A federal judge has sentenced the Kansas City Chiefs superfan known as "ChiefsAholic" to more than 17 years in prison for a string of 11 bank robberies across seven states where he stole nearly $850,000 to finance his social media stardom. Xavier Babudar, 30, learned his fate Thursday—hours before his beloved Chiefs won their season opener against the Baltimore Ravens. He'll spend 17.5 years in prison for the bank robberies he admitted to earlier this year. Babudar developed a following on his @ChiefsAholic account on X after attending games dressed as a wolf in Chiefs gear, the AP reports.
Babudar robbed banks or attempted to rob banks in Iowa, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Tennessee, Minnesota, Nevada, and California in 2022 and 2023. Two of the robberies were committed after he cut off his ankle monitor while out on bond and fled Oklahoma. "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. However, the bank and credit union employees whom he terrorized at gunpoint suffered the brunt of his true nature," US Attorney Teresa Moore said in a statement.
Most of the money Babudar stole was never recovered, so the court ordered him to pay over $530,000 in restitution and forfeit anything he used to launder the money, including an autographed painting of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes that the FBI recovered. Prosecutors have said much of the stolen money was laundered through casinos and online gambling. Babudar's attorney, Matthew Merryman, said the crime spree was driven by a gambling addiction. Patrick Daly of the US Attorney's office, disagreed, ESPN reports. "It's not an addiction to gambling. It's not an addiction to the Chiefs," he said. "It's an addiction to fame."
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