Netflix's 'Tiger King' star Doc Antle sentenced for wildlife trafficking, money laundering

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Photo via Horry County Sheriff's Office

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - Bhagavan "Doc" Antle, the owner of Myrtle Beach Safari and a figure featured in a widely watched Netflix documentary, was sentenced Tuesday to 12 months in federal prison for his role in wildlife trafficking and laundering more than $500,000 tied to a human smuggling scheme.

What we know:

Federal prosecutors said Antle, 64, pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges involving violations of the Lacey Act and money laundering. In addition to the prison sentence, he was fined $55,000, ordered to serve three years of supervised release, and must forfeit three chimpanzees and more than $197,000 to the government.

Federal investigators said Antle funneled payments through his nonprofit, The Rare Species Fund, and used bulk cash transactions and falsified records to disguise illegal sales of endangered animals — including baby chimpanzees, cheetahs, lions, and tigers — all protected under federal law and international treaties.

U.S. Attorney Bryan Stirling for the District of South Carolina said Antle "portrayed himself as a conservationist" but was "a key player in the illegal chimpanzee trade" who engaged in a "complex web of deceit."

The investigation revealed that from February to April 2022, Antle and a co-defendant laundered hundreds of thousands of dollars they believed were proceeds from an operation smuggling undocumented immigrants across the U.S.-Mexico border. Prosecutors said Antle attempted to conceal the cash by issuing checks that appeared to be for construction services related to Myrtle Beach Safari, his 50-acre for-profit zoo that offers close encounters with exotic wildlife.

Antle’s co-defendant in the money laundering conspiracy, Andrew Sawyer, was sentenced to two years of probation, including eight months of home detention. He also forfeited nearly $185,000 and a chimpanzee to the government.

Another co-defendant, Jason Clay, received a four-month prison sentence, four months of home confinement, and was fined $4,000 for his role in a separate wildlife trafficking scheme. Prosecutors said Clay sold a juvenile chimpanzee to Antle in 2019 for $200,000 in cash and a juvenile gibbon.

What they're saying:

"Today’s sentence holds Doc Antle and his co-defendants accountable for activity they knew was unlawful and unethical," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. "They illegally purchased and sold newborn endangered wildlife even as they laundered more than $500,000 in smuggling money — all while promoting themselves as conservationists."

"This case underscores the grave criminal threat posed by wildlife traffickers who not only exploit vulnerable species for profit but also use sophisticated money laundering tactics to conceal their crimes," said Douglas Ault, Assistant Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement.

Dig deeper:

In a related case, Shaylynn Kolwyck-Peterson pleaded guilty last month to illegally selling a newborn chimpanzee to Antle in 2022 for $200,000. Authorities said she was associated with the Sunshine Zoological Preserve in North Florida, believed to be the only U.S. facility breeding chimpanzees for non-scientific purposes.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Senior Trial Attorney Patrick M. Duggan and Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Bower prosecuted the case.