Photo of Maverick, the tiger, in the animal sanctuary where law enforcement placed him. Handout / Federal Court records (Federal Court records / Courtesy)
The way the feds tell the story, when celebrity rapper Tyga wanted his very own tiger, he turned to a man known as “Nick the Wrangler” to illegally procure the big cat.
Tyga is not facing any criminal charges.
The investigation began in 2014 when, prosecutors say, Bishop used a fake name and falsified documents to purchase the tiger cub from an organization in Indiana. Investigators say that Bishop told them different versions of what happened when they interviewed him several months apart in 2014 and 2015.
Nicholas Bishop, aka ‘Nick the Wrangler’, 27, of Hallandale Beach, was arrested on federal allegations he illegally sold and transported a tiger, Maverick. Prosecutors said he told them the tiger was procured for well-known rapper, Tyga. (Handout/Broward Sheriff’s Office)
Bishop initially told investigators he paid $1,500 for the cub “at the request of” Tyga in March 2014.
Tyga’s legal name is Michael Ray Nguyen-Stevenson and he’s perhaps best known for dating Kylie Jenner, one of the stars of the reality show “Keeping Up With The Kardashians.”
Bishop told investigators he drove to Indiana, “purchased the tiger at the request of Tyga, and then drove with the tiger” back to where Bishop lived at the time, in Henderson, Nevada.
Bishop said he didn’t want to drive the animal to the rapper’s Los Angeles area home because he knew it was illegal, under California law, to possess a tiger without a permit.
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