The Federal Bureau of Investigation is warning sports leagues about organized theft groups targeting professional athletes.
In a Liaison Information Report obtained by ABC News, the FBI said that the homes of professional athletes are being targeted for burglary “due to the perception they may have high-end goods like designer handbags, jewelry, watches, and cash.”
According to the news organization, the report — which alleges that organized theft groups from South America have burglarized the homes of at least nine professional athletes between September and November 2024 — states that the groups have completed the home invasions by conducting physical and technical surveillance using public available information and social media activity.
A photo of the J. Edgar Hoover Federal Bureau of Investigation Building in Washington D.C.
Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty
“These preparation tactics enable theft groups to conduct burglaries in a short amount of time. Organized theft groups bypass alarm systems, use Wi-Fi jammers to block Wi-Fi connections and disable devices, cover security cameras and obfuscate their identities,” the report states, per ABC News.
In response to these threats, the FBI urges professional athletes to stay alert for suspicious behavior and adopt preventive strategies, reported ABC News. This includes keeping a record of valuable items and exercising caution on social media, such as avoiding real-time posts during vacations or sharing images that reveal private spaces in their homes.
One of the most recent athletes to be targeted is Dallas Mavericks star Luka Dončić, who had $30,000 worth of jewelry stolen from his home late Friday, Dec. 27, per The Dallas Morning News citing an internal police report.
The outlet stated that an unknown person broke the master bathroom window around the time of a Mavericks game, but no one was home during the break-in.
Joe Burrow photographed on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024.
Jeff Moreland/Icon Sportswire via Getty
Earlier this month, the home of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was also broken into while he was away at a game.
Influencer and model Olivia Ponton, described in a police report obtained as an employee of Burrow, said she arrived at the property and observed a “shattered bedroom window and the room ransacked.” According to the report, she later provided police with a list of what was “possibly missing. “
“I feel like my privacy has been violated in more ways than one and way more is already out there than I would want out there and that I care to share so that’s all I got to say about that,” Burrow later stated while talking to reporters about the incident.
The home invasion comes months after Kansas City Chiefs players Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes’ homes were burglarized within two days of one another in October.
