‘Chiefsaholic’ superfan pleads guilty to string of bank robberies
A Kansas City Chiefs superfan known as the Chiefsaholic pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to charges related to a series of bank robberies in seven states in 2022 and 2023, prosecutors said, adding that he stole some of the money had used to gamble on his favorite bank. team.
The man, Xaviar Michael Babudar, 29, pleaded guilty before Judge Howard F. Sachs of the US District Court in Kansas City, Missouri, to one count of money laundering and one count of transporting stolen property across state lines . the Western District of Missouri said in a rack. Mr. Babudar also pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery in a federal case in Oklahoma, prosecutors said.
Mr. Babudar was known among Kansas City Chiefs fans for regularly attending games dressed as a wolf in the team’s attire, and he had developed a “robust social media presence” on X, where he frequented Chiefsaholic, they said the prosecutors.
He boasted about bets that would earn him tens of thousands of dollars if he won and who, as a fan, lived a lavish lifestyle: a good place to watch his team win the 2020 Super Bowl in Miami Gardens, Florida, a ticket that raised about $8,500 . He took a selfie with the club’s general manager on the confetti-strewn pitch. He attended quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ annual fundraising gala in Kansas City in late 2022 and apparently won the painting which was featured on stage throughout the event.
According to prosecutors, Mr. Babudar began stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from banks in several states in 2022. He was arrested in December 2022 after robbing a bank in Tulsa, Oklahoma, prosecutors said.
Mr. Babudar was released on bail in February 2023, and he later cut off his ankle monitor and fled Oklahoma, prosecutors said. After he missed a court hearing the following month, many began to wonder where Mr. Babudar was and how he could support himself as a fugitive.
Mr. Babudar evaded police for months until he was found and arrested in Sacramento on July 7, 2023. Prosecutors said he was able to evade police with money he won gambling on the Chiefs.
Months before his first arrest, Mr. Babudar placed two bets at the Argosy Casino in Alton, Illinois, on June 10, 2022, prosecutors said. He bet $5,000 that the Chiefs would win Super Bowl LVII, and he bet another $5,000 that Mr. Mahomes would win the Most Valuable Player award.
The bets were paid out after the Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles on February 12, 2023. The following month, a check for $100,000 was sent to Mr. Babudar of the Argosy Casino, prosecutors said.
Mr. Babudar has been held in federal custody without bond since his arrest in Sacramento. Prosecutors said he would be sentenced on July 10, when he could face up to 50 years in prison without parole.
Teresa Moorethe U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri, said in a statement Wednesday that Mr. Babudar’s “violent crime spree” had “traumatized bank employees.”
Mr. Babudar “tried to hide hundreds of thousands of dollars in stolen cash by using it to gamble online and in casinos, but the odds caught up with him,” Ms. Moore said.
Matthew T. Merryman, a lawyer for Mr. Babudar, said in a statement Wednesday that his client had taken responsibility for his actions.
“From the beginning of this case, the government has been fighting and Xaviar’s wallet was collapsing,” Mr Merryman said. “But today Xaviar increased the pressure.”
Mr. Babudar admitted to stealing from banks in the Midwest and beyond in amounts ranging from a few hundred dollars to hundreds of thousands, prosecutors said.
On March 2, 2022, Mr. Babudar admitted to stealing $70,000 from a bank in Clive, Iowa, where he entered wearing a ski mask and demanded money from a teller, warning the teller that he had a firearm, the officials said. prosecutors.
Mr. Babudar also admitted to stealing from banks in Nebraska, Iowa and Tennessee and to attempting to rob other banks, prosecutors said. Mr. Babudar also admitted to robbing two banks while fleeing police after his first arrest, prosecutors said.
The guilty plea on Wednesday was part of an agreement that Mr. Babudar ordered to pay more than $532,000 in restitution to the banks he admitted robbing, prosecutors said. He must also forfeit a signed painting of Mr. Mahomes.