Alexander brothers' friend cuts Japan honeymoon short, turns self in on sex assault charge
Published in News & Features
MIAMI — Ohad Fisherman’s honeymoon in Japan was cut short this week after he was forced to return to Miami to face a sexual assault charge from a New Year’s Eve incident almost a decade ago.
It’s an accusation that under most circumstances wouldn’t attract much attention. But Wednesday morning, television and video cameras buzzed in a crowded courtroom as the 39-year-old handed over his wallet and belt, was handcuffed and hauled off to jail to be booked on a single count of sexual battery by multiple perpetrators.
That’s because Fisherman took center stage in a case that has caught international attention — the alleged drugging, raping and sex trafficking of dozens of women by wealthy real estate executive brothers Oren, Alon and Tal Alexander.
Investigators have only connected Fisherman to a single incident. He’s been charged with a single count of sexual battery by multiple perpetrators from a New Year’s Eve 2016 incident in which he is accused of pinning a woman down using his knees behind her shoulders at a Miami Beach apartment, as brothers Oren and Alon Alexander raped her.
Appearing before Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Lody Jean, Fisherman’s attorney worked out an agreement in which Fisherman’s wife and mother-in-law would put up $260,000 in collateral and Fisherman would bond out of jail for $25,000. He must wear an ankle monitor, turn over his Israeli and U.S. passport and keep away from the alleged victim.
After the hearing he was taken to jail to be booked. His attorney Jeff Sloman expected him to be released shortly after and he is expected back in court Friday before Jean.
Fisherman is an Israeli who moved to the New York area in 2012, his attorney told the judge. He moved to the Miami area in 2020 during the COVID pandemic, where his original plan was to work in the real estate industry. That turned out to be a failed venture during the pandemic, so Fisherman began running a hummus business, similar to the family business in Israel.
According to state prosecutors, Fisherman took part in the Dec. 31, 2016, rape of a woman who had been invited to a party at an apartment at 5875 Collins Ave. by Alon Alexander. Fisherman’s arrest warrant says Alon texted the woman with pictures of people barbecuing on the balcony and told her to come over. She told police when she got there, Alon met her in the lobby and they took an elevator that went directly into the apartment.
Once there, she told police, there was no party. Only Oren Alexander and Fishermen and two women who she believed were maids were also there. Then, she said, they led her to a bedroom, locked the door and assaulted her. She told police Fisherman kneed her in the back and held her arms on the bed while Oren and Alon Alexander took turns raping her.
She also told police she went into “survival mode” and pretended to enjoy it, before she began to cry hysterically. She called an Uber and said she was told not to say anything to anyone, before she left. There is no mention of Fisherman raping the woman in the report and he hasn’t been charged in any of the other crimes.
Oren and Alon Alexander, 37, were charged earlier this week with three counts of sexual battery from alleged rapes on Miami Beach between 2016 and 2021. They’ve also been charged federally in New York with numerous rapes and sex trafficking.
An FBI agent testified earlier this week that they have up to 40 credible rape complaints from separate women. The federal indictment laid out a conspiracy accusing the brothers of finding women, sometimes with the help of promoters, then drugging them and sometimes transporting them across state lines or to other countries. Their brother Tal Alexander, 38, has also been charged with sex trafficking. Tal is in federal custody.
In court earlier this week, Oren and Alon Alexander with their attorney Joel Denaro worked out an agreement with the state in which the twins could leave jail by posting $5 million between the two of them, agreeing to wear ankle monitors, staying away from alleged victims and giving up their passports. That agreement is expected to be finalized Thursday, also before Jean. The Alexanders' parents agreed to use their $40 million Bal Harbour home as collateral.
But the brothers may not be out of the Turner Guilford Knight correction center for long. They’re expected to be taken into custody by federal agents after the bond agreement is formalized. They also are expected to go before a federal court magistrate in Miami before being transported to New York. There, they will likely end up in the same prison that held accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein before his suicide, and is now home to rap mogul Diddy.
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