A Santa Clarita realtor has been named in a civil sex trafficking case filed earlier this week, with multiple women alleging that he drugged and sexually assaulted them with the knowledge of a co-conspirator and the realty company they both associated with.

The case alleges that Santa Clarita realtor Mike Bjorkman sexually assaulted several victims at professional recruiting events with the assistance of his associate David Golden while both men worked as agents for eXp Realty.

According to the civil complaint, filed in February 2023, Bjorkman and Golden would “entice women to travel in interstate commerce, recruit enthusiastic real estate agents with the promise of career advancement and coaching, and use their considerable influence in the real estate industry on these other real estate agents behalf, knowing that they would use means of force, fraud or coercion to cause these women to engage in a sex act.”

The complaint contains testimonials from four women, all of whom claimed to have had a drink at a conference or recruitment event, only for them to wake up in their hotel rooms the next day nude, with little to no memory of the night before.

According to the federal sex trafficking statute, victims of sex trafficking may seek damages by civil action against the perpetrator(s), or “whoever knowingly benefits, financially or by receiving anything of value from participation in a venture which that person knew or should have known” about the criminal actions.

A spokesperson for eXp Realty noted that the company does not comment on pending litigation.  Bjorkman did not respond to a request for comment as of the publication of this article.

According to the 42-page complaint, eXp Realty was eventually made aware of Bjorkman and Golden’s repeated actions “yet turned a blind eye, propelled by the continued financial benefits they received.”

EXp Realty is heavily focused on recruitment with a near-MLM style structure, where agents who recruit other agents via eXp’s Revenue Share program receive a share of their commissions, as well as commissions generated by agents that their recruits had recruited.

Both Golden and Bjorkman were on the Revenue Share “upline” from the four plaintiffs, according to the lawsuit.

“We see a company culture where there is a lack of concern for the wellbeing of these people when it comes to making money, choosing between profit these men offer and the wellbeing of the women,” said attorney Brooke Cohen in a phone interview with KHTS and co-counsel Jennifer Lenze, as representatives from Cohen Hirsch, LP and Lenze Lawyers, PLC

Bjorkman was previously accused of two counts of sexual assault in 2021. The victim, identified as Jane Doe 3 in the current suit, reported that she had been sexually assaulted, and believed she had been drugged after experiencing a total loss of memory after one drink, according to affidavits filed by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD).

A Clark County judge dismissed all charges in the Las Vegas case in May 2021.

Originally recruited by Golden to eXp Realty, Bjorkman is believed to no longer be involved with the company. However, social media posts from eXp Realty board members noted that Bjorkman continued to be socialized with publicly by their membership until at least December 2021.

Golden remains at eXp Realty as a recruiter and agent.

The nine counts in the lawsuit include: sexual and civil battery, three violations of the federal sex trafficking statute, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress and, on the part of eXp Realty, negligent hiring, retention and supervision.

The plaintiffs are calling for a jury trial.

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