One of the men at the center of sexual assault allegations that purportedly took place at eXp recruiting events is now alleging the company officially separated him not for the misconduct, but for unpaid dues. The company faces a high-stakes jury trial over the allegations next year.
At an occasionally contentious hearing on Oct. 17, a lawyer representing former eXp influencer David Golden demanded documents and communications regarding the 2023 decision to separate him from the company, also filing documents that appear to show he was let go “for being out of compliance with the MLS.”
“(eXp VP of Agent Compliance Cory) Haggard disclosed for the very first time that the reason Mr. Golden was let go was because he didn’t pay his dues for his license. We never heard that before. In the middle of the deposition, we went to the Nevada realty board, and there was a document from eXp letting him go,” said Peter Levine, a lawyer representing Golden.
eXp did not respond to an emailed request for clarification on the reason Golden was suspended or separated from the company. Levine did not immediately respond to emailed questions for clarification on the documents.
Previously, eXp has claimed it handled allegations of misconduct and sexual assault “with speed, seriousness, and deep respect” when they surfaced in 2020, while plaintiffs have alleged that the company leadership ignored multiple complaints by women against Golden, fellow top agent Michael Bjorkman and others.
Both Golden and the plaintiffs in the case—women who were allegedly assaulted or drugged by Golden and Bjorkman—are also seeking to garner more information about what was referred to as an “alpha call” of mega eXp agents and influencers convened right after the initial lawsuit was filed, with a lawyer representing eXp saying the company had nothing to do with this meeting because the parties are independent contractors.
The back-and-forth follows other complicated disputes in the late stages of the case, which centers on an alleged years-long “scheme” by Golden and Bjorkman to drug and sexually assault potential female recruits, with multiple assaults allegedly occurring at official company events. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit, known as Acevedo v. eXp, have argued that eXp was negligent in hiring the men, and attempted to protect them after allegations resurfaced as the company benefitted from their recruiting efforts.
The “alpha call” appears to be in reference to a virtual meeting between top eXp recruiters and influencers, known semi-formally as “alpha agents”—who, according to court filings by plaintiff’s lawyers, totaled 61 people in 2022 making six figures per month on average from their recruiting “downlines” as part of eXp’s multi-level revenue share program. That call allegedly took place in February 2023, days after the first lawsuit was filed.
In a separate lawsuit, another woman who claims she was assaulted by Bjorkman and Golden said a similar call was “organized” by eXp leadership after the initial allegations against Bjorkman and Golden were brought up internally.
Bill Pallares, a lawyer representing eXp, asked if there was anything directly connecting eXp to that call, noting that the participants are mostly independent contractors. Pallares and Levine went back and forth at one point over specific communications around Golden’s suspension, with Levine saying he didn’t want to be “sandbagged” as he sought internal communications related to the decision.
Pallares also said much or all of these communications—if they exist—would likely be covered by attorney-client privilege.
Separately, plaintiffs are claiming that eXp didn’t investigate the allegations against Golden and Bjorkman despite the company “affirmatively” representing it had done so. The plaintiffs are seeking to add an additional claim of fraud against the company, though a judge has not yet ruled on this request. In a previous court filing, eXp broadly denied these claims.
Plaintiffs are also seeking more documents regarding the “financial condition” of all the defendants.
The trial, which has been rescheduled multiple times, is currently set to begin on July 13, 2026.
