Tim Stark has been found guilty of misappropriating funds from his nonprofit animal sanctuary, Wildlife in Need. The decision followed nearly nine months of court disputes, accusations of embezzlement, missing exotic animals and a runaway zookeeper. The nonprofit organization has been officially dissolved.
A statement from Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill said the Marion Superior Court Nov. 4 ruling should serve as a warning to nonprofit owners seeking to commit similar crimes.
“We have won our case against Wildlife in Need,” Hill was quoted as saying in the release. “From here, we must look to appropriately deal with assets that were held by the organization and tend to other related matters, but we are pleased with the dissolution of the nonprofit corporation and the court’s resolution of the central issues of this case.”
Hill sued Stark in February, seeking to remove Stark and co-owner Melisa Lane from their director and officer positions and alleging the mistreatment of animals and staff at the Charlestown animal sanctuary. In the months that followed, the court forbade Stark from removing any of the animals, barred him from taking on new animals and issued a warrant for his arrest after holding him in contempt of court.
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Stark also has faced numerous lawsuits stemming from his alleged abuse of animals, including one that claimed he had violated the Federal Endangered Species Act by separating big cat cubs from their mothers.
Stark gained notoriety after he appeared on the hit Netflix docu-series "Tiger King," alongside infamous big cat owner Joe Exotic. He is currently being held at the Marion County Jail and is scheduled to be released Nov. 8.
