As Nicole Oge, Richard Jordan and Andrew Wachtvogel were trying to make a fresh start, Oren and Tal Alexander threatened to take legal action if they were forced out of the company, The Real Deal reported. The Alexanders deny the allegations.
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About a week after Oren and Tal Alexander announced their plans to return as heads of Official following the departure of the other co-founders, more information has emerged about how negotiations between the company’s co-founders fell apart.
In June, the brothers signaled their intention to step down from their leadership positions at the brokerage after several women came forward with allegations of rape and sexual assault against them.
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As more cases against the Alexander brothers mounted and the FBI began investigating their actions, the remaining co-founders of Official – Nicole Oge, Richard Jordan and Andrew Wachtvogel – went into crisis management, distancing themselves from the brothers and emphasizing that their name was not synonymous with Official.
With agents and developers distancing themselves from the official company, Oge, Jordan and Wachtvogel left in early August to raise funds and rebrand the company, the people said. Genuine.
By the end of July, before the other three co-founders embarked on a campaign to restore the brokerage’s reputation, the Alexanders were demanding to be reinstated if and when their names were cleared of all charges. Genuine The source said.
The fundraiser, which reportedly began in Aspen, was then abruptly halted “due to friction that occurred behind the scenes,” a source said. Genuine.
As co-founders of the company, Oge, Jordan and Wachtvogel had the power to remove the Alexanders from the company’s board, but the Alexanders had threatened legal action against them and the three were unwilling to join the legal battle, according to the sources.
In an emailed statement to Inman from their lawyer, James Cinque, Tull and Oren Alexander denied allegations that they had threatened the co-founders with legal action.
“Many other Real D“This is an exaggeration and the statement is false,” Tal and Oren said.
Nevertheless, Oge, Jordan and Wachtvogel have decided to relinquish their ownership interests and sever all ties with the company effective Aug. 15, 2024. Representatives for Oge, Jordan and Wachtvogel did not respond to requests for comment by press time.
Shortly after the departure of the three co-founders, Tal and Oren Business Insider According to Cinque, they are “excited about the new lineup and will be announcing more details soon.”
This enthusiastic approach seems at odds with the gravity of the situation, which has now seen more than two dozen women come forward to major media outlets and lawyers representing alleged victims, and is also the subject of an FBI investigation. At this point, it’s unclear how well the Alexanders and Official will be able to recover from such serious allegations and investigations.
Los Angeles-based agents Tyrone McKillen, Brent Watson and Marco Salari have all left the agency, along with at least seven other agents in New York and Miami.
Oge, who has always played an active role as a pillar of the official team, reportedly began discussions with Oren and Tal about setting up a securities company around 2019. Genuine She was working at WeWork at the time and later became an adviser to brokerage startup Casa Blanca, but before that she worked as global chief marketing officer at Douglas Elliman, overlapping with the Alexanders, according to sources.
The Alexanders reportedly notified Douglas Elliman CEO Howard Lorber about a year before they were leaving the company to launch Official in 2022. Genuine Douglas Elliman tried to retain the brothers with a financial offer similar to the one Syed had made, sources said, according to text messages obtained from the firm. Genuine.
Elliman declined to comment. Genuine Inman had not commented at press time.
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Email Lillian Dickerson
