WASHINGTON — Bhagavan “Doc” Antle, who starred in Netflix’s hit series “Tiger King,” has pleaded guilty to federal wildlife trafficking and money laundering charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina announced Monday.

Antle, 63, pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act, which prohibits trafficking of illegally taken wildlife, fish, plants or animals under the Endangered Species Act. Antle conspired to violate the Lacey Act between Sept. 2018 and May 2020 while serving as the owner and operator of Myrtle Beach Safari, a 50-acre wildlife tropical preserve in South Carolina, according to a news release.

Prosecutors said Antle directed the sale of two cheetah cubs, two lion cubs, two tigers, and one juvenile chimpanzee, all of which are protected under the Endangered Species Act. He used bulk cash payments and falsified paperwork to hide the transactions, and also requested the payments be made to his Rare Species Fund nonprofit, where he served as director, so they could appear as “donations,” according to the release.

In addition, Antle committed money laundering between February and April 2022 when he and a co-conspirator conducted cash transactions obtained from transporting or harboring illegal aliens, prosecutors said. Antle and the co-conspirator would deposit the cash they received into bank accounts they controlled, and would then write a check back to the individual who provided the cash while also deducting a 15% fee per transaction, according to the release.

For each count against him, Antle faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and three years of supervised release. His guilty plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Joseph Dawson for the District of South Carolina, who will sentence Antle after reviewing a sentencing report from the U.S. Probation Office.

“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 the release. “This prosecution demonstrates our commitment to combatting illegal trafficking, which threatens the survival of endangered animals.”