K.C. Chief Superfan Pleads Guilty in Credit Union & Bank Robberies Spree

The nationally known Kansas City ChiefsAholic superfan, who robbed credit unions and banks to support his nomadic-sports gambling lifestyle, is expected to be sentenced in July.

Xaviar Michael Babudar, 29, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday, to one count of money laundering and one count of transporting stolen property across state lines. He also pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery in a separate case filed in the Northern District of Oklahoma.

According to a 24-page plea deal, Babudar admitted that he committed nine bank and credit union robberies (or attempted robberies) in 2022 followed by two bank robberies in 2023 while he was a fugitive from justice and laundered much of the stolen money through area casinos and online gambling.

Babudar, who lived a nomadic existence at various locations around the Kansas City metropolitan area, had a popular social media presence as Kansas City Chiefs superfan Twitter user @ChiefsAholic, attending most games dressed as a wolf in Chiefs clothing.

During the playoff game on Dec. 18, 2022, Kansas City Chiefs fans became concerned that their ChiefsAholic was mysteriously absent and hadn’t posted any new messages on social media. Social media sleuths reportedly found out he was in jail, which captured national coverage from sports media outlets. Two days before that playoff game, Babudar was arrested for robbing the $2.5 billion Tulsa Teachers Federal Credit Union branch in Bixby, Okla. After finding goggles and gloves he wore during the heist, during which he threatened to kill credit union employees, FBI investigators noticed the goggles and gloves were similar to other unsolved robberies. Babudar pleaded guilty to stealing $139,500 from TTFCU.

He also admitted to stealing $70,000 from the Clive, Iowa branch of Great Western Bank on March 2, 2022, when his crime spree began. Babudar then carried the stolen funds to Missouri and deposited the money in two separate transactions into his personal savings accounts at the $4.7 billion CommunityAmerica Credit Union in an attempt to conceal the criminal nature of the proceeds. CACU is the exclusive banking partner of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Investigators later recovered Babudar’s DNA from a black glove after the Great Western Bank robbery.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Babudar must pay at least $532,675 in restitution to the victimized financial institutions. He also must forfeit to the government any property involved in his money laundering activity, including an autographed painting of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick L. Mahomes II that has been recovered by the FBI. Of note, a painting of Mahomes that is not autographed is going for nearly $10,000 on NFLshop.com.

Throughout 2022, according to the plea agreement, Babudar admitted to robbing or attempted to rob the following credit unions and banks:

• On April 28, he stole $170,860 from the Omaha, Neb., branch of the First National Bank of Omaha.
• On July 13, he siphoned $303,845 from the West Des Moines, Iowa branch of the $93.4 million First Class Community Credit Union.
• On Nov. 17, he took $125,900 from the Nashville, Tenn., branch of the $430 million TEN Credit Union. During this robbery, Babudar pressed a firearm against a teller’s body and demanded that he be taken to the vault. Employees complied and provided him with cash from the teller drawers and took him to the vault. Babudar told credit union employees that if he was given a dye pack he would “come back and put a bullet in your head.”
• On Nov. 29, Babudar attempted to rob Wings Financial Credit Union in Savage, Minn., and Royal Credit Union in Apple Valley, Minn. After seeing the vaults contained only small bills, he fled on foot.
• On Nov. 30, he stole $25,000 from the Clive, Iowa branch of First Interstate Bank.
• On Dec. 15, Babudar attempted to rob Pinnacle Bank in Papillon, Neb. He entered the bank’s vestibule area and pulled on the doors, but he was unable to open them. He then left the area.

After being arrested for the TTFCU robbery in Oklahoma in December 2022, he was released on bond with an ankle monitor in February 2023.

However, months earlier, Babudar had placed two winning bets at the Argosy Casino in Alton, Ill.

On June 10, 2022, he bet $5,000 that Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes II would win the Most Valuable Player at Super Bowl LVII, and he also bet $5,000 that the Kansas City Chiefs would win Super Bowl LVII. When the Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl on Feb. 12, 2023, and Mahomes won the Most Valuable Player award, Babudar won $100,000. Argosy Casino mailed him a $100,000 check in early March 2023.

Soon after receiving that check, he cut his ankle monitor and fled Oklahoma.

According to court documents, Babudar used his gambling winnings to purchase a vehicle in Henderson, Nev., and evaded law enforcement until his arrest in Sacramento on July 7, 2023.

While he was on the run, Babudar admitted he stole $1,100 from Heritage Bank in Sparks, Nev. on June 8, and that he stole $950 from U.S. Bank in El Dorado Hills, California, on July 3.

Police caught up with him on July 10 when he was arrested.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Babudar faces a maximum prison sentence of up to 50 years without parole.

READ MORE: Babudar’s Plea Agreement.