This image provided by the Horry County Sheriff's Office in Conway, S.C., shows Bhagavan "Doc" Antle. The exotic wildlife preserve owner who gained notoriety on the popular Netflix series “Tiger King” plead guilty Monday, Nov. 6, 2023 to animal trafficking and money laundering, the U.S. Justice Department announced. (Horry County Sheriff's Office via AP)
By James Pollard
An exotic wildlife preserve owner who gained notoriety on the popular Netflix series “Tiger King” plead guilty Monday to animal trafficking and money laundering, the U.S. Justice Department announced.
Bhagavan “Doc” Antle oversaw the sale or purchase of cheetah cubs, lion cubs, tigers and a juvenile chimpanzee that were all protected as endangered species, according to a Justice Department release. Officials said the 63-year-old man featured in a documentary miniseries about the tiger trade tried to hide animal payments as “donations” to his nonprofit organization.
“The defendant held himself out as a conservationist, yet repeatedly violated laws protecting endangered animals and then tried to cover up those violations,” Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division said in a statement.
Antle faces a maximum of five years’ imprisonment, fines up to $250,000 and three years of supervised release for each count. He operates Myrtle Beach Safari in South Carolina and is the founder of a nonprofit registered in the state called the Rare Species Fund.
Investigators found evidence that Antle and a coconspirator had also used cash acquired through the transportation and harboring of immigrants who illegally entered the country.
A jury this June acquitted Antle of five counts of animal cruelty. The judge in that case dismissed four more animal cruelty charges facing Antle and all charges against his two adult daughters.
It's the latest fallout for the subjects of “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness.” Joe Exotic, the show's star, is serving a 21-year prison sentence for trying to hire two different men to kill animal welfare activist Carol Baskin. The ongoing feud between Joe Exotic — whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage — and Baskin featured prominently in the show. Maldonado-Passage had one year shaved off his penalty last year as he began treatment for early-stage cancer.
Pollard is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Jack Miller, Head of Trading at Baird, joined Closing Bell to break down how the Securities and Exchange Commission's proposals would change the landscape for individual investors, as they face stiff opposition from brokerages like Robinhood.
Robotics automation technology company Symbotic made its market debut on the Nasdaq via a SPAC merger with SVF Investment Corp. 3, a special purpose acquisition company sponsored by an affiliate of SoftBank Investment Advisers. Symbotic rang the Opening Bell at the Nasdaq to celebrate the occasion this morning. Its debut on Wall Street comes amid an urgent need for logistics solutions, as it aims to reimagine supply chains with its A.I.-powered robotic and software platform. Tom Earnst, CFO of Symbotic, and Vikas Parekh, managing partner at Softbank Investment Advisors, join Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
The critically acclaimed film "The Northman" is now available on Peacock, DVD, and Blue Ray, and director Robert Eggers joined Cheddar News to discuss the process of getting everything right about his brutal drama. “Me and my collaborators were working with some of the finest Viking historians and archaeologists in the field when we were making this," he said. "So the material, culture, and the spiritual world is you know, the best attempt at historical accuracy."
Catching you up on today's top entertainment stories with Julia Garner of "Inventing Anna" has been considered as a front runner for the upcoming Madonna biopic, a "Joker" sequel has been confirmed, and Matthew McConaughey visited the White House to speak on the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting, and more.
Meta announced its plans to join the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. This is leaving businesses and customers wondering what the tech giant has in store for the event. Nicola Mendelsohn, the vice president of the global business group at Meta, joined Cheddar News to preview what the tech giant will discuss at this year's festival. "We're going to be showcasing more about reels. We're going to be talking about our commerce solutions, are messaging solutions, and of course, the method of us speaking of new ways to kind of connect with customers," she said.
On today's episode of On The Job: Cheddar gets a look at how the salon and beauty industry has pivoted throughout the pandemic; Mark Brim, President of Aquent's Recruiting Division Vitamin T, breaks down how remote work has transformed hiring and recruiting process across the board;
Julie Bauke, President & Chief Career Strategist at The Bauke Group, breaks down why companies are being 'ghosted' by new hires, and what repercussions can come from this.
Mark Brim, President of Aquent's Recruiting Division Vitamin T, joins On The Job to discuss how remote work has transformed hiring and recruiting process across the board, and the latest trends surrounding remote hiring across the globe.
Miami's real estate market has boomed since early 2020, thanks to an overall strong housing market, remote work, and no income tax as incentives. The city is preparing to welcome even more residents as people relocate to warmer climates to work from home. Garrett Derderian, director of market intelligence at SERHANT, joined Cheddar to discuss the Magic City's red hot market.
