One of the world’s fastest-growing securities firms faces new accusations that its working environment is defined by predatory behavior, sexual assault, and refusal to address employee concerns and allegations. ing.
In two lawsuits (one filed in February and the second on Thursday), the female agents allege that two powerful male agents employed by the $2 billion real estate brokerage She alleges that she was drugged and sexually assaulted in a pattern of illegal activity that occurred over a year.
The latest lawsuit was first reported by The New York Times on Friday as part of a broader investigation into the company.
5 plaintiffs They claim they were pressured to attend company events and parties fueled by alcohol and drugs. Four of the women said they had been sexually assaulted by executives, and that their complaints to executives were ignored. The Times said the action was taken after the first lawsuit was filed.
The Times reported that more than 30 interviews with current and former eXp agents revealed that the company ignored other sexual misconduct allegations and failed to change its corporate culture.
The Bellingham, Wash.-based company’s structure is said to be a multi-level marketing operation similar to Herbalife or Amway. New agents are hired by other agents and they receive a portion of the income. As a result, little action will be taken against high earners and money could be squeezed out of many pockets, the Times reported.
“Everyone is just a recruiter. They’re not there to sell homes or represent clients,” says Tricia Turner, a Houston broker who left eXp. he told the Times in August. “The teams that grow their teams the fastest are the focus of the company’s attention and are the company’s cheerleaders. And unfortunately, they can’t seem to do a bad thing.”
A company’s agents must have a sponsor (usually the person who hired them), and they must sign a document that determines the tier of agents who can claim a portion of their earnings., According to the lawsuit. The company says that due to the nature of eXp’s structure, agents are independent contractors rather than employees.
David Golden, one of the men accused of sexual assault, was a sponsor of Michael Bjorkman, another broker accused in the lawsuit. He also sponsored three women who filed lawsuits in February and profited financially from the women who were allegedly drugged and assaulted.
According to the newspaper, Björkman and Golden deny the charges, and Golden’s lawyer Peter Levine said, “The plaintiffs’ allegations are unwarranted. Golden denounces sexual assault and exploitation of any kind.” ” he said.
An eXp representative told the Messenger that the brokerage has “zero tolerance for abuse, harassment or exploitation of any kind.”
“Although the allegations in this lawsuit stem from an alleged assault by an independent real estate agent who was never an employee of eXp, we “We responded swiftly, seriously, and with deep respect to the law, consistent with our values and organizational policies,” they added, referring to the February lawsuit.
The latest accusations against eXp highlight a larger problem in the real estate industry. While women make up the majority of agents in the real estate industry, men hold the majority of senior management positions and boards of directors.Women in real estate also suffer from America’s largest gender pay gap
The former president of the National Association of Realtors was forced to resign in August over accusations of sexual misconduct, which he denies.
Björkman and Golden no longer work with eXp. The Times reported that one of the men ceased doing business with eXp in 2020 after eXp CEO Glenn Sanford was added as a defendant. The securities company reportedly ended its relationship with the other man in March. Mr. Sanford said the issue had been resolved, telling investors during an earnings call in November that “we had two bad actors at our agency.”
The paper said a number of other women employed by eXp (not included in the accusations) have also reported incidents of sexual misconduct involving sponsors, but executives have refused to act. That’s what it means. Agents at eXp told the publication that drinking and partying in hotel rooms continues and that nothing major has changed.
In May, a female broker testified that she was drugged and assaulted during a conference in Florida, according to the Times. She was then assaulted by a real estate photographer at a hotel, the magazine reported.
eXp appeared to address the incident in a statement posted on its website, stating that the alleged assailant was not an employee or agent of the company and that the assault occurred off-premises. eXp added that it would take “immediate action” to ban the person from future events and “bring the agent’s family members with them.”
The company also told the Messenger that any allegations against the company and its management are “without foundation in fact or law.”
Anya Roberts, a real estate agent who joined eXp in 2018 and filed the lawsuit Thursday, told the Times: “I still struggle every day because of this.” “I lost everything.”
Ms Roberts described multiple instances in which Golden, whom she met at a real estate event in 2020, provided her with substances before she “blacked out” and had no memory of what happened next. At one point, she allegedly gave Roberts pills after he told her they were Adderall. In another instance, in Björkman’s presence, he gave her a drink allegedly containing performance-enhancing drugs to aid her training.
The complaint says Roberts now believes both men sexually assaulted her while she was unconscious. She was responsible for both the men and Exp, and told the Times that she couldn’t understand what was going on because of Golden’s position at the brokerage firm.
“Golden was someone I trusted because the company presented him as a leader, as an influencer, as a role model in my life. I just trusted him,” Roberts told the Times. “It’s not like I was doing it. I trusted eXp.”