The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
A Kansas City Chiefs fanatic has been sentenced to nearly two decades in prison for robbing or attempting to rob 11 banks, in a double life that saw him stealing close to $1m.
Xaviar Babudar became a social media sensation for his superfan “ChiefsAholic” persona, for which he would dress up in a full-body wolf costume complete with Chief’s merch.
However, the 30-year-old’s parade was only half the show, as he was at the same time “secretly engaged in a violent crime spree of armed robberies and attempted robberies across seven states,” said US attorney Teresa Moore after Babudar’s sentencing on Thursday.
ChiefsAholic, also known as Xaviar Babudar, poses for photos while walking toward Empower Field at Mile High before a Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs game on January 8, 2022 (AP)
She said the convicted armed robber funded his expensive superfan lifestyle of chiefs tickets and transport using the money stolen from his heists, which came to a total of $847,725.
In addition to being sentenced to 17-and-a-half years behind bars, the court ordered Babudar to pay $532,675 in restitution to the banks he targeted, according to the US Attorney’s Office.
The charges were related to a string of 11 robberies, or attempted robberies, including at the Tulsa Teachers Credit Union in Bixby, Oklahoma in 2022.
Entering the bank on December 16 that year, Babudar jumped the teller counter armed with what appeared to be a black handgun, ordering an employee at gunpoint to the credit union’s vault.
He then demanded bank employees open the vault and move money from it to a plastic bag, threatening to shoot them if they did not comply.
According to a statement from Bixby chief of police Todd Blish at the time, the “quick and decisive action” of a witness in reporting the robber’s description and the direction he fled enabled officers to respond in “less than two minutes and have the suspect in custody within six minutes.”
The man apprehended was identified as Babudar, who was carrying a large bag containing $150,250 in $100 and $50 bills.
NFL superfan Xaviar Babudar, known for attending Kansas City Chiefs games dressed as a wolf, has been sentenced for a string of bank robberies (Tulsa County Jail)
Officials found pairs of goggles and gloves, which he had used in other bank robberies, as well as two betslips for $4,000 and $20,000 and letters from Community America Credit Union related to his deposits of $20,000 and $50,000 in May.
“The actions of Babudar were brazen and traumatic for the bank employees robbed in Bixby, Oklahoma,” said US Attorney Clint Johnson of the Northern District of Oklahoma, who also thanked the Bixby Police Department for its work in collaboration with the FBI Tulsa field office, which helped detain Babudar.
The now orange jumpsuit-donning Babudar admitted robbing the Bixby bank and 10 other robberies or attempted robberies.
He also pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering and one count of transporting stolen property across state lines.
Following his arrest, Babudar was released on bond in February 2023.
Days after placing several bets ranging from $5,000 to $100,000, Babudar cut off his ankle monitor and fled from Oklahoma, according to court documents via the release, using his gambling winnings to purchase a vehicle in Henderson, Nevada.
He admitted robbing two of the 11 banks while on the run, before he was arrested for a second time in Sacramento on July 7, 2023.
