The FBI has officially warned sports leagues that elite athletes are being targeted by organized crime groups that steal from them.
Since September, many professional players’ homes have been broken into while they were away playing games or traveling, which is why the warning was issued.
“These homes are targeted for burglary due to the perception they may have high-end goods like designer handbags, jewelry, watches, and cash,” the FBI said in a Liaison Information Report obtained by CNN.
The report stated that “organized theft groups allegedly burglarized the homes of at least nine professional athletes” between September and November 2024.
“While many burglaries occur while homes are unoccupied, some burglaries occur while residents are home. In these instances, individuals are encouraged to seek law enforcement help and avoid engaging with criminals, as they may be armed or use violence if confronted,” the report further stated.
Recently, thieves have broken into the homes of Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs, Joe Burrow, a quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals, and most recently, Luka Dončić, a guard for the Dallas Mavericks.
Also, thieves broke into the homes of NBA guards Mike Conley Jr. and Bobby Portis. There is no specific mention of these events in the FBI report.
The FBI says that organized crime groups from South America use both physical and digital spying to prepare for these burglaries.
They use public information and social media to figure out how a potential victim normally spends their time. Most of the time, they know ahead of time where to find goods in a house.
“These preparation tactics enable theft groups to conduct burglaries in a short amount of time. 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 report said.
The FBI asked athletes to report suspicious activity more often and suggested that they keep track of their valuables by making an inventory of them and where they are kept, putting in place more security, and being careful on social media by not posting pictures of their valuables, the inside of their homes, or real-time updates while they are on vacation.
“For the last five years, thieves from South America have entered the U.S. for the purpose of committing robberies, selling the pilfered goods and returning home to enjoy their riches, police officials say. And although crime statistics show that burglaries overall are on the decline in Los Angeles, the city has seen an uptick in the number of crimes tied to these burglary tourism groups, LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton told The Times in March,” The Los Angeles Times reported.
“These groups target wealthy Los Angeles neighborhoods where homes have jewelry and high-value items that can be easily exchanged for cash, he said. Some of the techniques Hamilton describes these thieves as employing — such as using jamming devices to disable home security systems — mirror those the FBI reported being used in the recent burglaries of athletes’ homes,” the outlet added.
According to reports from NFL.com and the Associated Press, both the NFL and the NBA warned in November that skilled thieves were targeting the homes of professional players and that the burglaries were thought to be the work of a South American crime syndicate. Both the NFL and the NBA said that the FBI was looking into the thefts.
NFL.com says that the league warned players in November not to share their real-time location on social media and to make sure that their homes’ security systems are better and that no one can see their goods from outside.
The latest FBI report included a warning that was similar to this one. The report also advised athletes to closely monitor their valuables and refrain from sharing images of their homes on social media.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
