eXp, Glenn Sanford dragged back into sexual assault suit

Filed in December 2023, Roberts’ suit claims that she was given substances by Bjorkman and Golden at eXp Realty recruiting events hosted by Gove 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 amended complaint, Roberts alleges that eXp “at worst knew of, encouraged, and permitted abhorrent behavior; or at the least, recklessly disregarded, and willfully turned a blind eye to ‘things that are on the wrong side of the law.’”

Additionally, it claims that the drugging and sexual assault of agents was “rampant within eXp culture; they occurred during eXp events, at agent sponsored events, as well as at events where eXp was in attendance; it permeated the company’s culture.”

According to the amended complaint, eXp received a memo “with granular detail describing the previous blatant, overt, and well-known behavior of,” Bjorkman and Golden on Oct. 6, 2020. The complaint states that the information was provided by an agent who had allegedly been drugged by the two men.

In addition to the October 2020 memo, the complaint also claims that in April 2022, Felicia Gentry, an eXp Realty board member, “addressed eXp Realty’s failure to take any action to curb the sexual assault incidents that were occurring at eXp Realty. She explained to the Board that a reporting plan, enforceable policies and procedures, and an independent investigation were all necessary based on the complaints of multiple women who had been drugged and assaulted at both conferences and recruiting events.”

The complaint claims that eXp ignored Gentry’s request for the firm to take action. Additionally, the complaint alleges that Sanford told Gentry “that this was not eXp’s problem, and the arrest of Bjorkman and the numerous complaints made against Bjorkman and Golden for illegal behavior that took place at eXp conferences and recruiting events, would be simply a three to five day newspaper phenomenon which would then disappear.”

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

“Shortly after this poaching process and enticement began, Golden was drugging, assaulting, and love bombing Ms. Roberts (as this was part of the modis operandi of Golden and Bjorkman),” the complaint states.

In one incident described in the complaint, which occurred on Feb. 8, 2020, Roberts attended a sunset cruise that was part of Gove’s Freedom Summit event. On the boat ride back, the complaint states that Roberts was invited to the back of the boat by Emily Keenan, Golden’s girlfriend, to meet Golden.

While talking to Golden, the complaint claims that Keenan “placed a pill into Ms. Roberts’ mouth, telling her not to worry, it was just an Adderall, then further stated it simply would give her energy; soon thereafter, Ms. Roberts blacked out and does not have any personal recollection of what happened for the remainder of the evening.”

Based on the testimony of other attendees, despite having no “independent recollection of that night,” the complaint states that Roberts believes she was sexually assaulted by Golden, Keenan and potentially others that evening.

According to the complaint, Golden only gave up his pursuit of Roberts — which included drugging and assaulting — after her business partner definitively confirmed that they would not be switching to him as their sponsor agent in eXp’s revenue-sharing program.

In addition to discussing Golden’s and Bjorkman’s alleged pattern of behavior, the complaint also discusses the allegedly strong focus that eXp has historically placed on agent recruitment.

“At each eXp Realty event Ms. Roberts attended, rather than educating attendees on the real estate trade, eXp Realty focused mostly on Agent Attraction and how to attract more agents to join eXp Realty’s downline,” the complaint states.

Additionally, the filing notes that eXp, as well as Sanford and Gove, stressed that “the sole path to success at eXp Realty was not by selling real estate, but rather, by attracting more people to join eXp Realty.”

In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for eXp said the firm has “zero tolerance for abuse, harassment, or misconduct of any kind — including by the independent real estate agents who use our services.

“eXp hopes and trusts that the court will give a full and fair hearing to the plaintiffs as they continue to pursue claims against the individuals who allegedly assaulted them. 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 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.