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Elizabeth Merrill
Elizabeth Merrill
ESPN Senior Writer
- Elizabeth Merrill is a senior writer for ESPN. She previously wrote for The Kansas City Star and The Omaha World-Herald.
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David Purdum
David Purdum
ESPN Staff Writer
- Joined ESPN in 2014
- Journalist covering gambling industry since 2008
Sep 5, 2024, 12:50 PM ET
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chiefs superfan Xaviar Babudar was sentenced to 17½ years in prison without parole and three years of supervised release Thursday for committing a string of armed bank robberies across the United States.
Babudar, widely known as ChiefsAholic, entered a plea deal in February in which he admitted to stealing more than $800,000 in 11 robberies across seven states and laundering the proceeds through casinos. He pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery, one count of money laundering and one count of transporting stolen property across state lines.
Dressed head to toe in a gray wolf suit, Babudar, 30, became a staple at Chiefs games for years and was adored by fans at Arrowhead Stadium and on social media, where he crafted a persona of a hardworking, generous bachelor.
In court documents filed last week, prosecutors said Babudar was able to attend Chiefs games and grow the ChiefsAholic persona because of his 16-month robbery spree, which began in March 2022.
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Wearing a yellow prison jumpsuit and handcuffs during his sentencing at the District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Babudar apologized to his victims; to Kansas City, which he called his home; and to his mother and brother. As he left the courtroom, he blew them a kiss.
Babudar’s attorney, Matthew Merryman, said Babudar’s robberies were driven by gambling addiction. Patrick Daly, senior litigation counsel at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, disagreed.
“It’s not an addiction to gambling. It’s not an addiction to the Chiefs,” he said. “It’s an addiction to fame.”
Prosecutors cited a statement from one robbery victim, who wrote, “[M]y team didn’t deserve to be held at gunpoint twice so a man in a wolf suit could travel the country watching football and placing extravagant bets.”
According to the court documents, Babudar told a Nashville credit union employee that he would “blow your brains out” and that if they gave him a dye pack he would “come back and put a bullet in your head.”
In a separate filing, Merryman wrote that Babudar is remorseful, hopes to train in mechanical trades and wants to help others struggling with gambling addiction.
An ESPN investigation found that Babudar had a troubled upbringing and a history of legal issues and that much of what he posted about himself on social media was untrue. Merryman wrote in a filing that Babudar experienced childhood trauma and chronic homelessness.
Babudar’s secret life unraveled on Dec. 16, 2022, when Bixby, Oklahoma, police arrested him fleeing an armed robbery at the Tulsa Teachers Credit Union. He was released on bond in February 2023 and, a month later — after receiving $100,000 in winnings from two bets on the Chiefs — he cut off his GPS monitor and escaped.
Babudar evaded authorities for nearly four months and robbed banks in Sparks, Nevada, and El Dorado Hills, California, while on the run. On July 7, 2023, he was arrested in Lincoln, California.
In a court filing, Merryman argued that Babudar should receive a 10-year sentence to allow him time to right his wrongs.
“Due to his quasi-celebrity status, Xaviar is in a unique position to potentially repay the financial losses created by his actions,” Merryman wrote.
Babudar is required to pay $532,455 in restitution and forfeit property gained as a result of his crimes, including an autographed painting of quarterback Patrick Mahomes that he purchased at a charity auction and has been recovered by the Kansas City FBI. In April, a judge ordered Babudar to pay $10.8 million to the Bixby teller he threatened with a gun.
Babudar, who has been awaiting sentencing at Leavenworth federal prison in Kansas, requested to be housed at the Greenville federal penitentiary in Illinois.
