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Over the last five months, burglars seeking to swipe valuables have targeted the homes of prominent NFL, NBA and NHL athletes while the players have been away for road or home games, leading to a nationwide FBI investigation into the thefts. In a major update this week, it was revealed that federal prosecutors charged a group of seven Chilean men for their alleged roles in six of the recent burglaries, saying the individuals are part of a South American theft group.

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In a criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday in Florida, an FBI special agent alleged the seven men “conspired to burglarize” the homes of pro athletes around the country and linked the group to break-ins at the homes of Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis Jr. The players were not named in the complaint but the descriptions match prior reports of those incidents.

The complaint also mentions two burglaries that were previously unknown to the public — one at the home of an unidentified Tampa Bay Buccaneers player that occurred while the Bucs hosted the Baltimore Ravens on Oct. 21, and the other at the home of an unidentified Memphis Grizzlies player while the Grizzlies hosted the Golden State Warriors on Dec. 19. There were multiple reports on Thursday that the Memphis player was Ja Morant, but the team would not confirm that when asked by The Associated Press and other media members.

The group of seven Chilean men was accused of stealing more than $2 million in valuables from the athletes’ homes and charged with conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property, per the complaint.

When and where have break-ins taken place?

There have now been at least 12 reported break-ins at the homes of pro athletes in the United States since September.

Burglars broke into the homes of Mahomes and Kelce in Belton, Mo., and Leawood, Kan., respectively, in the first week of October. The burglary at Kelce’s home occurred the same night the Chiefs hosted the New Orleans Saints on “Monday Night Football.” The police report for the incident indicated $20,000 in cash was taken and there was $1,000 worth of damage to a rear door. In the criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday, the FBI special agent alleges the burglars accessed the residences of the two Chiefs players in a “similar manner” to the burglary at the home of the unnamed Bucs player and that they “stole similar items such as jewelry, watches, cash, and other luxury merchandise.”

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Portis’ home in Wisconsin was burglarized on Nov. 2, while the Bucks were playing the Cleveland Cavaliers in a home game. The complaint unsealed Tuesday alleged that two subjects stole a safe containing watches, jewelry, cash and personal items from Portis’ residence, as well as a Louis Vuitton suitcase and designer bags, with the total of his stolen property valued at around $1.484 million.

The burglary at Burrow’s home, which occurred on Dec. 9, came while the Bengals were on the road at the Dallas Cowboys in a “Monday Night Football” game. The burglars stole “designer luggage, glasses, watches and jewelry valued at about $300,000,” per the complaint.

In addition to the previously mentioned cases, there have been reported break-ins at the homes of NBA players Mike Conley Jr., Karl-Anthony Towns and Luka Dončić, NFL player Linval Joseph and NHLers Tyler Seguin and Evgeni Malkin in recent months.

The FBI has not said whether it is investigating those cases, nor has it announced connections to South American theft groups regarding those incidents.

What to know about the theft group(s)

In addition to identifying the seven men (three had previously been charged with crimes in Cincinnati for their alleged involvement in the Burrow break-in), Tuesday’s unsealed complaint offered a more detailed account of how investigators believe the South American theft groups, also referred to as SATG or SATGs, operate and how they believe the recent burglaries were conducted.

Law enforcement officials have depicted SATGs as well-coordinated networks that typically work with “fences,” meaning a person or group who knowingly buys stolen goods to resell for profit.

“Often, the buyer will pay in cash for the stolen merchandise to eliminate any methods of tracking purchasing information such as receipts or bank transaction data,” the complaint says. “SATGs will then funnel the money into their personal accounts or send it to associates, co-conspirators, or family in their respective country.”

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The FBI special agent alleges that the Chilean SATG stole “jewelry, expensive brand watches, United States currency, and other high-value merchandise.”

Broadly, these types of theft groups — which not only target athletes but also other wealthy individuals and businesses — often rely on using rental vehicles, fake identification and burner phones to make it more difficult for law enforcement to identify them, according to the FBI.

“SATGs will often work together in separate but similar groups, akin to individual cells,” the complaint says. “By separating (into) smaller groups of four or five members, the SATO can target multiple victims, maximize their profits, and continue to keep a low profile while committing their criminal acts.

