Legal affairs of the Tate brothers
The Tate brothers, Andrew and Tristan, have been involved in a number of criminal and civil legal affairs stemming from their joint business and personal activities.
[7] On 11 April 2022, the US embassy received a report that an American citizen was being held against her will in a property the brothers own in Pipera, Romania.
He requested the opportunity to confront the accusers in court and said that some of the six alleged victims DIICOT identified had not filed a complaint against the Tates.
[24][25] Romanian authorities seized 29 assets, including 15 cars, more than 10 properties, watches, and sums of money, that belonged to the Tates or their companies, totaling almost US$4 million.
[39][40][41] On 20 June, the four accused were indicted on charges of rape, human trafficking, and forming an organised crime group to sexually exploit women.
[46] ABC News reported that the case centres around three women—of American, Moldovan, and British nationality—who accuse the Tates of "luring [them] to Romania and exploiting them on webcam".
[51][52] In November, the Bucharest court ruled to remove certain pieces of evidence from the trial, including statements from the brothers and witness testimonies.
[58] On 25 January, while being taken for questioning at Romania's organised crime unit, Andrew said the case against him was "empty" and told reporters that "they know we have done nothing wrong".
[60] That same day, Tina Glandian, a lawyer who previously represented Chris Brown and Mike Tyson, was added to the defense team.
[63] Prosecutors allege wiretaps of phone calls made by Andrew to two associates, instructing them to lobby two Romanian right-wing politicians, George Simion and Diana Iovanovici Șoșoacă, to support his release.
[76] A hearing was held at which a Romanian judge placed Andrew under house arrest for at least 30 days amid new allegations of human trafficking and sexual intercourse with a minor.
[80] In 2019, after a four-year investigation, the Crown Prosecution Service declined to file charges for any of the allegations for sexual violence and physical abuse, stating that the evidence "did not meet our legal test".
[81][82][83] In March 2024, the UK's Westminster Magistrates' Court issued an arrest warrant against both brothers and requested their extradition to the country.
Bedfordshire police said the warrant was "part of an ongoing investigation into allegations of rape and human trafficking", alongside Romanian authorities.
[89] According to the lawyer representing the accusers, Matthew Jury, they received information that Andrew had told Adin Ross he planned to flee Romania, and requested British police have him detained.
[46] In February 2023, the Tates' legal team confirmed that a cease and desist letter was sent to at least one of the accusers in December 2022, threatening to sue her and her parents for $300 million over alleged defamatory statements.
[91][19] Two of the accusers reportedly went into hiding after being targeted by an online harassment campaign, described as an attempt to "scare them into silence" by a "troll army".
Senior legal counsel at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, who are advising the women, alleges the Tate's following targeted her clients with thousands of online threats, including doxing the accusers, their relatives, as well as the use of private investigators.
[92] In July 2023, the brothers filed a defamation lawsuit against one of the accusers, their parents and two other people, in Palm Beach County, Florida, seeking $5 million in damages.
The Tates claim the five conspired to falsely accuse them of human trafficking and rape, costing them their freedom as well as income from social media and business ventures.
They had sued a former United States Marine Corps sergeant who reported Andrew to the U.S. Embassy in Romania and military officials, leading to his arrest by Romanian authorities.
[5] In May 2024, the three women involved in the investigation with Hertfordshire constabulary in the UK, along with a fourth British woman, brought a civil case against Andrew in the High Court to sue for "injuries they suffered".
The three are accused of paying no tax in any country for their online businesses, including Hustlers' University and War Room, amounting to £21 million in revenue between 2014 and 2022.
[96][97] In December 2024, the Westminster Magistrates' Court ruled in favour of the Devon and Cornwall police, allowing them to seize around £2.5m worth of unpaid taxes from the Tate brothers' online businesses.
