Sports Bettor “Chiefsaholic” Receives 17.5-Year Prison Sentence for Bank Robberies

Hours before the Kansas City Chiefs opened the NFL regular season on Thursday, an ardent supporter of the team received a lengthy prison sentence in connection with a string of bank robberies.

Xaviar Babudar, more commonly known as “Chiefsaholic,” was sentenced in Kansas City on Thursday to 17 years and six months in federal prison. The sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs includes $532,675 in restitution to the financial institutions victimized by the robberies.

Babudar, who became famous for wearing wolf costumes at Kansas City home games, also dabbled in sports betting. He received a six-figure payout for two Chiefs-related bets, including a $5,000 wager on Patrick Mahomes to win the 2022 NFL Most Valuable Player award.

With odds of 9-1, the winning ticket from Argosy Casino in Illinois carried a payout in excess of $40,000. Babudar also placed another $5,000 wager on the Chiefs to win Super Bowl LVII at odds of 10-1. Over a 16-month span, Babudar committed nearly a dozen bank robberies while traveling to numerous states to facilitate the brazen spree. Babudar posted bail in February 2023, days before the Chiefs defeated the Eagles in the Super Bowl.

“While parading as a social-media celebrity, the defendant secretly engaged in a violent crime spree of armed robberies and attempted robberies across seven states,” U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore said in a statement. “Babudar’s robbery spree bankrolled the expensive tickets and travel across the country to attend Kansas City Chiefs games while he cultivated a large fan base online.”

Laundering Thousands Through Casino Chips

Babudar pleaded guilty to stealing $139,500 from the Tulsa Teachers Federal Credit Union in December 2022. Babudar, 30, admitted to entering the credit union and jumping a teller counter before ordering a bank employee at gunpoint to go to the property’s vault.

While inside the bank, Babudar informed employees that if they did not comply with his request, he would shoot them. Months earlier, Babudar entered a branch of Great Western Bank in Clive, Iowa, wearing a ski mask. Babudar pleaded guilty to stealing $70,000 from the branch in March 2022.

Several bank tellers provided victim impact statements at Thursday’s hearing, with one victim telling the court that they think about the robbery every morning before heading to work. Another victim said they still experience nightmares from the robbery.

“The bank was not the only victim of these crimes,” said Stephen Cyrus, special agent in charge of the FBI Kansas City Field Office. “Babudar terrorized bank employees throughout his multi-state crime spree while relishing his celebrity status. Today’s sentencing speaks to the severity of his actions and the significant law enforcement assistance and resources utilized across multiple states to hold him accountable for his violent and criminal behavior.”

In addition, Babudar used multiple Midwest casinos to launder the stolen funds. Over a four-month period through July 2022, he redeemed nearly $663,000 in chips from casino properties in Missouri, Oklahoma, Arizona and Illinois, according to court records.

By that fall, Babudar purchased $130,000 in casino chips from four casinos in Kansas and Missouri. At the same time, he redeemed $77,400 at two casinos over a period of several weeks.

Months before the Tulsa incident, the Bills edged the Chiefs 24-20 to avenge a defeat in the AFC Divisional Playoffs. Prior to that loss, a customer placed $80,000 on the Chiefs at Hollywood Casino in Kansas City to defeat the Bills, according to ESPN. Multiple bettors from Hollywood Casino informed ESPN that they were told by sportsbook employees that the wager was placed by Babudar.

Compulsive Gambling Implications

Matthew Merryman, Babudar’s attorney, spoke to ESPN for a 2023 documentary entitled "Where Wolf: The Search for ChiefsAholic." During a 2023 interview with ESPN, Merryman addressed his client’s issues with compulsive gambling. Weeks after the Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory over the Eagles, Argosy Casino mailed Babudar a $100,000 check for the two winning bets.

“I think Xaviar would tell you that he has a gambling addiction,” Merryman said. “I don’t think it’s a healthy relationship with gambling.”

Before pleading guilty, Babudar faced up to 50 years in prison.

The court also ordered Babudar on Thursday to forfeit to the government any property involved in his money laundering activity, including an autographed painting of Mahomes. Sachs imposed the prison sentence of 17.5 years without the possibility of parole.

Mahomes, 28, will enter his eighth NFL season on Thursday night. Babudar is not scheduled to be released until 2042. By then, Mahomes will be 45, making it unlikely that the fan with the famous wolf costume will ever attend an NFL game featuring the star quarterback again.