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K.C. Chiefs ‘superfan’ accused of string of bank stick-ups in U.S., including two in Twin Cities

nick ferraro, pioneer press
·3 min read

A diehard Kansas City Chiefs fan known on social media and at games as “ChiefsAholic” is accused of robbing six banks across the central U.S. last year, and trying to rob ones in Apple Valley and Savage on the same day.

Xaviar Michael Babudar, 28, of Overland Park, Kan., was charged with one count each of bank theft and transporting stolen property across state lines in a criminal complaint filed under seal in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City in late May. He was arrested last week in Lincoln, Calif.

Babudar allegedly traveled throughout the Midwest to perpetrate a string of bank robberies. He robbed three banks in Iowa and one each in Nebraska, Oklahoma and Tennessee between March 2, 2022, and his first arrest on Dec 16, netting more than $845,000, according to the now-unsealed complaint. He allegedly then laundered the robbery proceeds through area casinos and bank accounts.

Babudar’s two attempted robberies in the Twin Cities came within two hours on Nov. 29, prosecutors say. He first entered Wings Financial Credit Union at 14411 Highway 13 in Savage just after noon and demanded that employees open the vault. Upon seeing it only held small bills, he left the bank without taking anything.

About an hour and half later, Babudar tried to rob the Royal Credit Union at 14295 Cedar Ave. in Apple Valley. He again discovered only small bills in the vault and left with nothing.

Babudar was charged in Tulsa County, Okla., in a Dec. 16 heist at the Tulsa Teachers Federal Credit Union, where he allegedly made off with more than $150,000. He was released on bond in February 2023, four days before the Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 in Super Bowl LVII. In late March, he removed his ankle monitor and fled prosecution.

After Babudar’s December arrest, FBI investigators began reviewing bank records, casino transaction records and financial documents to determine the magnitude of his alleged crimes. They discovered that he had purchased and redeemed more than $1 million in chips from casinos in Missouri, Kansas and Illinois between April and December of 2022, the complaint said.

Investigators also reviewed several unsolved bank robberies throughout the Midwest, discovering Babudar’s cell phone was placed in the same cities and locations for seven of them.

Babudar was a regular spectator at Chiefs games, both home and away, and “this pattern of travel for this known cellular device is consistent with (his) attendance at these games,” the complaint said.

According to a ESPN.com report in February, Babudar was one of the most popular Chiefs fans on game days. He was known as “the guy in the wolf suit, often shown on TV, who’d run around tailgates in head-to-toe gray fur, claws and a mask, firing up fans.”

The criminal complaint noted that Babudar “enjoyed a robust social media presence as a Kansas City Chiefs superfan.” However, in late December, fans began to notice that his popular Twitter account — @ChiefsAholic — went silent, before one found his mugshot from the Oklahoma jail, the ESPN.com report said.

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