As the Kansas City Chiefs’ primary hype man, Xaviar Babudar, identified by followers as ChiefsAholic, attended practically each recreation, at residence and away. Given the hefty worth of soccer tickets, it was a high-flying way of life, which Mr. Babudar attributed to profitable warehouses he managed throughout the Midwest.
But the cash that funded Mr. Babudar’s travels, federal prosecutors say, seems to have come, in half, from a extra illicit supply. Mr. Babudar is accused of committing a string of financial institution robberies throughout at the least six states during the last 12 months, together with in Iowa, the place he’s accused of stealing $70,000.
Mr. Babudar, 29, was arrested close to Sacramento, Calif., on Friday, the place federal brokers charged him with one depend of financial institution theft and one depend of transporting stolen property throughout state traces, the United States Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Missouri stated in an announcement. It got here 4 months after he fled prosecution in Oklahoma in connection to a distinct financial institution theft.
That theft is one in every of seven Mr. Babudar was accused of committing or trying between April 2022 and December 2022, in accordance with courtroom paperwork unsealed on Monday. Prosectors stated Mr. Babudar had bought and redeemed greater than $1 million value of chips from casinos throughout the Midwest that gave the impression to be linked to the stolen cash. A grand jury will decide whether or not Mr. Babudar will likely be indicted on the extra prices, the assertion added.
Federal prosecutors in Missouri declined to touch upon Mr. Babudar’s case.
In December, Mr. Babudar was accused of robbing a credit score union in Tulsa, Okla., utilizing a pistol he aimed toward a teller’s face. He was launched in February after the bail bondsman, who was additionally a Kansas City Chiefs fan, agreed to put up Mr. Babudar’s $80,000 bail. A month later, the police stated he severed his ankle monitor and disappeared.
Tracy Tiernan, Mr. Babudar’s lawyer in Oklahoma, stated he had not been in contact with Mr. Babudar since.
“I still have had no communication whatsoever with him other than the two or three texts asking him where he is and pleading him to come back,” Mr. Tiernan stated.
Four months after his escape, federal brokers discovered and arrested Mr. Babudar in California. He appeared on Tuesday afternoon in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, the place a choose ordered that he stay in custody with out bail till he could possibly be transferred again to Missouri. The date for the courtroom listening to has not been set, in accordance with a spokesman for the U.S. District Court in Missouri.
The Tulsa County district lawyer, Steve Kunzweiler, thanked federal brokers for locating and arresting Mr. Babudar and stated he nonetheless deliberate to pursue prosecution in Oklahoma. After Mr. Babudar escaped from a Tulsa jail, a choose had issued an arrest warrant and a brand new bond, this time set at $1 million.
“Tulsa County was the first jurisdiction to arrest and charge Babudar in December 2022,” Mr. Kunzweiler stated. “My office will work with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Missouri to determine the next steps in holding him accountable,” he added.
For years, Mr. Babudar, identified for his exuberant persona and signature wolf costume, was a fixture at Kansas City Chiefs video games. He was featured frequently on N.F.L. broadcasts and had tens of hundreds of followers on Twitter beneath his deal with @ChiefsAholic. (The account is now run by a distinct person.)
But his look in a Tulsa jail in December, and his occurring the lam, punctured his picture as an enterprising, affable soccer fan. A brand new narrative offered by legislation enforcement and prosecutors portrayed a rootless man residing in his automotive with a document of petty crimes like shoplifting.
“He had a bad hand dealt to him in life,” Mr. Tiernan stated, referring to Mr. Babudar. “He had no guidance from his father, and he struggled with homelessness. It was a terrifically difficult climate for a teenager to endure.”
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