The eXp Realty lawsuit at the center of national attention is Acevedo v. eXp World Holdings, Inc., a federal case in which former agents allege that two of the brokerage’s top recruiters drugged and sexually assaulted women at company events, and that founder and CEO Glenn Sanford and other leaders knew and did nothing because the accused were generating significant revenue. Filed February 22, 2023, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California before Judge André Birotte Jr.,1CourtListener. Fabiola Acevedo v. eXp World Holdings, Inc. the case is now moving toward trial alongside a shareholder derivative suit in Delaware and additional related complaints in California and Florida.2The New York Times. eXp Abuse Lawsuit Shareholders
What the Plaintiffs Say Happened
The named plaintiffs, including Fabiola Acevedo, Tami Sims, Christiana Lundy, and a woman identified as Jane Doe, are former eXp agents. They allege that Michael Bjorkman and David Golden, two of eXp’s most prolific recruiters, drew them in with promises of career advancement and coaching, then used force, fraud, or coercion to compel sexual acts.3Real Estate News. Latest Filings in eXp Case Allege Top Execs Put Profit Over Safety Several women reported becoming ill or incapacitated after drinks at alcohol-fueled work events and later finding evidence of sexual assault.4HRD America. Delaware Court Lets eXp Rape Culture Lawsuit Proceed Against Leaders The complaints frame the conduct as violations of federal sex trafficking law.5HousingWire. Judge Denies eXp Realty Bid to Dismiss Fraud Claims in Sexual Misconduct Case
A separate suit filed by plaintiff Anya Roberts names additional defendants, including agents Emily Keenan and Michael Sherrard.6The New York Times. Sexual Misconduct eXp Realty Roberts alleges she was drugged at a February 2020 recruiting event when an associate of Bjorkman and Golden placed a pill in her mouth.7HousingWire. eXp Sanford Deny Charges in Amended Complaint of Sexual Assault Case
What Leadership Is Accused of Knowing
The lawsuits name eXp World Holdings, eXp Realty, Sanford, and top recruiter Brent Gove as defendants. The amended complaint alleges Sanford “had knowledge” of Bjorkman and Golden’s conduct and “did nothing to stop them,” despite being “personally made aware repeatedly through the proper chain of command and direct communications.”8RealTrends. Glenn Sanford Named as Defendant in eXp Sex Trafficking Suit
Plaintiffs point to text messages from October 2020 in which Bjorkman told Sanford, “I really do rely on rev share,” and Sanford replied, “I have your back on the Rev Share.”9Fortune. eXp Realty Lawsuits Revenue Share The complaint accuses Sanford and other executives of performing a “cost benefit analysis” and concluding it was more profitable to keep paying the accused agents than to investigate, noting that the defendants sat on the “upline” of the company’s revenue-share structure and personally earned money from commissions generated by recruits of Bjorkman and Golden.8RealTrends. Glenn Sanford Named as Defendant in eXp Sex Trafficking Suit
Gove is alleged to have been “keenly aware of the methods” the two used at recruiting events, including the use of GHB to incapacitate women, and to have promoted attendance at parties with “copious amounts of alcohol” and encouraged agents to share hotel rooms.10Inman. Sexual Assault Complaint Stresses Sanford’s Control Over eXp Agents
Why the Revenue-Share Model Matters
The compensation structure is central to the plaintiffs’ theory. Under eXp’s revenue-share program, described in the complaints as a “pyramid-style scheme,” agents earn a cut of commissions from up to seven tiers of agents they help recruit. eXp paid out $220 million through revenue share and equity benefits in 2024 and roughly $230 million the year before.9Fortune. eXp Realty Lawsuits Revenue Share
Plaintiffs argue this created a strong financial incentive to protect prolific recruiters regardless of their conduct. Sanford, as founder and CEO rather than a licensed agent, does not receive standard revenue share, but the eXp board grants him a quarterly cash bonus tied to the revenue-share formula, approximately $81,000 in 2023. eXp denies operating as a multi-level marketing business, calling its structure an “innovative way to reward successful brokers.”9Fortune. eXp Realty Lawsuits Revenue Share
Where the Federal Case Stands
On April 7, 2026, Judge Birotte denied eXp’s motion to dismiss the fraudulent misrepresentation claim. Plaintiffs alleged that eXp executives falsely told them the company was investigating the sexual assault reports when internal evidence showed it was not.11Real Estate News. eXp Loses Bid to Get Fraud Claims Tossed in Sexual Misconduct Case Discovery produced call notes between Cory Haggard, eXp’s senior vice president of agent compliance, and Bjorkman indicating the firm was “not investigating.”12HousingWire. eXp Realty Fraud Claim The court found plaintiffs had shown the misrepresentations were made knowingly and with “intent to induce reliance,” including falsely telling the women that Bjorkman’s employment had been terminated before he was actually let go.
