Daniel Wolfram
The brothers stole a name from a legendary book and film series in one of their fake passports
When you are in the public eye, accused of heinous things, and wanted by multiple international law enforcement agencies, it may seem beneficial to lie low and stay off the radar.
It does not help to boast about your exploits and be seen at public events.
And it certainly does not help to have multiple fake passports on you, where one of the names on the passport is the same as a villain from an iconic book and film series.
Fictional Bond villain name in a Tate passport
British officials say alleged rapists, human traffickers, and online manosphere influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate relied on multiple fake identities to move across borders. According to court filings submitted in Florida, prosecutors uncovered evidence of multiple passports linked to the brothers.
One document allegedly recovered by investigators was a Mexican passport featuring Tristan Tate’s photograph. The passport did not use his real name. Instead, it listed the alias “Vladimir Scorpius,” the same name as the main villain from the classic 1988 James Bond novel Scorpius.
Tristan even filmed himself announcing, “I’m Vladimir Scorpius,” and registered a UK business named “Scorpius Ltd.” Meanwhile, British prosecutors reported that his brother Andrew possessed travel documents from six different nations, including the US, Estonia, and Nigeria.
Flying too close to the sun
Andrew previously boasted online about having “8 lives … 8 licenses and passports” to dodge law enforcement. American authorities arrested both men in Miami on July 18 during a bare-knuckle boxing match. They remain in federal custody while fighting extradition to avoid prosecution in the UK.
The brothers’ defense attorney, Joe McBride, told the New York Post that he is trying to get them out on bail because, according to the Tates, fellow inmates are constantly harassing the siblings in federal detention. McBride claimed the charges “put a target on their backs” and that the other inmates are comparing them to a notorious rapist.
“Every time somebody walks by their cell, they get called a word that starts with a ‘P’ that’s more appropriate to (Jeffrey) Epstein and not appropriate to them,” McBride said.
Flight risk
The new details surfaced in legal documents filed by the British Embassy in Washington. Lawyers argued in court that the pair present a severe flight risk if released on bail. The filing noted that Andrew’s online posts “demonstrate that he has access to multiple passports, and that he is willing to use false identities to evade law enforcement.”
Prosecutors also warned that “there are substantial grounds to believe that Andrew Tate and Tristan Tate would attempt to identify and interfere with witnesses if released.” The brothers face 59 charges in Britain, including rape, human trafficking, and severe pornography offenses.
Joe McBride admitted that persuading the judge to grant release is a long shot.
The brothers also face criminal prosecution in Romania for organized crime and child trafficking. They deny all charges against them across every jurisdiction.
