eXp, Glenn Sanford again dragged into sexual assault trial

Roberts’ lawsuit, filed in December 2023, alleges that she was given substances by Bjorkman and Golden at eXp Realty recruitment events hosted by Gove that caused her to black out. She believes she was sexually abused by both Golden and Bjorkman while she was unconscious, part of an alleged pattern that has led to multiple sex trafficking and sexual assault lawsuits against Golden and Bjorkman.

Neither Golden nor Bjorkman are still employed by eXp. Bjorkman was fired as an agent in 2020 after allegations of sexual assault first surfaced, while Golden was suspended as both an agent and 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 amended complaint, Roberts alleges that eXp “at worst knew about, encouraged, and permitted abhorrent conduct, or at least recklessly ignored and willfully turned a blind eye to things that violated the law.”

Furthermore, it is alleged that the administration of drugs and sexual assaults to agents “were widespread within eXp culture; they occurred during eXp events, at agent-sponsored events, and at events where eXp was present; they permeated the company culture.”

According to the amended complaint, on October 6, 2020, eXp received a memo “detailing the prior blatant, overt and known conduct” of Bjorkman and Golden. The complaint says the information was provided by an agent who was allegedly drugged by the two men.

In addition to the October 2020 memo, the complaint also alleges that in April 2022, eXp Realty board member Felicia Gentry “raised eXp Realty’s failure to take action to curb the sexual assaults that were occurring at eXp Realty. She explained to the board that a reporting plan, enforceable policies and procedures, and an independent investigation were needed based on complaints from several women who had been drugged and assaulted at both conferences and recruiting events.”

The complaint alleges that eXp ignored Gentry’s request to take action. In addition, the complaint alleges that Sanford told Gentry “that this was not eXp’s problem and that the arrest of Bjorkman and the numerous complaints against Bjorkman and Golden for illegal conduct at eXp conferences and recruiting events would merely be a three- to five-day newspaper phenomenon that would then disappear.”

In the new filing, Roberts claims Golden and Bjorkman tried to get her into their eXp Revenue Share downline program by claiming they would “exponentially advance her career at eXp.”

“Shortly after this solicitation and recruitment process began, Golden drugged Ms. Roberts, assaulted her, and showered her with expressions of affection (as this was part of Golden and Bjorkman’s modus operandi),” the complaint states.

In an incident described in the complaint that occurred on February 8, 2020, Roberts took a sunset cruise that was part of Gove’s Freedom Summit event. On the return trip, the complaint states, Roberts was invited by Emily Keenan, Golden’s girlfriend, to the back of the boat to meet Golden.

During the conversation with Golden, the lawsuit says, Keenan “put a pill in Ms. Roberts’ mouth and told her not to worry, it was just Adderall. He then went on to say it would just give her energy; shortly thereafter, Ms. Roberts passed out and cannot remember what happened for the rest of the evening.”

Although she has no “independent memory of that evening,” the lawsuit states, based on the testimony of other participants, Roberts is convinced that she was sexually abused that evening by Golden, Keenan and possibly others.

According to the lawsuit, Golden only gave up its efforts to court Roberts – which included drug abuse and physical assault – after their business partner definitively confirmed that they would not switch to him as their sponsoring agent in eXp’s revenue-sharing program.

In addition to discussing Golden and Bjorkman’s alleged pattern of behavior, the complaint also addresses eXp’s alleged strong focus on recruiting agents in the past.

“At each eXp Realty event that Ms. Roberts attended, eXp Realty’s focus was not on educating attendees about the real estate business, but rather on recruiting agents and attracting more agents to eXp Realty’s downline,” the complaint states.

In addition, the filing states that both eXp and Sanford and Gove emphasized that “the only way to succeed at eXp Realty is not to sell real estate, but rather to attract more people to eXp Realty.”

In an emailed statement, an eXp spokesperson said the company has “zero tolerance for abuse, harassment or misconduct of any kind – including from the independent real estate agents who use our services.”

“eXp hopes and trusts that the court will grant plaintiffs a full and fair hearing as they continue to pursue claims against the individuals they allege assaulted. However, the claims against eXp and its leadership have no basis in fact or law,” the spokesperson added.

Sanford and eXp were dismissed from the Acevedo case in January 2024. Sanford recently resigned as CEO of eXp Realty, but retained his role as chairman of the parent company eXp World HoldingsLeo Pareja has been named the new CEO of eXp Realty.