Feb. 8 (UPI) — Professional athletes and others are among high-profile U.S. citizens who have been targeted by what the FBI is calling South American Theft Groups.
FBI field offices across the nation and in South America are targeting SATGs whose members are foreign nationals of South American descent and enter the United States illegally or overstay their visas to commit crimes, the FBI says in an online video titled, “Intercepting South American Theft Groups.”
Those crimes include a “recent trend of break-ins at the homes of professional athletes while they are away at games” and are targeted by the theft groups, the FBI says.
“These informal but sophisticated organizations have burglarized jewelry stores and robbed salespeople,” according to the FBI video.
“These groups aim to illegally sell their ill-gotten property or send it overseas with their profits – and the resulting black-market demand for stolen goods – fueling the cycle of violent crime.”
The FBI says the criminal groups commonly use rental vehicles, fake IDs and documents, multiple burner phones and encrypted messaging apps to communicate, plan and carry out their crimes.
Professional athletes often are targeted
Those crimes have targeted several professional athletes while they are playing games – often that involve travel to distant locations.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow are among the many professional athletes who were targeted by alleged SATGs in recent months.
Other professional athletes recently burglarized include Minnesota Timberwolves guard Mike Conley Jr. and Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis.
The problem has become so pervasive that the NFL and NBA have warned their respective athletes against criminal acts by SATGs.
“These SATGs are reportedly well-organized, sophisticated rings that incorporate advanced techniques and technologies, including pre-surveillance, drones and signal-jamming devices,” NBA Senior Vice President and Chief Security Officer Leon Newsome said in a recent memo to players.
Burglarized homes typically were unoccupied and had no dogs present when crimes occurred, according to the FBI.
A federal grand jury in Cincinnati on Wednesday indicted three Chilean nationals for a Dec. 9 burglary at Burrow’s home in Cincinnati.
Jordan Francisco Quiroga Sanchez, 22; Bastian Alejandro Orellana Morales, 23; and Sergio Andres Ortega Cabello, 38, are Chile citizens and charged with interstate transportation of stolen goods and falsification of records in federal court.
Each faces up to 30 years in federal prison but is innocent until proven guilty.
The three men also are charged with state-level crimes for allegedly breaking into Burrow’s Cincinnati home while he was leading the Bengals to a 27-20 win over the host Dallas Cowboys on Dec. 9.
Keanu Reeves’ Rolex recovered in Chile
Actor Keanu Reeves also was victimized by a burglary while he was away, and some of the goods stolen from his home recently were discovered in Chile.
Police in Santiago, Chile, in December announced the recovery of three luxury watches belonging to Reeves that likely were stolen from his Los Angeles home in late 2023, CNN reported.
One of the watches is a Rolex Submariner valued at $9,000 and engraved with Reeves’ first name and “2021, JW4, thank you, The John Wick Five.”
Reeves in 2021 gave Rolex Submariner watches to stuntmen who participated in the filming of “John Wick: Chapter 4.”
Local police recovered the watch during a police investigation into a series of local robberies in Chile’s capital city.