Elizabeth Merrill
David Purdum
David Purdum
ESPN Staff Writer
Joined ESPN in 2014
Journalist covering gambling industry since 2008
Infamous Kansas City Chiefs superfan Xaviar Babudar was sentenced in an Oklahoma courtroom Monday to 32 years in prison, 2½ years after authorities caught him in the state as he fled from a local bank robbery.
Babudar, known as ChiefsAholic, is already serving a 17½-year federal sentence for robbing banks in seven states from 2022 to 2023. But the Tulsa County district attorney’s office wanted him to serve more time and sought a life sentence for the 30-year-old. His sentence is concurrent, meaning he’ll serve an additional 14½ years in an Oklahoma penitentiary after his federal term ends.
“It was offensive to me,” said Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler, “that a serial robber could victimize as many hardworking Americans as this guy did all across the country and only receive 17½ years from the federal government.
“My preference was for him to serve the rest of his life in prison. He caught another break today, but at least he’s going to be serving some additional time, and my thoughts are with the victims who continue to be tormented by his violence.”
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In March, Babudar pleaded guilty in Oklahoma to robbery with a firearm, assault while masked or disguised and removing an electronic monitoring device in connection with a Dec. 16, 2022, armed robbery of the Tulsa Teachers Credit Union.
Babudar’s attorneys, Brett and Jay-Michael Swab, expressed relief at the sentencing decision. “[The prosecution] wanted him to die in prison,” Jay-Michael Swab said.
“Our entire position from the beginning is that we want to live in a world where everybody’s treated equally, not based on notoriety or social media presence.”
He said his client’s robbery spree was fueled by a gambling addiction and a troubled childhood that left him homeless. Swab said Babudar is remorseful and has found Jesus during his incarceration.
In December 2022, en route to a Chiefs game against the Houston Texans, Babudar stopped in Bixby, Oklahoma, and pointed a black CO2 pistol at a bank teller at the credit union before fleeing with $150,000. He was caught shortly afterward and in February 2023 was released on bond. A month later — after receiving $100,000 in winnings from two bets on the Chiefs — he removed his GPS device and went on the run.
After robbing banks in Sparks, Nevada, and El Dorado Hills, California, Babudar was caught by the FBI in California in July 2023. He was accused of a string of previously unsolved robberies throughout the Midwest and in Tennessee.
In 2024, Babudar entered a plea deal in the Western District of Missouri federal court and admitted to stealing more than $800,000 in 11 robberies across seven states and laundering the proceeds through casinos.
Despite his request to be housed at a federal prison in Illinois, Babudar, according to court documents, was sent to a super-maximum security prison in Colorado known as the “Alcatraz of the Rockies.” He has been in the Tulsa County Jail awaiting court proceedings since January.
Before his arrest, Babudar was one of the most popular superfans in Kansas City. Dressed in a gray wolf suit, he fired up game crowds, mugged for pictures with children, and forged a strong social media presence built on a persona of a hardworking, generous bachelor.
Jay-Michael Swab said Babudar did not deserve a life sentence, or any additional penalties, because he never intended to hurt anyone and didn’t use a “real firearm.” Others in Oklahoma disagreed. Frank Frasier, a Tulsa attorney who represents former bank teller Payton Garcia, said his client had to quit her job at the Tulsa Teachers Credit Union because of the trauma of that day. Frasier said they felt strongly that Babudar should be punished to the maximum extent of the law.
Brett Swab said his client is taking responsibility for actions and will take “every avenue” to improve himself and eventually become a productive member of society.
“No single or multiple series of events defines him as a person,” he said.
