USA v. MAHAMAYAVI ANTLE a/k/a DOC ANTLE and ANDREW JON SAWYER a/k/a OMAR SAWYER

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The Federal Bureau of Investigation filed a criminal complaint against roadside zoo owner Mahamayavi “Doc” Antle, and his employee, Andrew Sawyer, for alleged money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with human trafficking. Antle and Sawyer face up to twenty years in prison and are being detained at a Horry County, South Carolina jail following their arrest. Antle was featured in the Netflix series Tiger King and is still scheduled to be tried in Virginia in July 2022 for state cruelty to animals and wildlife trafficking charges for which he and two of his children were indicted in 2020. Sawyer also is a former exotic animal owner whose ownership of a chimpanzee named Joey was terminated in 2019 after a federal court in Missouri found that Sawyer had violated the federal Endangered Species Act.

[To accompany Federal Case Law Update "Notorious Roadside Zoo Owner “Doc” Antle Facing Federal Criminal Charges over Alleged Money Laundering Operation" from Brooks Animal Law Digest Issue No. 141.]