The Department of Justice (DOJ) charged seven Chilean nationals for their involvement in a nationwide theft operation targeting professional athletes.
Federal law enforcement is investigating a Chilean South American Theft Group (SATG) that meticulously targeted the homes of NFL and NBA athletes while they were busy playing professional games or otherwise away from their property, according to an unsealed indictment by the DOJ. Members of the SATG would enter athletes’ homes and steal jewelry, brand-name watches, money and other high-value merchandise.
Pablo Zuniga Cartes, Ignacio Zuniga Cartes, Bastian Jimenez Freraut, Jordan Quiroga Sanchez, Bastian Orellano Morales, Alexander Huiguil Chavez and Sergio Ortega Cabello, all Chilean nationals, were charged with conspiracy to commit transportation of stolen property, according to a DOJ press release. If convicted, each individual faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
Based out of Florida, the busted SATG kept track of athletes’ game schedules in order to know when they would be away, used throw phones to communicate and assigned different tasks to each member, according to court documents. Every burglary by the group included theft of merchandise and money that exceeded over $5,000 in value.
The seven Chilean nationals involved with the Florida-based SATG were incredibly active in the past several months, per accusations by federal authorities.
A Milwaukee Bucks player’s home was allegedly ransacked by the group on Nov. 2, where the men are accused of stealing a safe that contained several watches, jewelry and personal items and snatching a designer suitcase and designer bags, according to the DOJ. The total value of the stolen property was roughly $1.5 million.
The Chilean men allegedly robbed the home of a Memphis Grizzlies player between the late afternoon of Dec. 19 and Dec. 20 while the victim’s team was playing in Memphis, Tennessee, feds say. The total haul stolen was about $1 million in merchandise.
Other high-profile targets included two Kansas City Chiefs football players on Oct. 5 and 7 and a Tampa Bay Buccaneers player on Oct. 21. A Cincinnati Bengals player was allegedly burglarized by the group while he was away at an Arlington, Texas game, having been robbed of around $300,000 in personal items on Dec. 9.
Many SATGs have organized in the aftermath of the southern border crisis that began several years ago. An FBI agent involved in the aforementioned indictments described how these groups typically operate.
“Moreover, after committing their criminal acts, SATGs will contact a buyer for the stolen merchandise and start negotiating a price,” the FBI agent stated in court documents. “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.”
“SATGs will then funnel the money into their personal accounts or send it to associates, co-conspirators, or family in their respective countries,” the agent continued.
Incidents of “burglary tourism,” particularly by Chilean nationals, have become an issue of increasing concern by law enforcement officials. Despite the Chilean government refusing to participate in a cooperative agreement that allows U.S. immigration officials to properly vet their citizens, the U.S. government still allows Chile to be included on the Visa Waiver program.
The result has been a massive number of Chilean nationals being allowed to enter the U.S. without proper vetting, where many of them have allegedly been behind burglary tourism operations.
A group of House Republicans, led by Texas Rep. Chip Roy, is now asking the State Department to remove Chile from the Visa Waiver Program altogether until they allow better vetting of their citizens.
“These Chilean crime syndicates have recruited and trained individuals to form burglary teams,” the lawmakers said in their request. “Through these teams, the Chilean nationals develop surveillance teams and use sophisticated technology like Wi-Fi and cell phone jammers and electronic trackers to conduct their burglary operations.”
Over 350,000 Chilean nationals entered the U.S. in 2022, the lawmakers said.
It’s not clear what immigration consequences the seven Chileans charged with the burglaries will ultimately face. A spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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