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Brothers Oren Alexander, Tal Alexander and Alon Alexander were arrested on sex trafficking charges in 2024.J Grassi/Patrick McMullan via Getty ImagesThe Alexander brothers will stand trial on federal sex-trafficking charges this week.Oren and Tal Alexander were top real estate agents before they, and a third brother, were arrested.Defense attorneys have argued that the government overreached by bringing sex trafficking charges.Brothers Tal and Oren Alexander — once among the nation's top luxury real estate brokers — along with a third brother, are set to stand trial in Manhattan this week over allegations that the trio operated a long-running sex-trafficking scheme.Jury selection in the federal criminal trial is scheduled to kick off Tuesday in the same 26th-floor courtroom where last year Sean "Diddy" Combs was cleared of the top sex trafficking and racketeering counts against him and convicted of lesser prostitution-related charges.The case against the Alexander brothers marks the Department of Justice's latest high-profile sex-trafficking prosecution to reach trial since the Combs case. In the aftermath of the hip-hop mogul's trial, an attorney for Tal Alexander hailed the Combs verdict as both "refreshing" and "heartening" to Business Insider.Tal, Oren, and Oren's twin, Alon Alexander, who was an executive at his family's private security firm, have vehemently denied the sex crimes charges against them, as well as all other allegations. They've been locked up at a notorious federal jail in Brooklyn since their December 2024 arrest in Miami.The FBI began investigating the Alexander brothers after The Real Deal first reported in June of that year that two women had filed civil lawsuits against Oren and Alon Alexander, accusing them of rape. Those lawsuits sparked a wave of additional allegations against the brothers.Attorneys for the three brothers did not respond to requests for comment by Business Insider for this story."The brothers were young adults navigating social situations that may not have been perfect," a spokesperson for the Alexanders, Juda Engelmayer, told Business Insider, "but that is not criminal conduct and bears no resemblance to trafficking."If convicted at trial, the three brothers, who are 38 and 39, could face up to life behind bars.Alon Alexander, and his twin brother, Oren Alexander, after their arrest.Pool/Getty ImagesA decade-plus-long schemeManhattan federal prosecutors, in court papers, have accused the Alexander brothers of working together and with others to drug, sexually assault, and rape dozens of women over more than a decade in posh locales like the Hamptons, Miami, and Manhattan.Prosecutors have said in court filings that several attacks happened at Hamptons mansions, while another was aboard a Bahamian-flagged cruise ship.The Alexander brothers face 12 felony counts, including conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, according to a superseding indictment filed last week. The indictment ties the charges to eight accusers, including two who were minors.The superseding indictment also accuses Oren Alexander of recording himself and another person "engaging in sexual activity with a incapacitated 17-year-old girl in Manhattan."The government's case rests on allegations that the Alexanders used their wealth and prominent positions "to create and facilitate opportunities to rape and sexually assault female victims" in a scheme that ran from roughly 2008 to 2021.Oren and Tal Alexander began their real estate careers at Douglas Elliman before launching their own brokerage, Official, in 2022.Prosecutors said the Alexanders sometimes planned sexual assaults in advance, luring victims to locations with the "promise of luxury experiences, travel, and accommodations." Other times, the Alexander brothers chose their victims by chance, prosecutors…

We ate at Tommy Bahama's Manhattan restaurant, which has become a hot spot for a business lunch.Jordan Hart/Business InsiderWe had lunch at Tommy Bahama in Midtown Manhattan, which has become a go-to for the Wall Street crowd.We spent $145 and were sufficiently underwhelmed by the food, including the famous coconut shrimp.Even so, we get the airy Floridian draw and why it's an ideal spot for a business lunch.Above an oasis of floppy sun hats, chinos, and pastel polos on most weekday afternoons, you will find one of Manhattan's most formidable cohorts: the power lunchers.We visited the Midtown location of Tommy Bahama, a clothing store that also includes a chain of restaurants, on a recent Tuesday. The interior design was straight out of a beachfront vacation home, but the environment was more work than play.The business lunch is what brought us to the restaurant in the first place, after Grubstreet reported that it's become a go-to spot for financiers' midday meal.Since the January article, our server said the location has only gotten more popular, with employees looking for a break from the skyscrapers that tower over the second-floor restaurant. She said the restaurant also often hosts parties for banks.So, we sat down for our own power lunch of sorts to see how the finance bros dine during the day. We picked out a mix of popular items and whatever sounded appetizing. Unlike some of the diners around us, we skipped the cocktails.The restaurant is in the heart of MidtownTommy Bahama is in the heart of Midtown Manhattan.Jordan Hart/Business InsiderThe Tommy Bahama on 45th Street and 5th Avenue bills itself on its website as "an oasis in the big city," a "refuge" that's "ideal for business lunches." Geographically, it makes total sense — on foot, Tommy Bahama is six minutes from JPMorgan's new tower, nine minutes from Bank of America Tower, five minutes from a PWC building, and 12 minutes from the main Morgan Stanley office.We'll spare you the full list of adjacent corporate headquarters.The interior had the beach vibes we expectedAlice Tecotzky/Business InsiderAfter ascending a spiral staircase from the quiet bar area, we found the dining area packed with collared shirts, quarter-zip pullovers, and not-so-subtle watches.The wooden shutters and palm plants evoked a beach house in Naples, Florida, more than cold and windy Midtown Manhattan, but the outerwear adorning most everyone's chairs reminded us that, yes, we were still in New York. Of the 29 Tommy Bahama restaurants and bars nationwide, 11 are in Florida, according to the store's website.The staff were friendly and laid-back, and quickly offered to switch us from our high-top to a better table as soon as one became available. Some of our fellow diners enjoyed what looked like Aperol or Hugo spritzes — very summer-y. Many of the tables had bottles of blue Saratoga spring water bottles, unlike the basic tap water we ordered.During our Tuesday visit, we observed more men than women in the crowded restaurant, and our waitress said it used to skew even more male. She also said Mondays and Fridays are typically the slowest lunch times, when some people work remotely.Orders piled up in the kitchenAlice Tecotzky/Business InsiderWe had a 12:30 p.m. reservation, and the restaurant kept filling up throughout our meal. Diners eventually sat at the bar, and when I, Alice, went to the bathroom around 1:20 p.m., a gaggle of waiters was congregating by the kitchen, discussing table numbers over a window crammed with burgers and salads.Apart from the kitchen, though, the crowded restaurant didn't feel cramped. Tables were far enough apart that we couldn't hear others' conversations, yet the background din of conversation made the room feel lively. The only deal talk we overheard came from a woman on her way out, who mentioned her interest in bringing ESRT, the company that owns the Empire State…