Inside the alleged burglary ring that targeted athletes' homes and used a NYC diamond shop to flip possessions

Independent

08-02-2025

In November the NBA issued a grave warning to its top players: they were being targeted by a highly sophisticated burglary ring.
The FBI briefed the NBA's Chief Security Officer Leon Newsome, a Secret Service veteran, and senior officials across the U.S. sporting leagues late last year following a recent spate of robberies at professional athletes' homes.
The culprit, the bureau said, may be international and transnational crime organizations known as South American Theft Groups (SATGs).
The groups were able to bypass alarms and time their heists at the precise moments players were mid-game, often leaving no DNA evidence behind.
However, in the case of many victims, sophisticated technology wasn't required to know when their homes were vacant — with quick Google search revealing news reports on whether they were on the team sheet (or not).
After breaching a property, the criminals scoop up expensive goods, including designer handbags and jewelry, authorities said. Then the items would be quickly flipped to cover their tracks.
The FBI calls it 'fencing', when items are sold to individuals who knowingly buy stolen items and resell them for profit.
On Tuesday, a pair of Diamond District pawn shop owners accused of fencing as much as $5 million in burgled goods were named.
Dimitriy Nezhinskiy, 43, and Juan Villar, 48, worked with at least five crews linked to a ring that targeted Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, prosecutors said Wednesday in Brooklyn federal court.
Dozens of luxury items were seized from the pawn brokers on Manhattan's West 47th Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenue, while investigators recovered sports memorabilia, wine and other high-end goods from a New Jersey storage unit on Tuesday.
Dozens more non-citizens operating in SATGs have been arrested targeting homes of the rich and famous across the U.S.
While the Burrows, Mahones and Kelces cases may be connected, authorities said many of the incidents lack evidence to establish a link. However, investigators said in a court filing unsealed Wednesday that the 'cases share similar fact patterns'.
Here is a list of athletes who had luxury items pilfered from their homes in the final months of 2024.
NBA player Mike Conley – September 15
The Minnesota Timberwolves guard was in Minneapolis, where he sounded the Gjallarhorn to fire up the crowd as the Vikings took on the San Fransico 49ers.
During that time, Conley's unoccupied home in Medina, Minnesota was broken into by at least two suspects.
The basketball player's residence was one of three targeted that day, with a similar procedure followed at each: the houses were approached from the rear; lower-level windows smashed; bedrooms entered; and jewels.
That all happened within five minutes per property, according to Medina Police Chief Jason Nelson.
NBA player Karl-Anthony Towns – September 16
The following noon after Conley's home was targeted, thieves targeted another Minnesota property.
Town, a former Timberwolves player who moved to the New York Knicks, had about $100,000 worth of items stolen from his home, Chief Nelson said.
NFL player Patrick Mahomes – October 6
One day before the Kansas City Chief defeated the New Orleans Saints 26-13, their quarterback had his house ransacked.
A bodyguard reported the burglary at Mahomes' residence in Loch Lloyd, Missouri, just after midnight on October 6, Cass County Sheriff's Office told WDAF. There was no forced entry, according to investigators.
'Obviously it's frustrating, disappointing,' Mahomes reflected two days after the incident.
NFL player Travis Kelce – October 7
While the Chiefs played the Saints, Mahomes' teammate and the nation's most famous boyfiend had his house broken into.
Kansas City Chiefs tight end, who has been dating Shake it Off hitmaker Taylor Swift since the summer of 2023, had $20,000 in cash taken from his Leawood mansion in Kansas, according to a police report.
Authorities also claimed that $1,000 of damage was done to the home's back door.
NBA player Bobby Portis – November 2
The River Hills police chief noted that the burglary at the Bucks forward's Milwaukee home shared 'similarities' to other break-ins listed.
Posting a video to Instagram, Portis said that his property had been burglarized while he was at work, with many of his 'prized possessions' stolen.
The NBA player posted black-and-white surveillance footage of two men outside his home, smashing through a glass door before entry.
Portis offered a $40,000 reward for any information that directly led to the return of his stolen goods.
NFL player Linval Joseph – November 18
The Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle was another NFL star to have his home broken into.
Joseph, a former Minnesota Viking, was playing the Houston Texans at AT&T Stadium in Dallas at the time his house in the Sunfish Lake suburb of Minneapolis–Saint Paul was burglarized.
NHL player Tyler Seguin – November 29
Officers responded to reports of a burglary at the seven-time NHL All-Star's North Dallas home at about 10:30 p.m.
The break-in occurred while Seguin was participating in a Stars home game where he suffered an injury that threatened to derail his season.
NFL player Joe Burrow – December 9
The NFL star's home was broken into while he was in Texas for a game against the Dallas Cowboys, with the burglary discovered by model Olivia Ponton.
The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback's home in Anderson Township was reportedly broken into at 9:14 p.m. on Monday.
Ponton, 22, who is employed by Burrow, stated in the 911 call that 'someone broke into my house'. The influencer was said to have provided deputies with a general list of potentially missing items at the time.
According to newly unsealed court documents, nearly $300,000 in designer luggage, glasses, watches and jewelry were stolen from the home.
On Thursday, a federal grand jury in Cincinnati indicted three defendants who are believed to have robbed Burrow's home.
They were charged with transporting stolen goods interstate and falsifying records in a federal investigation, the FBI told The Athletic on Friday.
NBA player Luka Dončić – December 27
The newest recruit to the Los Angeles Lakers had his Dallas home in the affluent Preston Hollow neighborhood targeted in late December at around 10:30 p.m.
Thieves reportedly stole around $30,000 worth of jewelry.