Joe Exotic’s criminal charges came in a single 21-count federal indictment: two counts of using interstate commerce facilities to commission a murder-for-hire targeting Carole Baskin, nine counts under the Endangered Species Act for killing five tigers, and ten counts under the Lacey Act for falsifying wildlife records.1Justia. United States v. Maldonado-Passage, No. 20-6010 (10th Cir. 2021) A federal jury convicted him on 19 of the 21 counts in April 2019. He is now serving 21 years at Federal Medical Center Fort Worth in Texas after a 2022 resentencing.
The Two Murder-for-Hire Counts
The most serious charges were two counts under 18 U.S.C. § 1958, which criminalizes using interstate commerce facilities to arrange a killing in exchange for something of monetary value.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1958 – Use of Interstate Commerce Facilities in the Commission of Murder-for-Hire Each count carries up to ten years in prison, or up to twenty if personal injury results.
Both plots targeted Carole Baskin, the founder of Big Cat Rescue in Florida, who had spent years publicly criticizing Exotic’s treatment of animals at his Oklahoma zoo. In the first plot, Exotic offered a zoo employee money to travel to Florida and kill Baskin. When that arrangement fell through, he made the same offer to a person he did not know was an undercover FBI agent. That conversation was recorded, giving prosecutors a direct account of Exotic discussing payment for the killing.1Justia. United States v. Maldonado-Passage, No. 20-6010 (10th Cir. 2021)
The Wildlife Counts
The remaining 19 counts were wildlife crimes, split between two federal statutes. The jury convicted Exotic on 17 of them and acquitted him on two.3UNODC Sherloc Case Law Database. United States of America v. Maldonado-Passage
Endangered Species Act
Nine counts charged violations of the Endangered Species Act, which makes it unlawful to “take” any listed endangered species.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 16 USC 1538 – Prohibited Acts Here, “take” meant kill. Prosecutors alleged that in October 2017, Exotic shot and killed five tigers at his Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park to free up cage space so he could board other big cats for a fee. The animals were not sick or suffering.
Lacey Act
Eight counts charged Exotic with falsifying wildlife records in interstate commerce under the Lacey Act, which makes it illegal to create false records or labels for wildlife moved across state lines.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 16 USC 3372 – Prohibited Acts Prosecutors said Exotic falsified paperwork for 13 lions and tigers, labeling interstate sales as “donations for exhibition only” when the animals were actually being sold.3UNODC Sherloc Case Law Database. United States of America v. Maldonado-Passage The false labeling disguised the commercial nature of the transactions.
Trial and Conviction
The case was tried in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City.1Justia. United States v. Maldonado-Passage, No. 20-6010 (10th Cir. 2021) Prosecutors built the case around the recorded conversation with the undercover FBI agent, testimony from zoo employees, and records documenting the wildlife transactions and tiger killings.
In April 2019, the jury found Exotic guilty on 19 of the 21 counts: both murder-for-hire charges, all nine Endangered Species Act counts, and eight of the Lacey Act counts.3UNODC Sherloc Case Law Database. United States of America v. Maldonado-Passage
Sentencing
On January 22, 2020, the court sentenced Exotic to 22 years (264 months) in federal prison. The murder-for-hire convictions accounted for 18 years of that total; the wildlife crimes added four years, with the individual wildlife sentences running concurrently with one another but consecutively to the murder-for-hire term.3UNODC Sherloc Case Law Database. United States of America v. Maldonado-Passage The judge also imposed three years of supervised release.
The sentencing judge treated the two murder-for-hire counts as separate offenses when calculating the guidelines range, which pushed the range higher. That decision became the central issue on appeal.
Appeal and Resentencing
Exotic challenged both his conviction and his sentence at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. In July 2021, the appeals court upheld every conviction but found a sentencing error. Because both murder-for-hire counts targeted the same person with the same goal, the court held that they should have been grouped together at sentencing rather than treated as separate offenses, and that the ungrouped calculation had inflated the advisory range.1Justia. United States v. Maldonado-Passage, No. 20-6010 (10th Cir. 2021)
On resentencing, the district court reduced the term by one year. On January 28, 2022, Exotic was resentenced to 21 years. The convictions themselves were unaffected.
Motion for a New Trial
Exotic’s defense team later moved for a new trial, arguing that newly discovered evidence showed witnesses had recanted their trial testimony and that prosecutors had improperly concealed information about immunity agreements and the health of the tigers he was accused of killing. An Oklahoma district court denied the motion in 2023.
On July 9, 2025, the Tenth Circuit affirmed that denial, with Judge Allison Eid writing that Exotic had waived several of his arguments on appeal. He then petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case. His federal appeals are exhausted.
Where He Is Now
Exotic is incarcerated at Federal Medical Center Fort Worth in Texas, with a projected release date in late 2029 factoring in good-time credit. In January 2025, he publicly disclosed a lung cancer diagnosis and significant weight loss. He has sought a presidential pardon from President Trump during his first term, from President Biden, and again from President Trump after his return to office in 2025. None have been granted.