7 men charged in connection with burglaries of professional athletes' homes
Federal prosecutors in Tampa on Tuesday charged seven purported members of a South American theft group that allegedly targeted the homes of Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce and other professional athletes around the country.
According to the complaint, the men were members of a South American theft group that burglarized the homes of athletes in the NFL and NBA while they were away or playing games at the time. The defendants are accused of stealing valuables worth more than $2 million, according to the complaint.
The defendants -- Pablo Zuniga Cartes, 24, Ignacio Zuniga Cartes, 20, Bastian Jimenez Freraut, 27, Jordan Quiroga Sanchez, 22, Bastian Orellano Morales, 23, Alexander Huiaguil Chavez, 24, and Sergio Ortega Cabello, 38, all of Chile -- were charged with conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property. If convicted, they each face a maximum of 10 years in prison.
The complaint includes a photograph of three of the defendants -- Pablo Zuniga Cartes, Ignacio Zuniga Cartes and Freraut -- as well as a fourth unidentified individual posing with a safe and jewelry that authorities said was taken shortly after the November 2024 burglary at the home of Milwaukee Bucks player Bobby Portis.
The safe -- which contained several watches, chains, personal items, jewelry, and cash -- was stolen, along with a designer suitcase and designer bags, authorities said. The total value of property stolen was nearly $1.5 million, according to the complaint.
"Also of note is that P. Zuniga Cartes is wearing a Kansas City Chiefs shirt in the photo," the FBI special agent stated in the complaint, noting that he believed it to be a reference to the October 2024 burglaries of the two Kansas City Chiefs players.
In addition to the burglaries at the homes of Mahomes, Kelce and Portis, the FBI linked the theft group to an October 2024 burglary of a Tampa Bay Buccaneers player while the team was playing the Baltimore Ravens in Tampa, according to the complaint. The thieves stole items worth $167,000, according to the complaint.
The theft group was also linked to the December 2024 burglary at the home of a Memphis Grizzlies player targeted in Tennessee while the team was playing Golden State in Memphis, according to the complaint. The burglars stole jewelry, watches and luxury bags valued at $1 million, according to the complaint.
Three of the defendants also face state and federal charges in Ohio in connection with the December 2024 burglary targeting Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow.
The complaint alleged that the burglars had a "clear and consistent modus operandi" that began with identifying an ideal target based on the publicly available schedules and locations of professional athletes. They would enter through a broken window or by using a crowbar to pry open a sliding door, according to the complaint.
Once inside, they would then identify the highest-value items, such as watches, jewelry and merchandise, before leaving the residence, authorities said. The group normally uses "throw phones" for one-month periods to "thwart law enforcement," the complaint stated.
Online court records do not list any attorney information for the defendants.
At least one burglary occurred in Hillsborough in the Middle District of Florida, where the complaint was filed, prosecutors said. Members of the theft group rented vehicles in Florida that were "later found in the vicinity of burglaries committed nationwide of prominent athletes," the complaint stated.
The FBI issued a formal warning late last year to sports leagues about organized theft groups targeting professional athletes.
