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Chiefs super fan pleads guilty to bank robbery charges, faces 50 years in prison

krysyan edler
·4 min read
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A Kansas City Chiefs fan, Chiefsaholic, poses for photos while walking toward Empower Field at Mile High before an NFL football game between the Denver Broncos and the Chiefs Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022, in Denver.
A Kansas City Chiefs fan, Chiefsaholic, poses for photos while walking toward Empower Field at Mile High before an NFL football game between the Denver Broncos and the Chiefs Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022, in Denver. | David Zalubowski

Kansas City Chiefs super fan Xaviar Babudar, who has attended Chiefs games in a full wolf costume and goes by the nickname “Chiefsaholic,” pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to charges connected to a string of bank robberies across the Midwest.

Babudar was accused of stealing over $800,000 and then laundering it through casinos and online gambling, KCTV 5 reported.

He faces up to 50 years in federal prison without parole for one count of bank robbery, money laundering and transporting stolen property across state lines, according to NBC Sports. He will be sentenced on June 10.

Babudar accepted a plea deal that reduced his 20 charges to three, his lawyer told ESPN.

“His violent crime spree across the Midwest and beyond traumatized bank employees and victimized financial institutions in seven states,” said U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore in a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. “The defendant tried to conceal hundreds of thousands of dollars in stolen cash by using it to gamble online and at casinos, but the odds caught up with him. With today’s conviction, he will be held accountable for the full scope of his criminal conduct, including his attempt to flee from justice.”

As part of his plea deal, Babudar will pay at least $532,675 in restitution and forfeit any property he purchased with his laundered money, including the autographed painting of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes that the FBI already recovered.

Who is Xaviar Babudar, or ‘Chiefsaholic’?

Babudar is a fan of the Chiefs who often attended games while wearing a wolf costume. Under the Twitter handle @ChiefsAholic, he gained a large social media following, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

He admitted to robbing 11 financial institutions on Wednesday and used the money he stole and laundered to fund his attendance at Chiefs games.

What was Xaviar Babudar charged with?

On Wednesday, Babudar pleaded guilty to robbing an Iowa bank and an Oklahoma credit union in 2022 and also admitted to robbing or attempting to rob nine other financial institutions that year.

Here is a timeline of the robberies Babudar pleaded guilty to or attempted in 2022, per the U.S. Attorney’s Office:

  • March 2, 2022: He stole $70,000 from the Great Western Bank in Clive, Iowa. He pleaded guilty to this robbery Wednesday.

  • April 28, 2022: He stole $170,860 from the First National Bank of Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska.

  • July 13, 2022: He stole $303,845 from the First Class Community Credit Union in West Des Moines, Iowa.

  • Nov. 17, 2022: He stole $125,900 from the Tennessee Credit Union in Nashville, Tennessee.

  • Nov. 29, 2022: He attempted to rob the Wings Financial Credit Union in Savage, Minnesota, but fled when he learned the vault only contained small bills.

  • Nov. 29, 2022: He attempted to rob Royal Credit Union in Apple Valley, Minnesota, that same day but fled for the same reason as earlier.

  • Nov. 30, 2022: He stole $25,000 from the same bank he first robbed in Clive, Iowa, in March, which had since become a branch of First Interstate Bank.

  • Dec. 15, 2022: He attempted to rob Pinnacle Bank in Papillon, Nebraska, but fled when he couldn’t open the interior doors of the bank’s vestibule area.

  • Dec. 16, 2022: He stole $139,500 from the Tulsa Teachers Federal Credit Union in Bixby, Oklahoma, and was arrested. He pleaded guilty to this robbery Wednesday.

Evidence from his first robbery led to authorities catching Babudar. DNA was later pulled from a glove Babudar left behind at his first Iowa robbery and matched the DNA pulled from a hat found at his Nashville robbery.

In February 2023, Babudar was released on bond but became a fugitive shortly after his release upon receiving a $100,000 check with his winnings from placing a pair of $5,000 bets on the Chiefs winning the 2023 Super Bowl and on Mahomes being named Super Bowl MVP. He placed those bets back in June 2022 after robbing his first bank.

He then committed two more robberies while on the run.

  • June 8, 2023: He robbed the Heritage Bank in Sparks, Nevada, stealing $1,100.

  • July 3, 2023: He stole $950 from a U.S. Bank branch in El Dorado Hills, California.

Four days later, he was arrested in Sacramento on July 7, 2023.