Carole Baskin wins control of Joe Exotic's zoo after court finds transfer documents to Jeff Lowe were fraudulent
Tiger King star Carole Baskin is now in control of her rival Joe Exotic's former zoo after a shocking judge ruling. The rivalry and feud between Big Cat Rescue owner Carole Baskin and her rival Joe Exotic made headlines after it was shown in the Netflix documentary series 'Tiger King'. Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, received a 22-year prison sentence on multiple convictions, including 17 charges of animal abuse and two counts of murder for hire of business rival Carole Baskin.
Exotic had left his 16.4 acres GW Exotic Animal Memorial Park in Oklahoma to his ex-business partner Jeff Lowe. On Monday, June 1, a judge has ruled that the transfer of the zoo to Lowe was fraudulent, Daily Mail reports. The judge then gave full control of the land to Baskin in order to satisfy a $1 million judgment that Exotic was ordered to pay for copyright infringement. It has been reported that Lowe has been given around 120 days to leave the premises.
This also includes all of his exotic animals who are residing there, a copy of the ruling shown by Courthouse News Service revealed. Baskin's Big Cat Rescue was also given ownership of many cabins and multiple vehicles on the property as well. Back in 2016, Baskin's company had sued Joe's mother Shirley M Schreibvogel, and alleged that the transfer of the Oklahoma zoo had been fraudulent. The complaint reads, "Schreibvogel later admitted under oath that the zoo land was transferred to her by Joe Maldonado to remove it from the reach of creditors, including BCR, should BCR win its Florida lawsuit."
The zoo had reopened last month and had been renamed to Tiger King Park after the hype and craze from the Netflix show. However, 'Tiger King' director Eric Goode shared that the zoo has not been making much money. While speaking to Entertainment Weekly in March, Goode shared, "No one is going now and there’s no source of income, and that's been going on for a long time. It's not something that has just happened because of what's happening in the world today." Lowe and his wife Lauren, who had received the property from Exotic, revealed that they aren't too upset over losing the property given they have opened a new park in Oklahoma. Lowe spoke to TMZ and said, "We have long anticipated that the judge would eventually undo the 2016 land transfer."
"We are thankful that he dragged out his decision this long and allowed us time to complete the new Tiger King Park in Thackerville, Oklahoma, behind the World’s largest casino. Considering [Carole] spent approximately 2.5 million chasing her 1million judgment, we congratulate her on her new acquisition of 16 acres in rural Oklahoma. The possibility of human remains being buried on this land should make her feel right at home," he said while referring to a rumor that Baskin was behind the killing her second husband Don Lewis who vanished mysteriously without a trace in 1997.
Carole Baskin has slammed and shut down any rumors suggesting that she was involved in Lewis' disappearance.