Xavier Babudar, aka “Chiefsaholic,” faces bank robbery charges. (Mugshot from Tulsa County Sheriff, wolf fan costume photo from New York Post)
Federal prosecutors allege a Kansas City Chiefs superfan known on social media as “ChiefsAholic” robbed banks throughout the Midwest and used some of the cash he stole to attend games and bet that his favorite team would win the title and quarterback Patrick Mahomes would be Super Bowl LVII Most Valuable Player.
Xaviar Babudar, who went to Chiefs games dressed as a wolf, was already facing charges after a brazen robbery of a credit union in Oklahoma. The suspect allegedly pointed a gun at a teller’s chest and demanded the “100’s” from a vault, or “he’d put a bullet in the employee’s head,” the arrest and booking report obtained by Law&Crime said about the Dec. 16 heist at the Tulsa Teacher Credit union in the Tulsa, Oklahoma, suburb of Bixby.
He took off with cash and was arrested a few blocks away, authorities said.
Babudar, 29, was released on bond in February but cut his ankle monitor off and was on the lam until July when he was arrested in Sacramento, California, according to prosecutors. He’s in jail without bond.
On Wednesday, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Missouri announced in a press release Babudar was charged in a 19-count indictment in Kansas City, Mo. Prosecutors allege he robbed at least seven banks and attempted to rob two more between March 2022 and December that covered more territory than even Mahomes can with his rocket arm. The indictment charges Babudar with three counts of armed bank robbery, one count of bank theft, 11 counts of money laundering, and four counts of transporting stolen property across state lines.
Babudar allegedly stole $70,000 from the Clive, Iowa, branch of Great Western Bank on March 2, 2022, and then drove back to Kansas City where he deposited the cash in his savings account. Then on April 28, 2022, he robbed a bank in Omaha, Nebraska, and stole over $170,000, prosecutors say. Police recovered over $160,000 of the stolen funds after the robbery, according to the feds.
Fast forward to July 13, 2022, and Babudar walked into to the West Des Moines, Iowa, branch of First Class Community Credit Union and walked away with over $300,000 after he brandished a silver and black firearm, jumped over the counter and demanded the bank tellers open the vault, prosecutors said. He deposited $23,000 in his personal savings account and laundered some of the money to buy chips at casinos in Missouri and Illinois, prosecutors said. He allegedly then cashed out his winnings and deposited them in his bank account.
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Prosecutors say he robbed two banks along with two failed attempts in November: He netted over $125,000 at The Tennessee Credit Union in Nashville on Nov. 17 and returned to The Great Western Bank that he robbed in March 2022 and stole an additional $25,000 on Nov. 30. He also had two unsuccessful heists in Minnesota, prosecutors say.
His string of good luck ended after his arrest for the December robbery of the Oklahoma bank. Following his arrest, FBI agents began reviewing bank records, casino transactions and other financial reporting, along with unsolved bank robberies, to “determine the breadth and scope of additional potential criminal activities,” federal prosecutors said.
The investigation was able to place Babudar’s cell phone in the area at the time of the robberies and determined he redeemed more than $1 million in casino chips as a way to launder the stolen cash, the feds said.
Months before his arrest, on June 10, 2022, he went to an Illinois casino and bet $5,000 each that Mahomes would win the Super Bowl MVP and Chiefs would win the title. The bets proved prophetic: The Chiefs won a 38-35 thriller over the Philadelphia Eagles in February’s Super Bowl and Mahomes did indeed take home MVP, completing 21 of 27 passes, three of which were for touchdowns. The bets netted him $45,000 and $55,000, respectively, for $100,000 in winnings, according to prosecutors.
Unfortunately for him, as his favorite team begins its title defense, he will be sitting in a jail cell with a long list of legal troubles.
Jason Kandel contributed to this report.
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