influential figures and Hollywood celebrities.
After isolating the women, the brothers allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted them, sometimes acting together or involving other men.
In some instances, prosecutors said, the assaults were recorded.
Eleven women testified at the trial, while prosecutors said more than 70 women had come forward with similar allegations.
Now that the criminal case has concluded, three women are pursuing civil claims against the brothers.
During sentencing, the brothers denied drugging, raping or trafficking anyone, though they expressed remorse for aspects of their past conduct.
Prosecutors asked for life sentences, while the defense sought the 15-year minimum.
Judge Valerie Caproni also ordered each brother to serve 10 years of supervised release. She imposed fines of $300,000 on Alon and Oren and $350,000 on Tal.
The Alexanders’ attorney did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.