For months, daring bands of thieves linked to South American gangs have been making off with piles of jewelry and cash from the homes of the biggest superstars in sports, targeting the likes of the NFL's Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.
Sophisticated pillagers have deployed drones and signal jamming devices, sometimes posing as delivery drivers or maintenance workers, to gain access to gated neighborhoods and thwart home security systems, according to warnings issued by the NFL and NBA.
But in recent weeks, investigators across the U.S. have made a handful of arrests connected to at least one of the high-profile heists and discovered stolen sports memorabilia, jewelry, and art stuffed into storage units in New Jersey.
A group of Chilean men stopped in January while driving in Ohio were charged Monday with stealing nearly $300,000 worth of designer luggage, watches and jewelry from Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow's house. Photos showed one suspect wearing a sparkly necklace with Burrow's jersey number that he had worn during interviews, according to a federal complaint unsealed Wednesday.
"These individuals seem to be the alleged tip of the iceberg," said Kenneth Parker, the U.S. Attorney in southern Ohio, who believes the men are working with South American theft rings that for years have been ransacking opulent homes from coast to coast.
Some luxury watches and jewelry stolen from homes across the country — not just those belonging to athletes — ended up being sold at a pawnshop in Manhattan's Diamond District and stashed away in nearby storage units, federal authorities said in court documents released Tuesday that accuse two men of fencing the items.
Whether the entire string of burglaries targeting athletes are connected to the same crews from South America or if those groups are working together isn't clear. Federal authorities leading the investigations have been tight-lipped since the FBI warned in December that crime organizations were preying on professional athletes.
Investigators say international crime rings have looted high-end houses for years, but now they're going after some of the biggest names in the NFL, NBA, and NHL.
Thieves broke into the homes of Kansas City Chiefs teammates Mahomes and Kelce within days of each other in October around the time they played New Orleans and Kelce's superstar girlfriend Taylor Swift watched the game from the stands.
Mahomes and Kelce on Sunday will try to lead the Chiefs to a record three straight Super Bowl titles.
Jewelry valued at about $30,000 was stolen from NBA All-Star Luka Doncic's home in Dallas in December. Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin reported a home invasion in January that happened while his team was playing at home.
Law enforcement officials warned sports leagues last fall that thieves had been striking on game days when they knew the players would not be home, often smashing through rear windows.
Some of the groups scoped out their targets by posing as home delivery drivers or joggers in secluded neighborhoods.
Burrow's home in Ohio, which sits on a gated street tucked along a wooded area, was broken into while he was in Dallas for a Monday Night Football game in December. The men charged in the invasion were found weeks later traveling with a Husky glass-breaking tool that one of them bought at Home Depot, an FBI agent wrote in an affidavit.
Players have been advised to not only beef up their home security but also avoid posting their whereabouts on social media.
The theft rings are focused on cash and items that can be resold on the black market, such as jewelry, watches and luxury bags, according to an NBA warning based on information from the FBI.
The two men indicted this week in New York City were accused of buying stolen watches, jewelry and other expensive items from a variety of burglary crews and reselling them at their pawnshop in Manhattan since 2020.
Court documents said the pair were tied to five separate burglary crews and linked one of the two suspects to the men accused of breaking into the residence of a "high-profile athlete in Ohio" on the same day that Burrow's home was hit.
A judge on Friday denied bail for the pawnshop owners, saying it would be "ironic" to release them just before the Super Bowl.
"This is one Super Bowl Defendants will have to watch from the sidelines," U.S. District Court Judge William Kuntz wrote in his decision. "They will not be players this weekend."
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