Tiger King star Bhagavan ‘Doc’ Antle has been indicted in a series of questionable business operations involving large sums of money. Federal prosecutors said the funds are believed to be proceeds of a smuggling operation that transported people across the Mexican border into the United States.
Antle’s federal indictment was unsealed Monday following his arrest by the FBI in South Carolina last week, and the charges are self-explanatory. He is facing two counts of money laundering and is accused of transferring upwards of $500,000 with an employee who was a business partner involved in the alleged scheme.
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In documents obtained by TMZ,Antle, 62, and his Myrtle Beach Safari employee Andrew Jon Sawyer, 52, were apprehended during a federal court hearing in Florence, South Carolina. It was discovered that the two were soliciting people as early as 2019 to help clean money by writing checks. They received cash upfront and wrote a check to the person in exchange for a fee for helping.
A sting operation involving Antle and Sawyer resulted in the laundering of $505,000 over four months, prosecutors said. Federal agents initiated the plan by exchanging cash with Antle and Sawyer three times, Daily Mail reported.
According to the complaint unsealed in court Monday, in a December 2021 recorded conversation, Antle was informed that the “cash to be washed is derived from smuggling and harboring illegal immigrants.” Antle was told by the informant cited in the documents, “It’s not drug money. I bring people in Illegal people to help work.”
Antle believed the informant was bringing a Brazilian woman to work at his safari park, according to the documents. During the conversation, Antle was told she would need to walk through a “tunnel” from Mexico into the United States.
Federal agents recorded many conversations between an informant and William James Dallis, also known as the “Myrtle Beach Launderer,” or “MBL,” during their sting operation. Dallis, who was taken into custody alongside Antle and Sawyer, runs a contracting business in Myrtle Beach.
In exchange for 15% of money passed through their hands, Antle and Sawyer would cut checks from their controlled businesses. Federal agents allege that the pair kept around $73,500 due to their illegal activities, TMZ reported. Sawyer is accused of obtaining cashier’s checks from a bank that were falsely billed as payments for construction work at Myrtle Beach Safari but were intended to serve as evidence of income.
Antle explained how he planned to conceal the money he received by inflating the number of tourists at his 50-acre wildlife preserve. Prosecutors said he had previously purchased animals with bulk cash receipts for which he could not use checks, according to Daily Mail.
Antle expressed concern that the cash was counterfeit during one recorded conversation. “If the money is counterfeit they’ll come kill me,” he said. “It will be all over if the money is counterfeit. These m–, something explosive would happen.” Antle was vague about who he thought would come for him if the money was fake. Dallis told the informant in August 2021 that Antle makes “millions and millions and millions.”
Antle’s attorney Ryan L. Beasley told TMZ, “The government appears to be grandstanding on the issue of bond because of all the media coverage.”He continued, “I have never in my 20 years of practicing federal law witnessed the government move for detention on a case such as this. He should have been offered something. Asking for detention is inappropriate under the circumstances.”
“The government agreed to an unsecured bond for one of the codefendants in this case who is facing the exact same penalties. Codefendant: William “Bill” Dallas. He got a $75k unsecured bond. Doc has no criminal record, has lived in SC with his family for decades, and owns/operates a thriving business in SC that employs over 22 people on any given day,” Beasley added. “There is no reason to believe that he is a flight risk or danger to the community. This sounds like PETA pulling the strings of the DOJ.”
The Horry County jail records show Antle and Sawyer were arrested on Friday. The US Attorney’s office recommends that both remain in custody until their respective bond hearings on Thursday, reported Daily Mail. Antle and Sawyer each face a maximum of twenty years in federal prison if found guilty. Dallas is currently out on a $75,000 bond after also being charged with money laundering.
