Updated February 11, 2025 at 10:58 AM ET
The recent burglary of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow's mansion is part of a wave of "crime tourism," in which international burglary teams travel across the U.S. to steal from homes in affluent areas, according to the Justice Department.
The burglars often use sophisticated strategies to overcome security measures so they can pilfer jewelry, watches and luxury goods from mansions. The FBI calls them South American Theft Groups; many of the suspects arrested so far (including in Burrow's case) are from Chile.
A pattern of tactics used by the teams fits the Ohio burglary of Burrow's home in early December and other crimes — including recent burglaries targeting professional athletes, FBI spokesman Todd Lindgren told NPR. In recent months, burglars targeted the homes of high-profile players such as the NFL's Travis Kelce and NBA's Luka Doncic.
Last week, a federal court unsealed a January indictment charging two men with operating a large jewelry fencing operation in New York City.
The indictment alleged the defendants were "fences" for South American burglary crews who roved the U.S. targeting wealthy neighborhoods and provided "an essential market for the stolen goods" between 2020 and 2025. One of the men had been in contact with suspects in the burglary of a high-profile athlete in Ohio last December, a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York stated.
Cincinnati case echoes a wider pattern
An FBI special agent who investigated the Burrow burglary said it "was consistent with burglaries executed by South American Theft Groups (SATG)," according to an affidavit.
Law enforcement agencies across the country, FBI Special Agent Aaron Bauder wrote, "have had burglaries that fit the SATG M.O. wherein professional athletes were the victims."
"The SATG M.O. for residential burglaries include targeting high-end houses that back up to green spaces, walking trails, golf courses, or other undeveloped land," Bauder wrote. "They then gain access to the residence through a rear window or glass door, on the second floor when possible."
The thieves focus on jewelry and designer accessories, which are typically sold through illegal fences along the coasts, in states such as New York, California, and Florida, he said.
"The groups usually consist of foreign nationals from South America who either enter the country illegally or overstay on visas to continue committing their crimes," Bauder wrote. "SATG's often travel using rental vehicles and will carry false identifications and documents," he said, adding that the groups routinely activate and de-activate cellphones, sometimes in less than a month.
In the Burrow case, the suspects allegedly carried bogus ID cards purportedly from Argentina and other countries, and bearing false names, according to the affidavit.
The burglaries are part of a wave of crime tourism. The FBI has a nationwide working group devoted to South American Theft Groups; the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation formed a task force to address them last March.
The FBI has issued tips for minimizing the chances of being victimized by the crime gangs, including avoiding saying on social media that you're on vacation. The agency has also specifically warned pro sports leagues that athletes could be targeted, according to ABC News, which first reported the development.
Much of the focus of the theft rings is on Chile, due in part to its 2014 inclusion in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program that lets foreign citizens visit the U.S. for up to 90 days without a visa. Chile remains the only South American country on the U.S. visa waiver list.
In 2023, members of Congress from California wrote to Chile's ambassador to the U.S., saying they had "strong concerns" that the Chilean government wasn't doing enough to prevent criminals from traveling to the U.S. In just one year, they said, "14 Chilean nationals have been charged with burglaries and other related crimes in Orange County after entering the United States under the [visa waiver program]."
Similar concerns have been raised in Michigan, where state lawmakers said that in 2023, "multiple Chilean nationals who had entered the country under the Visa Waiver Program were arrested for stealing millions of dollars' worth of goods in [Michigan's] Oakland County area."
In July of 2023, Chile and the U.S. signed an agreement aimed at sharing more information to combat serious crime — "one of several steps required for Chile to maintain its status" in the Visa Waiver Program, according to Chile's foreign affairs ministry. Nearly 350,000 Chileans use the program each year, the ministry said.
Despite the focus on Chile, South American Theft Group cases have also been found to have ties to numerous other countries, such as Colombia. And the FBI's Sacramento, Calif., field office says a group with members from Chile, Peru, and Venezuela has been linked to sophisticated robberies targeting at least 29 ATM robberies across at least eight states.
A long trail led to the Burrow suspects, investigators say
Three Chilean men are now facing federal charges related to the burglary at Burrow's house, where thieves took nearly $300,000 worth of jewelry, designer luggage, and other items on the evening of Dec. 9, 2024, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in southern Ohio. At the time, Burrow was in Texas for a game against the Dallas Cowboys.
Jordan Francisco Quiroga Sanchez, 22; Bastian Alejandro Orellana Morales, 23; and Sergio Andres Ortega Cabello, 38, face charges including transporting stolen goods across state lines and falsifying records in a federal investigation, along with state charges.
Ohio State Highway Patrol initially arrested the three after a traffic stop in January, along with another man in the vehicle, Alexander Esteban Huaiquil Chavez, who faces state charges. An officer-worn camera recorded the traffic stop, showing one of the men wearing a Bengals knit cap. Items in the back of the truck included a T-shirt from LSU, where Burrow starred in college. Tools that can punch a hole in a window were tucked behind the glove compartment.
The public defender's office in Clark County, Ohio, which is representing the men, declined to comment on the case when reached by NPR.
A 'fence' pawn shop was raided in Manhattan
On Tuesday, federal prosecutors in New York City announced the arrests of two men operating a Manhattan pawn shop who are alleged in court documents to have "regularly served as 'fences' for South American Theft Groups ('SATG') who engaged in crime tourism."
One of the men, Dimitriy Nezhinskiy, was linked to at least two of the men arrested in Ohio by phone records and video surveillance, according to a court filing by the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York. The document alleges that Nezhinskiy also had contact with one of the Ohio suspects less than a week before Burrow's house was broken into.
Nezhinskiy and another suspect, Juan Villar, each now face one federal count of conspiracy to receive stolen property and three counts of receipt of stolen property. They're accused of fencing "countless pieces of stolen merchandise taken from across the United States" and having ties to "at least five separate burglary crews" that have been operating since 2020. Those crews were "composed largely of foreign nationals," prosecutors said.
A message to an attorney representing Nezhinskiy was not returned before this story was published.
Authorities' searches of Nezhinskiy's storage units found "large quantities of luxury goods and clothing, including high-end handbags, wine, sports memorabilia, jewelry and art," according to court documents. Prosecutors say the units also held power tools commonly used in burglaries and opening safes. They also allege that witnesses said Nezhinskiy and Villar "coached them to steal items away from New York so it will be easier for the defendants to resell the items and harder for law enforcement to track."
The documents say Nezhinskiy, a Georgian national, "has been subject to a final order of removal [from the U.S.] since 2003. However, Nezhinskiy remains in the United States as he cannot be returned to his home country."
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