Prosecutors say Andrew and Tristan Tate stockpiled passports under false identities, including one for Tristan under the name Vladimir Scorpius, an alias resembling a James Bond villain, as they argue the brothers are too much of a flight risk to be released from a Miami jail.
In a Monday court filing, prosecutors cited the brothers’ own social media posts as evidence of the risk, including a clip of Andrew saying “I have 7 passports, I have 15 drivers licenses” during a podcast appearance. They also pointed to a 2021 post in which he described being able to disappear into another country under a different name with a getaway fund, along with another where he dismissed an upcoming court date entirely.
A federal magistrate judge, Lauren Louis, is hearing arguments on Thursday on whether the brothers should remain in custody while they fight extradition to the United Kingdom. Andrew, 39, and Tristan, 38, have remained at Miami’s Federal Detention Center since their July 18 arrest.
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The UK case against them has grown since then. Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service added charges tied to four more alleged victims the day after the arrest, bringing the combined case to 59 charges, including rape, human trafficking and controlling prostitution for gain.
Read: 59 Charges Await Tate Brothers as White House Stays Out of Extradition
Britain has until September 16 to submit its full extradition request. A US judge would then need to find probable cause before the case reaches Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who holds the final say and has said “there’s no role for us to play at this moment or maybe ever.”
Read: Marco Rubio May Hold Final Say on Tate Brothers’ Extradition
The Tates’ lawyers argue their clients’ fame works against the flight risk theory, writing that it would be “extraordinarily difficult for Andrew or Tristan to travel undetected or avoid attention.” They’ve offered to surrender the brothers’ passports and accept location monitoring if a judge grants release.
