13 hours Ago By The Telegraph
Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan are the subjects of a federal criminal investigation in the United States, court documents reveal. A lawyer representing an unidentified woman and three others being sued by the controversial brothers for defamation in Florida referred to the federal investigation in legal filings in an attempt to keep information confidential. Danielle Pinter, the lawyer, said certain information relating to the defamation case should remain confidential “until the United States federal investigation and/or prosecution by the Department of Justice for the Southern District of New York of Andrew and Tristan Tate has concluded”.
The Tates are already under criminal investigation ordered by the state attorney-general in Florida. The federal case takes the number of investigations into them to five. The alleged offences involved include human trafficking, sexual assault, and rape.
It is not clear whether the new investigation is related to any of those claims. SDNY office ran Jeffrey Epstein inquiry According to the court documents, the federal inquiry is being led by the Southern District of New York (SDNY) attorney’s office, which ran investigations into Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and singer R Kelly. The office also charged Sean “Diddy” Combs with sex trafficking and other federal offences.
The SDNY has earned a reputation of being aggressive in its pursuit of criminals due to its vast amount of resources and accompanying FBI field office, and it has been nicknamed the “Sheriff of Wall Street”. The Telegraph has contacted the Tate brothers’ lawyers and the SDNY attorney’s office for comment. If confirmed, the federal investigation spells further legal trouble for Andrew Tate, a self-described misogynist, and his brother Tristan, both of whom have cultivated a large social media following.
The brothers, who are dual US-British citizens, already face human trafficking and rape charges in the UK. In December, Westminster magistrates’ court ruled police could seize more than £2 million from them because they had failed to pay tax on £21 million revenue from their online businesses. They have also been accused of organised crime, human trafficking and sex with minors in Romania, where they live.
Both Andrew and Tristan Tate deny all charges against them. They were arrested in Romania in 2022 and charged last year, forcing them to remain in the country until a travel ban was lifted in February after US pressure. Immediately following that decision, they flew to Florida on a private jet from Romania, but were told by Ron DeSantis, the state’s governor, that they were “not welcome”.
Jason Uthmeier, Florida’s attorney-general, later said he had instructed his office to conduct a “preliminary inquiry” into the Tate brothers. During their visit to the US, the Tate brothers were given ringside access to a UFC MMA event in Las Vegas. Dana White, the UFC president, was filmed shaking hands with both brothers, telling them: “Welcome to the States, boys.
” Mr White is a long-time friend of Donald Trump, but Andrew Tate said he did not speak with the US president during his visit. The brothers later returned to Romania to check in with authorities as part of their probation conditions before heading to Dubai on a private jet dubbed “Tate Force One”.