Not every claim survived. Negligent hiring claims against eXp and Sanford were thrown out earlier, and Gove was initially dismissed from part of the suit for lack of evidence of his direct knowledge of the assaults. A motion to dismiss claims against Bjorkman was denied, with the court finding the allegations met the legal standard for a “commercial sex act.”13Real Estate News. Glenn Sanford and eXp Dismissed From Misconduct Case Gove has since reached a confidential settlement resolving all claims against him.14Signal SCV. Realtor Lawsuit Moves Ahead
As of mid-2026, the court has extended fact discovery by 60 days and ordered the parties to submit a joint proposed trial schedule. No trial date has been set.14Signal SCV. Realtor Lawsuit Moves Ahead During an April 2025 hearing, plaintiffs’ attorneys accused the defense of last-minute document dumps, allowing workplace messaging profiles and chats to disappear from the company’s platform, and submitting documentation with a forged signature.15RISMedia. Forged Signatures, Deleted Chats, and Last-Minute Document Dumps Stir eXp Litigation
The Delaware Shareholder Ruling
A separate shareholder derivative action, Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System v. Sanford, was filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery in 2024. On January 16, 2026, Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick issued a 90-page decision allowing the bulk of the lawsuit to proceed.16Bloomberg Law. Realty Firm eXp Plans Dexit After Landmark Rape Culture Ruling
The court found it “reasonably conceivable” that Sanford breached his duty of loyalty by allegedly reviewing a 2020 memorandum detailing the assaults and taking no action, and by concealing misconduct to preserve financial benefits. Lack-of-oversight claims were also permitted against board members. A director and diversity consultant who had urged an independent investigation and structural changes in April 2022 was later removed from the board after the company instead conducted an internal review.4HRD America. Delaware Court Lets eXp Rape Culture Lawsuit Proceed Against Leaders
The chancellor also found eXp’s ethics infrastructure inadequate: its Code of Business Conduct and Ethics did not apply to independent contractor agents, and its whistleblower system was built for employees rather than agents.4HRD America. Delaware Court Lets eXp Rape Culture Lawsuit Proceed Against Leaders
The Move to Texas
Weeks after the Chancery ruling, eXp announced plans to reincorporate from Delaware to Texas, following Tesla in 2024 and Coinbase in 2025.2The New York Times. eXp Abuse Lawsuit Shareholders New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli called on investors to vote against the reincorporation, arguing that Texas law “limits shareholders’ rights to hold companies accountable,” and urged a vote against all six eXp director nominees. The New York State Common Retirement Fund called the timing “highly suspect” and said it had requested an independent investigation into the sexual assault allegations in 2024 but never received evidence that a review occurred.17New York State Comptroller. DiNapoli Urges Vote Against eXp’s Proposed Move to Texas and All Directors
eXp told the SEC in supplemental proxy filings that the reincorporation process “began more than a year ago and reflects a deliberate strategic review rather than a reaction to litigation.”18RISMedia. eXp SEC Filing Reincorporation Texas Delaware Litigation After adjourning the originally scheduled April 24 annual meeting without conducting business,19Stock Titan. eXp World Holdings Reports Material Event the company reconvened on May 8, 2026, and shareholders approved the reincorporation by more than a 2-to-1 margin overall. Among unaffiliated shareholders, the vote was closer: roughly 40 million in favor and 37 million against.20Real Estate News. eXp to Reincorporate in Texas
Criminal Charges Against the Accused Agents
Michael Bjorkman was charged with two counts of sexual assault in Las Vegas in February 2021. Those criminal charges were dropped in May 2021. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department had conducted a rape investigation that also sparked a probe in Los Angeles.21Las Vegas Review-Journal. Lawsuit Alleges Real Estate Agent Drugged, Raped Women in Las Vegas, LA No criminal charges against David Golden appear in the record. eXp terminated Bjorkman’s contract in 2020 for “inappropriate behaviors” but allowed his revenue share to vest through an accelerated agreement. Golden remained an agent until February 2023, when he was suspended after the federal litigation began.4HRD America. Delaware Court Lets eXp Rape Culture Lawsuit Proceed Against Leaders
How eXp Is Responding
eXp World Holdings has consistently maintained that the sexual misconduct claims are “entirely without merit” and points to the removal of Bjorkman and Golden as evidence that it acted.11Real Estate News. eXp Loses Bid to Get Fraud Claims Tossed in Sexual Misconduct Case The company says it has a “zero-tolerance policy for misconduct,” notes that the alleged assaults were committed by independent contractors rather than employees, and asserts the matters were handled with “speed, seriousness, and deep respect” once reported.9Fortune. eXp Realty Lawsuits Revenue Share eXp has characterized recent adverse procedural rulings as “no reflection on the merits of the case itself.”
Other eXp Litigation Not Part of This Case
Two other pending matters are sometimes discussed alongside the misconduct case but are unrelated. eXp agreed to a $34 million settlement in the Hooper buyer commission antitrust case, which also resolved related claims in the Gibson/Umpa litigation on a nationwide basis; the court granted final approval by March 2026, with the second $17 million installment due by July 31, 2026.22Real Estate News. eXp Paying $34 Million to Settle Commissions Case23Nationwide Real Estate Commission Settlement. Nationwide Real Estate Commission Settlement In April 2026, eXp was added as a defendant in Taylor v. Zillow, a class action in the Western District of Washington alleging that Zillow’s “Flex” referral program violates RESPA; eXp called the claims “absolutely no merit.”24Real Estate News. eXp Drawn Into Zillow RESPA Case A Florida homeowner also filed a federal fraud suit in Miami in December 2024 seeking damages exceeding $700,000, which eXp has called “without merit.”25HousingWire. Miami Homeowner Sues eXp for Fraud Over Renovations