Bhagavan “Tiger King”‘s wildly popular Netflix documentaries “Doc” Antle could find themselves in a cage of their own, adding to the streak of bad luck for some select subjects of the series who rose to fame and then fame. Antle, 62, and four others — Andrew Jon “Omar” Sawyer, Meredith “Moksha” Bybee, Charles Sammut and Jason Clay — have been charged with 10 counts of trafficking wildlife, including cheetahs, lemurs and chimpanzees. Antle and Sawyer are also charged with laundering more than $500,000 in cash for smuggling 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 business from a 2021 Netflix spinoff that 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 animal trafficking at his wildlife safari, Myrtle Beach Safari, in Myrtle Beach. The original “Tiger King” series, which debuted in 2020, captivated the masses stuck at home at the height of the pandemic, bringing attention to cartoonish personalities swirling in unbelievable situations. The main character from the 2020 series, Joseph Maldonado-Passage, better known as Joe Exotic, is serving 21 years in prison for a murder-for-hire scheme to kill a rival and for selling and killing tigers. Maldonado-Passage Zookeeper Erik Crowie died in October of acute and chronic alcohol abuse. In January, Jeffrey and Lauren Lowe, who took over ownership of Maldonado-Passage Animal Park as it faced legal trouble, were permanently banned from exhibiting animals after federal authorities discovered 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 has spent most of his adult life caring for animals and teaching people about the natural world. “He has done nothing wrong and looks forward to vigorously challenging the government’s allegations,” Moorman said. Antle’s recent legal troubles highlight animal abuse charges and rumors of animal murders hurled his way into documentaries. In October 2020, Antle faced 15 charges, including two felonies, of allegedly abusing lions and animal trafficking between Virginia and South Carolina. He is expected to face a jury trial in October on those charges. In his most recent 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 of those laws between June 2018 and September 2018. He and Clay are accused of creating false records and identification of a juvenile chimpanzee to be transported to other states, another violation of the Lacey Act, according to the indictment. The wildlife charges were added to the June money laundering charges against Antle and Sawyer, an employee of Antle’s. Authorities alleged the pair laundered more than $500,000 in immigrant smuggling cash 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 wildlife refuge, but were really a false paper trail to give the appearance of legitimate income, according to the indictment. They allegedly received 15 percent of any money laundered, according to the U.S. Attorney’s District of South Carolina. The same complaint also accused Antle of talking about his plan to hide the cash he received by inflating the numbers of tourists at his business. He also allegedly used bulk cash 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 posted on bond Monday and released Tuesday on a $250,000 secured bond with location monitoring, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina. Sawyer had previously been granted bail by a federal judge as a result of the allegations in the federal complaint. Bybee, Sammut and Clay are awaiting trial. Their legal representation has not yet been registered.
