Lawsuit Alleges eXp Realty Turned A Blind Eye To It’s Agents Who Drugged And Sexually Assaulted Recruits

A very disturbing and controversial lawsuit has been filed against eXp Realty and eXp World Holdings. The lawsuit alleges that eXp Realty “turned a blind eye” on former agents sexually assaulting women at the company events.

Plaintiffs filed the lawsuit in the Central District of California on Wednesday. The also filed it alleging violations of federal sex trafficking laws.

Plaintiffs claim Michael Bjorkman and David Golden drugged and/or sexually assaulted at least four women at eXp recruiting and networking events. In addition, they claim the assaults happened between July 2018 and August 2020. The case also claims that the company executives did nothing to assist despite the alleged victims’ repeated reports. 

The lawsuit states:

“This is a case about the sexual assault of women, real estate agents, brought in as recruits to a larger real estate corporation operated in a pyramid-style scheme, not only for the financial benefit of both individual agents who recruited them (and those above them), but which also gave license to its agents to prey upon these women during recruiting events,” 

According to the lawsuit, Bjorkman and Golden had an ongoing venture of enticing female real estate agents to travel to the events. Two would further entice women with promises of career advancement. However, it was ruse to assault them. 

The lawsuit delves into a series of events that each plaintiff claimed they experienced while at the events. They also depict the incidents involving Bjorkman and Golden in detail.

One assault allegedly occurred at a 2019 networking event in Beverly Hills, California.  and at a 2020 eXp recruiting event in Las Vegas.

eXp Realty Agents Arrested For Sexual Assault

Police arrested Bjorkman in 2021 on two counts of sexual assault related to the alleged Las Vegas incident. However, the case was dismissed later that year.

The lawsuit also states the plaintiffs informed eXp Realty of the incidents. The women also requested sponsor changes in order to cut ties with Bjorkman and Golden. eXp granted the requests. However, the lawsuit states that one of the plaintiffs had to wait several months before it was granted.

The lawsuit also outlines how several eXp executives were allegedly complicit by not taking action. Plaintiffs sought disciplinary actions against Golden and Bjorkman. However, they claim it never came.

Plaitiffs have stated that up to 100 other individuals were also, “legally responsible in some manner for the events and happenings.” 

The case file claims that the company ignored the actions because of the financial benefits they received. 

The lawsuit seeks damages, including lost earnings, significant emotional distress and punitive damages. 

This Article Originally Appeared On Lender Meltdown.

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