Douglas Elliman pushes out chairman and CEO amid rape allegations against real estate agents: report

The CEO of Douglas Elliman left the giant real estate brokerage following an investigation commissioned by the company’s management a sexually charged work culture exposedsaid a report.

Howard Lorber, president and CEO of parent company Vector Group, resigned Monday as executive chairman of Douglas Elliman, ending a more than two-decade tenure at the helm of the $170 million real estate company that has built a significant footprint in New York, Florida and Southern California.

Douglas Elliman issued a press release indicating that Lorber, 76, decided to retire. But The Wall Street Journal reports this Sunday that the board pushed Lorber to quit.

Douglas Elliman also announced that Scott Durkin, president and CEO of the company’s brokerage, was removed from his position on Friday.

Douglas Elliman’s workplace culture came under scrutiny earlier this year after it was alleged that two of his former star brokers, the brothers Tal and Oren Alexandersexually abused more than 30 women dating back to their start at the company in 2008.

No reason for Durkin’s termination was stated in the company’s SEC filings.

A representative for Douglas Elliman was not immediately available for comment.

“Sir. Durkin played no role in fueling the so-called “sexually charged work culture” at Douglas Elliman referenced in the NY Post story, nor was Mr. Durkin ever negligent or slow to report complaints against the Alexander Brothers. or anyone else,” his lawyer John Singer, a partner at Singer Deutsch, said in a statement.

“No reason for Mr. Durkin’s abrupt separation was disclosed in the company’s SEC filings; Suffice it to say, however, that Mr. Durkin has always fulfilled his role as President and CEO of the Company with the utmost integrity, ethics, dedication and skill,” Singer added.

Shares of Douglas Elliman rose more than 3.5% after the start of trading on Wall Street on Monday.

In the wake of the allegations against the Alexander brothers, Elliman’s board created a committee to investigate the company’s workplace. An initial investigation conducted by Manhattan-based attorney Marc Kasowitz was deemed insufficient due to his close relationship with Lorber, according to the Journal.

“As Douglas Elliman’s experienced trial attorney, our firm prepared to defend the company against potential claims,” Kasowitz said in a statement to the Journal.

“Any suggestion that this would make us less aggressive or effective in uncovering the true facts because of our longstanding business and personal relationship with Mr. Lorber makes no sense and is the exact opposite of the truth.”

The Post has requested comment from an attorney for the Alexander brothers.

The second investigation allegedly uncovered allegations beyond those against the Alexander brothers, the Journal reported.

Another factor the board took into account when deciding it was time for Lorber to leave was Elliman’s poor financial performance, according to the report.

At the end of 2021, Elliman’s market cap was $900 million. As of Monday, it was just $170 million – an 81% drop.

The Alexander brothers, who left Douglas Elliman in 2022 to start their own company, Official Partners, have denied the claims.

Oren and his twin brother Alon – both 37 – and their older brother Tal are alleged to have committed several acts of sexual misconduct, including rape, sexual assault and harassment.

Alon was never employed by Elliman. Most recently he was head of security at his brothers’ company.

In June, two women – Kate Whiteman and Rebecca Mandel – filed civil lawsuits against Oren and Alon Alexander, accusing them of raping them in turn during two separate incidents in 2010 and 2012. News of the lawsuits was first reported by the Real Deal.

Just days after the Real Deal report, another woman, Angelica Parker, filed a lawsuit accusing Alon and Tal Alexander of raping her in their Soho apartment in 2012 while Oren Alexander watched.

In July, a fourth woman, actor and comedian Renée Willett, filed a lawsuit alleging that Oren Alexander drugged and raped her in his Soho apartment in 2015.

A top Elliman agent, reality TV real estate agent Tracy Tutor, told the Journal that Oren Alexander had put something in her drink. He then took her to the bathroom, where another Elliman officer came in and pulled him away from her, the Journal said.

Jessica Cohen, another Elliman agent, told The New York Times that someone put something in her drink after she had drinks with Oren, Tal and Alon Alexander at a cocktail party in 2014. Cohen said she blacked out for a few hours and ended up in a hospital.

According to the Times, Cohen recalled the accusation in a conversation with Lorber two years later.

“Their employer has also stated unequivocally that no complaints were ever filed with human resources about the brothers,” Deanna Paul, an attorney for Tal Alexander, told the Journal.

Jim Ferraro, an attorney who represented the Alexander brothers, told the Real Deal in June that his clients were victims of a “total shakedown.” Ferraro no longer represents the brothers.