Washington, D.C. USA : This week, the FBI announced a coordinated operation spanning multiple jurisdictions to investigate burglaries that targeted the homes of several professional athletes.
The burglaries are believed to have been orchestrated by members of South American Theft Groups, also referred to as SATGs. These arrests and searches are part of the FBI’s ongoing efforts and commitment to ensuring public safety.
The investigations began after a series of home burglaries in which SATG suspects allegedly monitored professional athletes travel schedules to identify when their properties would be unoccupied. The FBI believes athletes may have been targeted due to their publicly available schedules, making their properties more vulnerable.
“The FBI has spearheaded an initiative targeting South American Theft Groups by combining our nationwide resources and collaborating with our valued law enforcement partners to link commonalities and suspects of cases across the country,” said Acting FBI Director Brian J. Driscoll, Jr. “While some victims of these brazen crimes happen to be professional athletes with careers in the spotlight, rest assured: the FBI is dedicated to protecting all Americans from violent crime—no matter their job description or zip code.”
Through the coordinated efforts of the FBI Cincinnati, Newark and New York field offices, the FBI arrested Dimitriy “Russo” Nezhinskiy, owner and manager of Big Apple General Buyers, and Juan Villar, an employee, in Manhattan’s Diamond District. They are accused in the Eastern District of New York of running the largest east coast “fence”, which is a hub to resell stolen goods. Additionally, a federal grand jury in Cincinnati indicted three defendants believed to be operating as part of the organized group and charged them with transporting stolen goods interstate and falsifying records in a federal investigation. The three men allegedly committed a burglary at the home of an NFL player last year.
In addition to high-end residential burglaries, SATGs are known to target traveling jewelry salesmen as they transport their inventory from location to location. They usually use facilitators, known as “fences,” to liquidate stolen merchandise. A fence is an individual or business who knowingly purchases stolen property and then resells it to others. In some scenarios, they send the stolen goods to Chile or Colombia. This week, a Chilean man, believed to be part of the South American Theft Group, was also charged for his involvement in a conspiracy to break into a jewelry store in New Jersey and then cross state lines with the stolen property.
Crimes committed by South American Theft Groups can victimize anyone, not just professional athletes. The FBI has an initiative targeting SATGs, which involves individuals from Chile and other South American countries exploiting illegal entry or tourist visas to travel in and out of the U.S. to facilitate theft and transportation of stolen goods internationally. This initiative dedicates resources through various active investigations and major theft task forces, which include our state and local partners, throughout the country and shares intelligence with law enforcement partners around the world.
