They built a worldwide audience of young male devotees, drawn to the Tate brothers’ flashy playboy image and their blunt, often openly misogynistic online persona.
Yet newly filed court papers obtained by Our News Outlet show Andrew and Tristan Tate have now quietly acknowledged that some of their loudest claims about money, status and influence were not what they appeared to be.
Attorneys for Andrew, 39, and Tristan, 38, argue that federal authorities have fallen into the same trap as millions of social media users by treating their intentionally “outrageous” online boasting as fact.
One example cited in the filings involves a collection of luxury vehicles, including Bugattis and Aston Martins, said to be worth $14 million. According to Tristan’s lawyers, the cars seen in his videos were rented props used to project the image that he was “uber-wealthy.”
The same explanation was offered for a $50 million superyacht that prosecutors suggested could have helped the brothers flee. Their legal team says the vessel did not belong to them at all, but was owned by someone else and featured because they were paid to promote it.
Andrew and Tristan Tate have been held at the Federal Detention Center in Miami since July 18 while they contest extradition to the UK, where they face sex-related charges.
Prosecutors contend that the brothers, who deny every charge they face in multiple jurisdictions, could use significant wealth and multiple identities to disappear if granted bond.
But in a reply supporting their request for release, the Tates’ lawyers say the government is leaning on social media posts filled with “obvious satire, hyperbole and promotion” — material they add was “not even written by Andrew.”
Andrew and Tristan Tate built a global following by flaunting their flashy lifestyle and apparent wealth, including their fleet of exotic supercars, in photos on social media
On social media, Andrew frequently showed off what appeared to be his extraordinary wealth, even posing for photos with stacks of cash
‘The more hyperbolic and outlandish the post, the more likely it will generate views and likes, which in turn generates income. In short, they are playing a role,’ their lawyers admit.
The filing lists various boasts published via Andrew’s @CobraTate X account – that his tweets generate nine figures, that he will one day be the UK prime minister and that he could beat a wolf in combat.
‘All of these posts are hyperbole,’ it insists. Social media posts suggesting the Tates have unlimited crypto, bitcoin and cash as well as access to private jets and a yacht are dismissed by their lawyers as similarly misleading.
‘The “superyacht” does not belong to the Tates. They received payment to promote the ship on social media,’ the filing reveals.
Furthermore, the Tates are engaged in several businesses ‘teaching’ men how to earn money.
It is in their interest to portray themselves on social media as uber-wealthy.
‘For example, the $2.1million Aston Martin and $5million and $7million Bugattis featured in Tristan’s videos were rented.’
Prosecutors have speculated that Andrew has as many as eight passports – including from the UK, US, Estonia, Nigeria, Poland and Vanuatu – a small island nation of 340,000 inhabitants in the South Pacific.
Social media photos suggesting the Tates have unlimited crypto, cash, and access to private jets were dismissed by their lawyers as similarly misleading
He projected a playboy image posing on luxury yachts for social media posts, but lawyers say the superyacht (not pictured) cited by prosecutors never belonged to them
Andrew and Tristan shared videos and photos posing alongside multimillion-dollar Bugatti vehicles to create an image of wealth, some of which his lawyers now say were ‘rented’
Again, his lawyers say, the government has mistaken social media for reality.
‘The video in which Andrew claimed to possess passports from Estonia, Nigeria, Poland, the UK, and the US was a joke, complete with Andrew portraying a false Nigerian accent,’ the filing says.
Provocative statements attributed to Andrew in prosecution documents – declaring himself ‘Hard to Kill’ and ‘Above the Law’ – are actually the titles of movies featuring Steven Seagal, ‘with whom the brothers are socially acquainted’.
‘Andrew and his fan base use them as catchphrases,’ the filing adds. The Tates also mock the government’s claim that Tristan possesses a secret Mexican passport under the name Vladimir Scorpius, a villain in a James Bond novel.
‘The so-called Mexican “passport” bearing the name “Vladimir Scorpius” was a cardboard prop Tristan used for a Halloween costume,’ the filing says.
‘No one can seriously suggest that Tristan adopted a covert identity, with the purpose of evading international law enforcement, under the name of a famous fictional supervillain.
The filing in Miami US District Court also contains a litany of gripes about alleged harsh treatment inside FDC Miami’s Special Housing Unit, which the lawyers liken to solitary confinement.
The brothers are allowed a mere five hours of recreation per week and a single phone call each month, it claims. They have no TV, no radio, and their access to the jail commissary, which includes candy, snacks and Colombian coffee, is also limited to ‘once every two weeks.’
The brothers had a financial incentive to portray themselves as ‘uberwealthy’ because they made money teaching other men how to get rich
Some of Andrew’s luxury vehicles were seen being seized and towed away outside Bucharest, Romania in the case against the media influencer in 2023
‘They have not been convicted of any crime, here or abroad, nor have they received a single disciplinary infraction, and yet they are subject to some of the most restrictive conditions of confinement in this country,’ their lawyers complain.
The filing also describes an incident where the tough-talking siblings were left choking and gasping for air after guards unleashed pepper spray on another detainee.
The Tates – who claim to be friends of President Trump’s youngest son Barron, 20 – say the toxic chemical wafted into their nearby cells.
‘It burned their eyes, their throats, and their airways. No officer decontaminated them. No medical staff examined them,’ the filing says. The Tates wrapped wet T-shirts around their faces and waited for the spray to dissipate.
But it lingered for so long that their lawyer Thomas Maniotis suffered eye pain and breathing difficulties when he entered their unit two hours later, the filing continues.
‘He was forced to terminate the visit and seek treatment that evening at Baptist Health’s urgent care facility in Miami,’ the filing states.
The Tates were arrested after the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service announced fresh rape and sexual exploitation charges, bringing the case against them to 59 charges involving seven alleged victims.
The UK has until September 16 to provide the State Department its full extradition dossier on the brothers, who have amassed a global following of fans, particularly young men and boys captivated by their flash lifestyles and unabashed chauvinism.
Andrew and his brother were snapped sitting cage side during UFC 313 at the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, in March 2025
The Federal Detention Center, Miami, where the controversial social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate are believed to be being held, ahead of an extradition hearing
They were first arrested in Romania in December 2022 after prosecutors accused them of running a criminal enterprise that lured women to the Eastern European country for sexual exploitation.
British prosecutors filed their own charges against the brothers in May 2025, including rape, actual bodily harm and human trafficking. The Tate brothers have denied all claims of wrongdoing.
The Tates flew from Romania to Florida in February last year after authorities lifted their travel ban, a reversal that followed reported pressure from Trump administration figures.
Trump told reporters, however, that he knew ‘nothing about it’.
The Tates’ lawyer has been contacted for comment.
