One of — if not the — strangest off-field NFL stories is reaching its inevitable conclusion.
Xaviar Babudar, or ChiefsAholic, pleads guilty to string of bank robberies and his next stop is prison
ChiefsAholic pleads guilty to a string of bank robberies, but the real crime is this painting he has to forfeit
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Mark Schofield is a former college quarterback and attorney covering the NFL and F1.
Xaviar Babudar, or as he is more commonly known, Chiefsaholic, pled guilty to a string of bank robberies in Federal Court on Wednesday. According to a statement from the United State’s Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri, Babudar pled guilty to “charges related to a string of 11 robberies, or attempted robberies, of financial institutions in seven states.”
Specifically, Babudar pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering and one count of transporting stolen property across state lines. He also pleaded guilty to a count of bank robbery in a separate case filed in the Northern District of Oklahoma.
As part of his plea, Babudar admitted that he engaged in a string of nine bank and credit union robberies in 2022, along with two additional bank robberies while he was a fugitive. He then laundered much of the stolen money through casinos and online gambling outlets.
Under the agreement Babudar must pay “at least” $532,675 in restitution to victim financial institutions, and must forfeit to the government any property involved in his laundering activities. That includes the agreement to forfeit an autographed painting of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes that has been recovered by the FBI.
Babudar previously posted on social media this photograph of him outside a charity event held by Mahomes, along with an autographed painting of the Kansas City QB:
That is ... certainly a painting.
“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. “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.”
Babudar is scheduled to be sentenced on July 10, 2024. According to the United States Attorney’s Office, he faces up to 50 years in federal prison without parole.
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