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(CNN) — Seven Chilean nationals have been charged in connection with breaking in and stealing property worth more than $2 million from professional athletes’ homes –– including those purportedly belonging to Kansas City Chiefs players Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.
According to a federal criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday, the defendants have been targeting athletes from the National Football League and National Basketball Association since around October 2024 –– breaking into their homes while the sports stars were competing in games. The complaint lists various burglaries from October to December last year.
The complaint names 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, stating they allegedly were members of a South American theft group. If convicted, they could each face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
Information on their attorneys in the federal case is not immediately available. CNN is working to determine their legal representation.
The documents also include a selfie showing four men, one of whose face is blocked out, posing with a collection of watches and a safe reportedly containing valuables like chains, jewelry and cash worth approximately $1.5 million.
Authorities believe the photo was taken at a hotel shortly after the Wisconsin home of a Milwaukee Bucks player was burglarized on November 2, 2024. CNN has previously reported Bucks player Bobby Portis’ home was burglarized the same date.
Authorities state two Kansas City Chiefs’ homes were burglarized in October, the same dates of reports the homes of Kelce and Mahomes were the targets of burglars.
Tuesday’s complaint comes more than a week after federal prosecutors named three of the seven men as suspects in the burglary of NFL player Joe Burrow’s home.
An earlier criminal complaint also included a selfie of four men posing with luxury items –– this time from Burrow’s Cincinnati home in December.
Federal investigators in recent months have warned professional athletes about the rise of sophisticated burglaries thought to be emanating from organized international criminals.
A recent FBI bulletin said that members of criminal gangs “conduct physical and technical surveillance in preparation for these burglaries.” Perpetrators also use publicly available information and social media to identify a pattern of life for a prospective victim and often know in advance where valuables are kept in a home.
“Organized theft groups bypass alarm systems, use Wi-Fi jammers to block Wi-Fi connections and disable devices, cover security cameras, and obfuscate their identities,” the FBI warned in its notice to players.
In its warning the NFL issued to players in November, the league said thieves “appear to exploit team schedules to target athletes’ homes on game days.”
Some burglary groups, the NFL memo says, conduct extensive surveillance, including by making “attempted home deliveries” and “posing as grounds maintenance or joggers in a neighborhood.”
The-CNN-Wire
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