Xaviar Babudar, aka ChiefsAholic, gets 17 years for robberies - ESPN

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chiefs superfan Xaviar Babudar was sentenced to 17½ years in prison without parole and three years of supervised release Thursday for committing a string of armed bank robberies across the United States.

Babudar, widely known as ChiefsAholic, entered a plea deal in February in which he admitted to stealing more than $800,000 in 11 robberies across seven states and laundering the proceeds through casinos. He pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery, one count of money laundering and one count of transporting stolen property across state lines.

Dressed head to toe in a gray wolf suit, Babudar, 30, became a staple at Chiefs games for years and was adored by fans at Arrowhead Stadium and on social media, where he crafted a persona of a hardworking, generous bachelor.

In court documents filed last week, prosecutors said Babudar was able to attend Chiefs games and grow the ChiefsAholic persona because of his 16-month robbery spree, which began in March 2022.

Wearing a yellow prison jumpsuit and handcuffs during his sentencing at the District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Babudar apologized to his victims, to Kansas City, which he called his home, and to his mother and brother. As he left the courtroom, he blew them a kiss.

Babudar's attorney, Matthew Merryman, said Babudar's robberies were driven by gambling addiction. Patrick Daly, senior litigation counsel at the U.S. Attorney's Office, disagreed.

«It's not an addiction to gambling. It's not an addiction to the Chiefs,» he said. «It's an addiction to fame.»

Prosecutors cited a statement from one robbery victim, who wrote, "[M]y team didn't deserve to be held at gunpoint twice so a man in a wolf suit could travel the country watching