Seven individuals from Chile have faced charges in a federal court in Florida for allegedly being involved in a series of burglaries targeting luxury homes of well-known professional athletes across the United States, as indicated by a criminal complaint.
While the complaint does not disclose the names of the athletes involved, it mentions high-profile cases, including those linked to Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce from the Kansas City Chiefs, Joe Burrow from the Cincinnati Bengals, alongside players from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks and Memphis Grizzlies.
The complaint suggests that the accused orchestrated a burglary operation specifically aimed at professional athletes when they are away, managing to accumulate approximately $2 million in stolen goods, comprising watches, jewelry, cash, and other valuables, which included a stolen safe that the group managed to open.
Each defendant faces charges for conspiring to transport stolen goods across state lines, a crime that could result in a prison sentence of up to a decade. As of now, it remains uncertain whether any of the defendants are in custody, and there are currently no listed attorneys representing them in records from the Tampa federal court.
The individuals charged have been identified as Pablo Zuniga Cartes (24), Ignacio Zuniga Cartes (20), Bastian Jimenez Freraut (27), Jordan Quiroga Sanchez (22), Bastian Orellano Morales (23), Alexander Huiaguil Chavez (24), and Sergio Ortega Cabello (38). While the FBI classifies them as Chilean citizens in their charging documents, it omits details regarding their legal status in the United States, such as citizenship or residency.
Some of these individuals were initially apprehended in January during a traffic stop in Ohio, facing state charges for allegedly burglarizing the home of quarterback Joe Burrow. The federal charges in Tampa were subsequently filed on January 30.
The FBI complaint heavily relies on various forms of evidence, including data extracted from cellphones, surveillance footage, and records from license plate readers that allegedly tracked the defendants near the locations of the burglaries. The burglars reportedly employed straightforward methods, such as smashing windows or forcing open sliding glass doors using crowbars.
Details from the FBI affidavit describe how the burglars typically approach homes from hidden or dark areas before executing their break-ins. One unnamed player from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers reported losing property valued at approximately $167,000, which included a Rolex watch, a Louis Vuitton suitcase, jewelry, and a firearm.
Additionally, the culprits documented some of their stolen items with photographs, which were also presented in the criminal complaint. In one photo, a suspect was identified wearing a Kansas City Chiefs shirt. The group allegedly organized themselves into smaller teams to carry out several break-ins, as noted by the FBI.
Despite the divisions within their group of four or five members, these smaller teams reportedly collaborated closely, maintained communication, and utilized the same networks for selling stolen goods, as remarked in the FBI affidavit.
