The
parent
company
of
residential
real
estate
brokerage


eXp
Realty
and
its
chairman,

Glenn
Sanford,
were
dismissed
from
a
former
agent’s
lawsuit
that
claimed
they
benefited
financially
from
her
alleged
sexual
assault
by

two
former
eXp
star
agents
and
recruiters.

Anya
Roberts
filed
a
lawsuit
in
December
2023,
claiming
she
was
given
substances
at
eXp
Realty
events
by
former
eXp
agents
David
Golden
and
Michael
Bjorkman
that
caused
her
to
black
out.
She
believes
she
was
sexually
assaulted
by
both
Golden
and
Bjorkman
while
unconscious,
part
of
an

alleged
pattern
that
has
resulted
in
multiple
sex
trafficking
and
sexual
assault
lawsuits
filed
against
Golden
and
Bjorkman.

Neither
Golden
nor
Bjorkman
are
still
employed
by
eXp.
Bjorkman
was
removed
as
an
agent
in
2020
after
allegations
of
sexual
assault
first
surfaced,
while
Golden
was
suspended
as
both
an
agent
and
a
recruiter
in
February
2023
pending
the
results
of
the
investigation
and
another

lawsuit
filed
by
Fabiola
Acevedo
and
three
others,
according
to
an
eXp
spokesperson.

In
the
Roberts
case,
eXp
and
Sanford
argued
that
the
plaintiff
failed
to
include
any
facts
supporting
the
contention
that
they
received
anything
of
value
due
to
the
alleged
sexual
assaults,
or
that
they
knew
or
should
have
known
about
Golden’s
and
Bjorkman’s
alleged
actions.

One
claim
centered
on
eXp’s
revenue-sharing
plan
and
its
uplining/downlining
recruitment
model,
through
which
agents
keep
a
portion
of
revenue
generated
by
agents
they
recruited.

“As
the
Entity
Defendants
recognized
in
their
briefing,
this
Court
denied
their
motion
to
dismiss
in
part
because
the
Defendants
knowingly
received
a
financial
benefit
from
a
relationship
with
Bjorkman
whose
recruitment
efforts
were
allegedly
intertwined
with
the
sexual
assaults,“
Judge
Andre
Birotte
Jr.
wrote
in
his
ruling.

“However,
the
Entity
Defendants
distinguish
the
present
case
on
the
ground
that
the
Plaintiff
was
already
an
agent
with
the
company.
In
other
words,
Defendants
argue
that
there
are
no
recruitment
efforts
in
play
since
Roberts
already
worked
for
eXp,
never
joined
Golden’s
downline,
and
whatever
benefit
eXp
could
receive
from
her
employment
was
already
received
at
the
time
she
joined,
not
after
a
failed
attempt
to
switch
her
sponsor.“

Birotte
wrote
that
Roberts
didn’t
prove
that
Sanford
or
eXp
had
specific
knowledge
of
Golden’s
or
Bjorkman’s
alleged
actions
via
police
reports
or
their
contents.

Birotte
denied
Bjorkman’s
effort
to
be
dismissed
from
the
case.

But
another
defendant,
Brent
Gove
—
an
eXp
recruiter
who
was
allegedly
key
figure
in
a
“high-pressure
recruitment
effort”
targeting
Roberts
—
was
dismissed
from
the
case.
Birotte
noted
that
the
complaint
lacked
sufficient
facts
to
demonstrate
his
knowledge
of
the
sexual
assaults
“to
confer
beneficiary
liability.“

“Plaintiff
contends
that
he
was
aware
of
the
’modus
operandi,’
and
that
he
was
present
on
the
boat
where
Roberts
was
drugged
and
acting
erratically,“
Birotte
wrote.
“The
Court
generally
agrees
with
the
Defendant’s
critique
and
believes
the
Complaint
would
benefit
from
additional
facts
articulating
Gove’s
awareness
of
the
alleged
bad
behavior
with
more
specificity.“

Sanford
and
eXp
were
dismissed
from
the
Acevedo
case
in
January
2024.
Sanford
recently

stepped
down
as
CEO
of
eXp
Realty
but
has
retained
his
role
as
chairman
of
parent
company

eXp
World
Holdings.
Leo
Pareja
was
appointed
as
the
new
CEO
of
eXp
Realty.

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