Tiger King star Doc Antle faces grand jury indictment

Ryan King

June 30, 09:43 PM June 30, 09:43 PM

Tiger King star Bhagavan “Doc” Antle felt the bite of a 10-count indictment from a South Carolina grand jury for alleged wildlife trafficking and money laundering, prosecutors announced Thursday.

Antle, 62, who owns the wildlife tropical preserve Myrtle Beach Safari, faces up to 20 years behind bars for the money laundering charges and five for the wildlife trafficking charges, according to the Justice Department.

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“Kudos to the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for doing what the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has refused to do for years: crack down on ‘Doc’ Antle’s endangered-animal exploitation outfit,” PETA said in a statement. “PETA will keep pushing the USDA to do its job, revoke Antle’s license, and stop letting him profit from animals’ misery.”

FBI agents and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service investigated the case. In addition to Antle, four other individuals were hit with related indictments from the grand jury, including Andrew Sawyer, 52, Meredith Bybee, 51, Charles Sammut, 61, and Jason Clay, 42.

Bybee, Sammut, and Clay are accused of participating in the wildlife trafficking operations with Antle in violation of the Lacey Act and the Endangered Species Act. Wildlife such as cheetahs, lemurs, and a chimpanzee were allegedly trafficked in those operations. The trio is also accused of making false statements about that activity to law enforcement.

The indictment also includes money laundering charges, adding to a previously filed federal complaint announced earlier this month that also charged him for the alleged money laundering scheme.

Antle is accused of conspiring with Sawyer to launder $505,000 from an alleged "operation to smuggle illegal immigrants across the Mexican border into the United States." Both Antle and Saywer wrote checks with that money falsely claiming to be remitted for construction work at Myrtle Beach Safari, according to the Justice Department. This system was used as a guise for a "legitimate income," but Antle and Sawyer reaped a 15% fee on the money sent, prosecutors alleged.

On Monday, a judge set a $250,000 bond for Antle and ordered him confined to his Myrtle Beach Safari for the money laundering charges in the prior federal complaint. The bond was paid and he was released from a South Carolina jail Tuesday, WBTW reported.

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Antle gained fame for his appearance in the 2020 hit Tiger King documentary series, which told the story of tiger breeders and private zoos. He was also featured in the follow-up documentary Tiger King: The Doc Antle Story.

In addition to the grand jury indictment, he is also facing charges in Virginia for wildlife trafficking, animal cruelty, and more, the Hill reported. He has had over 35 Department of Agriculture violations filed against him for his treatment of animals, according to the outlet.