Bhagavan “Doc” Antle — one of the most notorious personalities from Netflix’s Tiger King — is set to be sentenced on July 8, 2025, in federal court in Charleston, South Carolina.
In November 2023, he entered into a guilty plea on two serious charges — conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act (wildlife trafficking of endangered species) & conspiracy to launder money through his Myrtle Beach Safari company.
Prosecutors allege trading in cheetah, lion, tiger cubs, and even a chimpanzee while falsifying paperwork and disguising through reports to his nonprofit.
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Charges, Allegations & Background
Antle’s legal trouble originally resulted from a FBI raid in June 2022. Authorities recovered a web of illegal animal sales and a corresponding $500,000 cash money laundering operation potentially tied to human trafficking funding. Notably, willing customer could pay large amounts to touch photos of younger exotic animals as part of his Myrtle Beach Safari tours.; that is, rather than a petting zoo, they wedged in a luxury high-profit margin petting zoo model.
What’s at Stake – Up to 10 Years
Federal sentencing guidelines establish a maximum of 10 years of imprisonment for Antle—5 years for each individual count—plus fines of up to $250,000 per count and supervised release. I do not know what mitigation effort and factual basis attorney on behalf of Antle submitted to the court, nor do I have the statemnts recommending a sentence for the court to evaluate. However, given the highly publicized nature of this case, as well as the wide implications for creating tourism with exotic animals and the enforcement of wildlife trafficking in the United States, this ruling could have broader implications. click here for the source
