Sentencing delayed for S.C. zookeeper from ‘Tiger King’

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) – The sentencing date has been pushed back for the owner of Myrtle Beach Safari, who was also featured in the Netflix series, Tiger King.

On Monday, the federal judge granted a motion for a continuance, and the June 10 sentencing hearing for Doc Antle has been canceled.

A couple of weeks ago, it was determined that the sentencing date for Antle would be set for June 10 at the federal courthouse in Charleston.

But a motion was filed on Sunday by both the prosecution and defense attorneys to continue the sentencing hearing until June 23.

The attorneys for both sides are arguing that there are several unresolved objections to the presentence report that could impact Antle’s sentencing.

The documents state that the additional time would also allow them to speak with potential witnesses who are out of state.

“The parties believe that a continuance would be beneficial to both the parties and the Court by allowing the parties to engage in more discussion and to more fully brief relevant issues for the Court’s consideration,” the motion states.

Antle pleaded guilty in November 2023 to conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act and conspiracy to launder money.

Antle is the owner and operator of The Institute for Greatly Endangered and Rare Species (T.I.G.E.R.S.), also known as the Myrtle Beach Safari. He is also the director of the Rare Species Fund, a nonprofit organization based in South Carolina.

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The Lacey Act prohibits trafficking of illegally taken wildlife, fish or plants, including animals protected under the Endangered Species Act.

Court documents show in September 2018 he paid a person to travel to Florida and pay about $35,000 for two young cheetahs.

Then in January 2019, Antle sold two lion cubs to an organization in exchange for $15,000, according to the documents.

He’s also made $10,000 in payments to the Rare Species Fund in exchange for two tigers that were transported from South Carolina to Montana in March 2019.

The court documents add that in May 2020, a young chimpanzee was transported from Florida to Myrtle Beach Safari, where Antle paid $200,000 in cash and checks for the chimpanzee.

All of the animals involved are protected under the Endangered Species Act.

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Antle then used bulk cash payments to hide the transactions and falsified paperwork to show non-commercial transfers entirely within one state.

He also requested that payments for endangered species be made to his nonprofit so they could appear as “donations.”

The investigation also uncovered evidence of money laundering between Feb. and April 2022, when Antle and his co-conspirator conducted financial transactions with cash they believed was obtained from transporting and harboring undocumented immigrants.

To conceal and disguise the nature of the illegal cash, Antle would take it and deposit the cash into bank s they controlled. Antle and his co-conspirator would then write a check to the person who provided them the cash after taking a 15% fee per transaction.

For each count, Antle faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and three years of supervised release.