KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Federal prosecutors revealed details Monday about a string of bank robberies allegedly committed by Xaviar Michel Babudar, a man known to Kansas City Chiefs fans as “ChiefsAholic” on social media.
In the announcement, federal prosecutors outlined how Babudar would rob banks across the Midwest and then launder the loot through casinos across Kansas, Missouri and Illinois.
Babudar was charged last fall with robbing a bank in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but after making initial court appearances, he removed his ankle monitor and fled custody, last being seen in February.
Babudar’s run of freedom ended last Friday, July 7, when he was taken into custody in Lincoln, California, about 30 miles northeast of Sacramento.
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Following his arrest and charging in connection to the robbery of the Tulsa Teachers Federal Credit Union on Dec. 16, agents with the FBI reviewed bank records, casino transactions and other financial reporting.
Federal investigators now believe Babudar may have been involved in four additional bank robberies between April and December 2022 across the Midwest, including in Nebraska, Iowa, Tennessee and Oklahoma. They believe he attempted to rob two additional credit unions in Minnesota.
Court documents detail one of the incidents in which Babudar stole $70,000 from the Great Western Bank in Clive, Iowa, on March 2, 2022.
Investigators say that money was deposited into a money market savings account maintained by Babudar, who then “engaged in multiple casino chip purchases and redemptions at the Argosy Casino in Riverside, Missouri.”
In total, Babudar is alleged to have purchased $1.1 million in casino chips between April and December 2022 from Argosy Casino, Bally's Casino, Harrah's Casino and Ameristar Casino in Kansas City, Missouri, Ameristar, Argosy and Hollywood Casinos in the St. Louis area and Hollywood Casino in Kansas City, Kansas. Investigators believed Babudar cashed out roughly $1.07 million from the casinos during the same time period.
Babudar is slated to make his first appearance in a federal court in Sacramento Monday afternoon.
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