An Overland Park, Kansas, man popularly known as Kansas City Chiefs superfan “ChiefsAholic,” who has been a fugitive from justice for the past four months, has been charged in federal court with bank theft for one of a string of robberies he is suspected of committing.
Xaviar Michael Babudar, 28, was charged with one count of bank theft and one count of transporting stolen property across state lines in a criminal complaint filed under seal in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., on May 24, 2023. The federal criminal complaint was unsealed and made public following Babudar’s arrest in Lincoln, California, on Friday, July 7. Babudar will have his initial court appearance this afternoon in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California in Sacramento, Calif.
This case will be presented to a federal grand jury to determine whether to return an indictment on these or any additional charges.
Babudar enjoyed a robust social media presence as Kansas City Chiefs superfan Twitter user @ChiefsAholic. He was charged in Tulsa County, Okla., with the robbery of the Tulsa Teachers Federal Credit Union on Dec. 16, 2022. Babudar was released on bond in February 2023, and in late March 2023 removed his ankle monitor and fled prosecution. Investigators recently located Babudar near Sacramento and a federal warrant was issued for his arrest on this complaint.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the federal criminal complaint, Babudar traveled throughout the Midwest to perpetrate a string of robberies at various banks and credit unions. He allegedly laundered the robbery proceeds through area casinos and bank accounts.
Following Babudar’s arrest in Oklahoma last December, FBI investigators began reviewing bank records, casino transaction records, and sensitive financial reporting to determine the breadth and scope of additional potential criminal activities. Babudar purchased and redeemed more than $1 million in chips from various casinos in Missouri, Kansas, and Illinois between April and December 2022, the affidavit says.
Investigators also reviewed unsolved bank robberies throughout the Midwest during that time frame. Babudar’s cell phone was placed in the same cities and locations for these previously unsolved bank robberies and attempted robberies, the affidavit says. In addition to the bank theft with which Babudar is charged in this complaint and the bank robbery charged in Oklahoma, the affidavit specifically refers to four bank robberies in Nebraska, Iowa, Tennessee, and Oklahoma, and to the attempted robberies of two credit unions in Minnesota.
The complaint charges Babudar with stealing $70,000 from Great Western Bank in Clive, Iowa, on March 2, 2022, then transporting the stolen money across state lines from Iowa to Missouri.
According to the affidavit, he entered the bank wearing a ski mask and handed a teller a note demanding money and indicating he had a firearm. The teller handed Babudar $70,000; law enforcement officers later found $1,460 in $20 bills in the nearby woods along with a glove worn by Babudar during the bank robbery.
Over the next six weeks, Babudar deposited the same approximate amount of money that was stolen from Great Western Bank into his money market savings account, the affidavit says, and engaged in multiple casino chip purchases and redemptions at the Argosy Casino in Riverside, Mo.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick D. Daly and Stephanie C. Bradshaw. It was investigated by the FBI. The Placer County, Calif., Sheriff’s Department and the Lincoln, Calif., Police Department assisted in the arrest.
