Influencer Charged With Dragging a Great White Onto a Cape Cod Beach

Christopher Stefanou, a New York fishing influencer known online as LI Sharkman, was indicted by a Barnstable County grand jury and arraigned October 21 on five charges, including animal cruelty, illegal shore-based shark fishing and attempting to capture a white shark, over a nighttime trip near Wellfleet's Marconi Beach in October 2025, Surfer reports, citing the Provincetown Independent. Prosecutors allege the group used drones to drop baited lines offshore, fought the shark for more than an hour and hauled it onto the sand to photograph it before release. The shark, tagged by state researchers in 2024, was later detected alive. The charges are allegations that have not been proven in court. Massachusetts prohibits targeting white sharks.