“However, though burglary groups may consist of four to five members, these separate groups often work in concert with one another, communicate with one another, and liaise with the same buyers of stolen merchandise.”

In the case of the burglary at Burrow’s home, investigators believe the men used fake IDs to rent a vehicle, drove across state lines, stole the items and returned to Florida.

The complaint also includes a photo of three of the men, and a fourth individual whose identity is redacted, posing with some of the goods allegedly stolen from Portis’ home on Nov. 2. In the photo, one of the men is wearing a Chiefs shirt, which the FBI special agent alleges was “referring to the group’s earlier burglaries in Kansas City” at the homes of Mahomes and Kelce.

“SATG members often brag about their thefts to other SATG members,” the agent writes in the complaint about the photo. “I believe that (the men) were bragging to co-conspirators about their recent burglary of (Portis).”

Investigators used cell tower data from the areas around the burglarized homes, as well as search warrants and subpoenaed information to link the various cases, the complaint says.

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What have the players said about the burglaries?

On Wednesday after practice with the Bucks, Portis addressed the recent charges against the seven men.

“You put all you can into the game and then you come and, just, all your belongings are gone, things that you worked hard for,” Portis said. “It’s kinda gratifying that these guys have been caught because you work so hard for your things.”

In the wake of the burglary at Portis’ home in November, he posted a video to Instagram in which he offered a $40,000 reward for information about the break-in leading to his items being returned. He also posted home surveillance video from that night that depicted two figures at his property.

In addressing the October break-in at his home in November, Mahomes called the incident “frustrating” and “disappointing” but declined to elaborate as the investigation was ongoing.

“Obviously something that you don’t want to happen to really anybody, but obviously yourself,” Mahomes said at the time.

Burrow commented on the break-in at his home in December, saying, “I feel like my privacy has been violated in more ways than one. Way more is already out there than I would want out there and that I care to share.”

“We live a public life,” he previously said. “One of my least favorite parts of that is the lack of privacy. That has been difficult for me to deal with my entire career. (I’m) still learning. I understand it is the life we choose, (but) it doesn’t make it any easier to deal with.”

What have the leagues said?

The NFL and NBA issued security warnings to teams in November, with the NBA’s memo indicating the league received an FBI briefing that connected many of the burglaries to SATGs.

Pro teams typically have their own security departments, and the leagues work in collaboration with the teams, players, unions and law enforcement on security-related matters.

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When asked in December about the home burglaries affecting players and what the league is doing to help athletes, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the league’s security department was in touch with the FBI and that he’d been in touch with the union and security department about the incidents.

“So, yes, there are things that all of us can do to take precautions and should do,” Goodell said at the time. “When you’re in a high-profile position or when you see somebody on television and realize they’re not home, you know, does that open up potential?

“I think all of that is something that we all are trying to address. But it’s clear there’s some organized fashion here that we hope that the FBI and the authorities can handle.”

What are police, security experts saying?

River Hills (Wis.) Police Chief Michael Gaynor, who was involved with handling the case at Portis’ home in Wisconsin, said in January that local police departments were in touch regarding the situation and that he was aware of incidents at the homes of other athletes.

“The time of the burglary was right at tip-off of the game,” Gaynor said. “It was a home game, so it maximized the probability that anybody that would be at the house would be at the game.”

Gaynor called the situation at Portis’ home “really unfortunate” and said River Hills police previously spoke with the Bucks’ security team about reminding players of the threats to their homes.

“Unfortunately, these athletes and their private homes, they’re targeted for going out there and doing their jobs,” Gaynor said. “We all know when they go to work and we know their schedules and where they’re gonna be. And unfortunately, that makes their private homes targets.”

Seth Krummrich, a security expert and U.S. Army veteran, noted the rise of savvy theft groups, which he said can leverage tech platforms to “access and defeat home security systems or home camera systems.” He also said those groups typically utilize human intelligence networks, such as talking to individuals with knowledge of property who might have information they can use to plan their heists.

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“And then they’re able to target and move quickly when it comes to robbing an estate or overall theft,” said Krummrich, the Vice President of Client Risk Management at Global Guardian, a company that provides security services to various clients, including professional athletes. “That capability has gone up.

“And you’re seeing athletes or CEOs having more exposure now (more) than ever being on social media platforms. And when you think about athletes, their schedule is posted well in advance.”

(Photo: Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)

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