KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A federal choose has sentenced the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs superfan referred to as “ChiefsAholic” to greater than 17 years in jail for a string of 11 financial institution robberies throughout seven states the place he stole practically $850,000 to finance his social media stardom.
Xavier Babudar, 30, realized his destiny Thursday — the identical day his beloved Chiefs had been gearing up for his or her season opener towards the Baltimore Ravens. He’ll spend 17 1/2 years in jail for the financial institution robberies he admitted to earlier this yr.
Babudar developed a following on his @ChiefsAholic account on the social platform X after attending video games dressed as a wolf in Chiefs gear. His rabid assist of the Chiefs turned well-known on social media, although he’s nowhere close to the workforce’s most well-known fan since Taylor Swift started courting tight finish Travis Kelce final yr.
“Babudar’s theft spree bankrolled the costly tickets and journey throughout the nation to attend Kansas Metropolis Chiefs video games whereas he cultivated a big fan base on-line. Nevertheless, the financial institution and credit score union staff whom he terrorized at gunpoint suffered the brunt of his true nature,” U.S. Legal professional Teresa Moore mentioned in a press release.
A lot of the cash Babudar stole was by no means recovered, so the court docket ordered him to pay over $530,000 in restitution and forfeit something he used to launder the cash, together with an autographed portray of Kansas Metropolis Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes that the FBI recovered.
However in fact he might by no means be capable to repay that a lot, simply because it’s unlikely he’ll pay $10.8 million to an Oklahoma financial institution teller he terrorized and assaulted with a gun throughout one in every of his financial institution robberies. Prosecutors have mentioned a lot of the stolen cash was laundered by way of casinos and on-line playing.
Babudar robbed banks or tried to rob banks in Iowa, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Tennessee, Minnesota, Nevada and California in 2022 and 2023. Two of the robberies had been dedicated after he reduce off his ankle monitor whereas out on bond and fled Oklahoma. He even robbed the identical financial institution in Clive, Iowa, twice throughout 2022, though the financial institution modified names within the months between the robberies.
When he was arrested the primary time in 2022, he had a bag crammed with $289,750 in money, betting slips for $24,000 and financial institution deposit letters exhibiting that he had put $20,000 and $50,000 into his account earlier that yr.
Earlier than the beginning of the 2022 season, Babudar positioned two profitable $5,000 bets that the Chiefs would win Tremendous Bowl LVII and Mahomes can be named the sport’s Most Invaluable Participant. He collected a $100,000 test from the Argosy On line casino in Illinois earlier than taking off and used a few of his winnings to purchase a car he used to evade authorities.
He was arrested in Sacramento, California, in July 2023 and has been in federal custody since then.
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