'Doc' Antle from Netflix's Tiger King Admits to Wildlife Trafficking, Money Laundering

One of the wildlife reserve owners who featured in the popular Netflix series Tiger King has pleaded guilty to animal trafficking and money laundering.

Bhagavan “Doc” Antle oversaw the sale or purchase of lion cubs, tigers, cheetah clubs and a juvenile chimpanzee, all of which are protected as endangered species, according to the U.S. Department of Conservation. Justice.

The 63-year-old faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine after authorities said he tried to hide animal payments as donations to his non-profit organization.

In June, a jury cleared Antle of five counts of animal cruelty, while the judge in that case dismissed four other animal cruelty charges he faced as well as all charges against his two girls.

Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division said Antle “presented himself as a conservationist” but “repeatedly violated laws protecting endangered species”.

Investigators also found evidence that Antle and a co-conspirator also used money earned from transporting and harboring illegal immigrants.

Antle operates Myrtle Beach Safari in South Carolina and is the founder of the nonprofit Rare Species Fund.

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It's the latest spinoff involving someone from Tiger King, with its star, Joe Exotic, serving a 21-year prison sentence for trying to hire two different men to kill animal welfare activist Carol Baskin .

Joe Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, had his sentence reduced by a year last year as he began treatment for early-stage cancer.

The ongoing feud between Maldonado-Passage and Mrs. Baskin is a central theme of the series.