When the Kansas City Chiefs open the 2024 NFL season against the Baltimore Ravens, one of the Super Bowl champions’ most notorious fans will be absent from the stands. No, not Taylor Swift — Xavier Babudar, better known as “Chief’s Aholic,” was sentenced to 17 years and six months following a string of bank robberies across the country.
He was convicted of 11 robberies in seven states, accused of stealing more than $800,000.
Babudar became known for dressing up as a wolf to attend Chiefs games, drawing attention to the team’s recent championship run with quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
“While parading as a social media celebrity, Babudar was secretly involved in violent crime,” US Attorney Teresa Moore said. said in a statement on Thursday. “Babudar’s robbery spree included expensive tickets and traveling across the country to attend Kansas City Chiefs games while he built a large online fan base.”
Babudar was ordered to pay $532,675 in restitution and forfeit any property involved in laundering the stolen money, which the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. said in a press release Includes an autographed picture of Mahomes. Most of the money that Babudar stole has not been recovered by the attorney’s office.
Badubar was first charged in December 2022 following a series of successful and attempted robberies and was released on bond in February 2023. Babudar cut off his ankle monitor and fled from authorities in March 2023, According to the US Attorney’s Office. Those were the days after he successfully bet on the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl MVP in 2023 and received a check with the winnings on Mahomes to win the Super Bowl MVP, the attorney’s office said.
He was arrested again in Sacramento in July 2023 and charged in federal court with bank robbery and transporting stolen property across state lines. Babudar admitted to robbing two additional banks while on the run and has since been detained.
On February 11, the Kansas City Chiefs won their second consecutive Super Bowl. On February 28, Babudar pleaded guilty to bank robbery, money laundering and transporting stolen property across state lines. In April, he was ordered by an Oklahoma judge to pay a bank teller $10.8 million for injuries sustained during the Bixby robbery and punitive damages.
Rishi Rajagopalan is a social media associate producer and content writer for CBS News.
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