The F.B.I. is investigating whether a transnational organized crime group may be responsible for a handful of recent burglaries at the homes of professional athletes in the Midwest, according to local police agencies and professional sports league memos.
Since September, there have been break-ins at the homes of N.B.A. and N.F.L. players in Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ohio, according to local police departments. The most recent burglary occurred at the home of the Cincinnati Bengals’ quarterback Joe Burrow on Monday while he was in Dallas playing the Cowboys, according to Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office. The county police did not confirm if the burglary at Mr. Burrow’s home is included in the federal investigation.
The F.B.I. would not confirm or deny that an investigation was taking place. But in a memo last month, the N.B.A. said that the F.B.I. had briefed its security team and that it had “connected many of the home burglaries to transnational South American Theft Groups” or S.A.T.G.s. The F.B.I. described these as “well-organized, sophisticated rings that incorporate advanced techniques and technologies, including pre-surveillance, drones, and signal jamming devices,” according to the N.B.A. memo, which was obtained by The New York Times.
These transnational groups go after cash and “items that can be resold on the black market, such as jewelry, watches, and luxury bags,” according to the memo.
In most cases, the memo said, home alarm systems were not activated and most of the homes were unoccupied at the time. Local police agencies said that in most cases burglars entered through back windows or sliding doors.
The N.F.L. sent a memo to teams on Nov. 20 regarding the recent string of burglaries targeting professional athletes. It told players that law enforcement agencies said that “organized and skilled groups” seem to target the athletes’ homes on game days, and that the groups may be gathering information on potential victims through social media and public records. The N.F.L. advised that players refrain from daily updates to social media, as well as images of expensive items or their homes.
The N.F.L.’s security department is also in touch with the F.B.I. regarding the burglaries, Roger Goodell, the league’s commissioner, said on Wednesday during a meeting of N.F.L. officials in Irving, Texas.
Among the athletes whose homes have been broken into are the Kansas City Chiefs players Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, on Oct. 6 and Oct. 7, respectively, according to police reports obtained by The Athletic.
Jewelry worth hundreds of thousands of dollars was taken from the Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Mike Conley Jr. on Sept. 15 during an afternoon break-in at his home, according to Chief Jason Nelson of the Medina Police Department. The next day, in a noontime burglary, more than $100,000 worth of property was stolen from the home of Karl-Anthony Towns, who was then a Timberwolves player and is now a center forward with the Knicks, Chief Nelson said.
Chief Nelson said that investigators in his department had been in contact with the F.B.I. and other local law enforcement agencies in areas where athletes’ homes had been targeted.
The Knicks and the Minnesota Timberwolves did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the burglaries on Wednesday.
On Nov. 2, the police responded to a burglary at the home of Bobby Portis, a forward for the Milwaukee Bucks, while he was playing the Cleveland Cavaliers, according to Chief Michael Gaynor at the Village of River Hills Police Department.
Chief Gaynor said at least three men broke into the home, and the police believe that a fourth drove a getaway vehicle. The burglars, who broke Mr. Portis’s back window, got away with more than $1 million worth of items from his bedroom.
The next day, Mr. Portis posted on Instagram, asking the public for help catching the burglars. His post included what appeared to be a video of two of the people breaking into his home.
Chief Gaynor said there were similarities between this burglary and ones at the homes of other athletes. He said he was in touch with other local law enforcement agencies and the F.B.I. about possible connections.
Felipe Rodriguez, an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice who used to investigate organized crime for the N.Y.P.D., said that the break-ins reminded him of the “Bling Ring,” a group from the early 2000s that targeted and broke into Hollywood homes and gained national notoriety.
Since the burglaries have occurred in Midwestern states, Mr. Rodriguez said he believed all signs point to an organized group rather than copy cats.
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