One of the two individuals accused of trafficking in stolen luxury items has been associated with a burglary at the home of a notable athlete in Ohio, coinciding with a break-in at the residence of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. This information was revealed in federal court documents made public on Tuesday.
Dimitriy Nezhinskiy and Juan Villar have been indicted by a grand jury in federal court in New York City for their alleged role in purchasing stolen jewelry, watches, and other high-value items from various burglary rings, including some operating out of South America, and then selling these items at their pawn shop in Manhattan since 2020.
Although Burrow is not explicitly named in the court documents as a victim, prosecutors cited phone records that connect Nezhinskiy to individuals involved in a theft near Cincinnati that occurred on December 9—the very day Burrow’s home was broken into while he was playing in Dallas with the Bengals. A representative from the U.S. attorney’s office was unavailable for comment at the time of the report.
These recent charges against Nezhinskiy and Villar followed indictments against four men from Chile in connection with a series of burglaries targeting multimillion-dollar residences. The Ohio attorney general, however, refrained from confirming whether professional athletes were among the properties targeted.
These four suspects were apprehended last month in Ohio, discovered in an SUV containing a shirt from Louisiana State University and a Cincinnati Bengals hat, both believed to have been stolen from the home near Cincinnati on December 9. Burrow, known for his collegiate career at LSU, has ties to the region.
Nezhinskiy, a 43-year-old Georgian national residing in North Bergen, New Jersey, and 48-year-old Villar from Queens, New York City, were taken into custody on Tuesday and are set to appear in court for arraignment on Wednesday. They face several charges related to receiving stolen property.
At present, a lawyer for Nezhinskiy has not responded to inquiries sent via phone and email, while court documents do not indicate representation for Villar.
According to U.S. Attorney John J. Durham, the defendants allegedly fostered an illegal marketplace which increased demand for burglaries executed by South American Theft Groups and other crews nationwide by acquiring stolen luxury items and reselling them from their New York City shop.
Prosecutors indicated that a significant collection of suspected stolen merchandise was recovered from the defendants’ store and storage facilities in New Jersey that belong to Nezhinskiy.
The break-in at Burrow’s residence resulted in no injuries; however, the home was reported to have been ransacked, and a bedroom window was shattered, as noted in an account from the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.
In response to the incident, Burrow expressed feelings of violation regarding his privacy, stating, “I feel like my privacy has been violated in more ways than one. Way more is out there than I would want out there and that I care to share.”
