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Bhagavan “Doc” Antle of Netflix’s wildly popular Tiger King docu-series may find himself in a cage of his own, adding to the string of misfortunes for some of the show’s characters who shot to fame and then notoriety.
Antle, 62 and four others – Andrew John “Omar” Sawyer, Meredith “Moksha” Bybee, Charles Sammut and Jason Clay – are charged with 10 counts of trafficking in wild animals such as cheetahs, lemurs and chimpanzees. Antle and Sawyer are also accused of laundering more than $500,000 in cash to smuggle illegal immigrants across the Mexican border into the United States, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina.
Millions learned about Antle’s antics and alleged shady dealings from the 2021 Netflix spinoff focused solely on him, Tiger King: The Doc Antle Story. The limited-episode series highlighted allegations of sexual abuse and violence against ex-partners, relationships with minors and allegations of animal abuse, animal killing and trafficking at his wildlife sanctuary, Myrtle Beach Safari, in Myrtle Beach.
The original “Tiger King” series, which debuted in 2020, captured the masses stuck at home in the midst of the pandemic, drawing attention to cartoon personalities embroiled in unlikely situations.
The protagonist of the 2020 series, Joseph Maldonado-Passage, better known as Joe Exotic, is serving 21 years in prison for a hit-and-run scheme to kill an opponent and to sell and kill tigers. Eric Crowey, a keeper at the Maldonado-Passage Zoo, died in October of acute and chronic alcohol abuse. In January, Jeffrey and Lauren Lowe, who became owners of the Maldonado-Passage Animal Park as it faced legal trouble, were permanently banned from exhibiting animals after federal authorities found animal abuse among other issues.
The second season of “Tiger King” premiered last November. The Antle-based series was released in December.
Attorney Andrew Moorman told The Washington Post in a statement that Antle spent most of his adult life caring for animals and educating people about the natural world.
“He has done nothing wrong and looks forward to vigorously contesting the government’s allegations,” Moorman said.
Antle’s recent legal troubles have highlighted allegations of animal abuse and rumors of animal murders that have come his way in the papers.
In October 2020, Antle faced 15 charges, including two felony counts of allegedly abusing lions and trafficking the creatures between Virginia and South Carolina.
He is expected to stand trial in October on those charges.
In his latest indictment, Antle is accused of violating the Lacey Act, which prohibits the illegal trafficking of wildlife, fish and plants, and the Endangered Species Act, which prohibits the trafficking of endangered species.
Antle, along with others named in the indictment, allegedly violated both laws between June 2018 and September 2018. He and Clay are accused of creating false records and identification of a young chimpanzee to be transported across the states, another violation of the Lacey Act, according to the indictment.
The wildlife charges were added to June’s money laundering charges against Antle and Sawyer, an employee of Antle’s.
Authorities allege the two laundered more than $500,000 in cash from immigrant smuggling and funneled that money into separate businesses they both owned, according to the complaint.
Antle and Saywer allegedly used checks that appeared to be used to pay for construction work on Antle’s 50-acre tropical preserve, but were actually a false paper trail to create the appearance of legitimate income. according to the indictment. They allegedly received 15 percent of each amount laundered, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in South Carolina.
The same complaint also accused Antle of talking about his plan to cover up the money he received by inflating the number of tourists at his business. He also allegedly used large receipts to buy animals he couldn’t buy with checks, according to the complaint.
Sawyer’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment.
Antle was granted bail Monday and released Tuesday on a $250,000 secured bond with location supervision, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina.
Sawyer was previously granted bond by a federal magistrate as a result of the allegations in the federal complaint.
Bybee, Sammut and Clay await arraignment. Legal representation for them has not yet been specified.
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