One of the participants in the documentary series “The Tiger Mafia” (Netflix), Bhagavan “Doc” Antle, pleaded guilty to charges of animal trafficking, as announced by the US Department of Justice this Monday (6).
According to the charges, Antle violated the Lacey Act, which prohibits the trafficking of illegally captured wildlife. Between September 2018 and May 2020, he was involved in the sale of two cheetah cubs, two lion cubs, two tigers and a chimpanzee.
Prosecutors in the case allege that “Antle used cash payments to conceal transactions and falsified documents.” Furthermore, the Department of Justice revealed that the American requested that payments related to the commercialization of endangered species be made to non-profit organizations, giving the impression of being donations.
Antle and Jon Sawyer, an employee of his, face the possibility of being sentenced to a maximum of 20 years in federal prison on money laundering-related charges, as well as up to five years on wildlife trafficking charges. Three other safari owners face up to five years in prison on their own wildlife trafficking charges.
However, the charges against Doc Antle are not limited to animal trafficking. He and Sawyer were also accused of laundering $500,000 from a scheme that involved transporting illegal immigrants from Mexico to the United States. The money was allegedly laundered through the Antle Zoo in South Carolina by inflating visitor numbers.
Source: Folha
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