The case began in October 2024 and is still unfolding, with new developments ranging from additional burglaries to arrests. The suspects allegedly believed they could get away with the crimes, but a photograph showing them with stolen items helped investigators link them to the burglary ring. Now, two Chilean nationals are facing possible extradition as U.S. authorities take another major step forward in the investigation.

U.S. federal prosecutors in Florida have officially requested that Argentina extradite two Chilean nationals, 21-year-old Ignacio Zúñiga Cartés and 28-year-old Bastián Jiménez Freraut, to face charges over break-ins at the homes of Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.

The extradition request is the latest development in the nearly two-year case. “The South American Theft Group” is a crew that federal authorities say Zúñiga Cartés and Jiménez Freraut were part of, a group that authorities say deliberately tracked the travel schedules of professional athletes and robbed their homes while they were away for games” said defense attorney Florencia Barba, who represents both men. “The extradition process has officially begun”.

The pair fled the United States after the burglaries and were eventually caught overseas. They were arrested in Buenos Aires this past May after allegedly robbing the home of former Argentine tennis star Juan Martín del Potro and stealing jewelry and other valuables. That arrest ultimately linked them back to the earlier U.S. cases.

The extradition request has been made, but it might not happen anytime soon. Both men remain in custody in Argentina and face separate aggravated robbery charges connected to the Del Potro break-in. Under Argentine law, their local case may need to be resolved before extradition, and their attorney said the process could take up to two years.

The scope of the burglary ring goes well beyond just Mahomes and Kelce. Federal prosecutors have charged seven men total in connection with the case, all Chilean nationals, accused of stealing more than $2 million combined in cash, jewelry, and luxury items from athletes across both the NFL and NBA. The federal complaint also identified victims as Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis.

Investigators say the group used advanced methods to pull it off, including bypassing home security systems and using Wi-Fi jammers to cut signals during the break-ins.

Burrows’ Ohio home was hit separately in December of that same year, while an unnamed Tampa Bay Buccaneers player and a Milwaukee Bucks player were also targeted in the weeks between, with the Bucks player alone losing roughly $1.48 million in watches, jewelry, and cash.

If convicted, the men face a maximum of 10 years in prison on charges of conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property. Three of the seven suspects, Jordan Francisco Quiroga Sanchez, Bastian Alejandro Orellana Morales, and Sergio Andres Ortega Cabello, were previously arrested and charged specifically in connection with the Burrow burglary before the wider indictment tied the group to the Mahomes and Kelce cases as well.

And it’s not just NFL players who are being targeted by these burglaries; baseball players, including Luis Castillo, Julio Rodríguez, Blake Snell and Edgar Martínez, have also had their homes targeted in a separate string of crimes. More than $194,000 in luxury bags and jewelry was stolen from Rodríguez’s home, while Castillo lost over $6,000 worth of designer bags. Although the attempts at Snell’s and Martínez’s homes were unsuccessful, the incidents highlighted the growing security threat facing athletes and their families.

How the NFL Responded to the Wave of Athlete Break-Ins

This latest legal development didn’t come out of nowhere. A wave of burglaries had already been building for a while before it got here. After the break-ins at homes belonging to Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, the NFL put together a formal security alert and sent it to every team and the players’ union back in 2024. The warning said an organized group appeared to be tracking athletes using their public game schedules and what they posted on social media.

That warning turned out to be accurate. More athletes from different sports came forward in the months after, all describing the same pattern. The break-ins happened when players were away competing, not randomly, which told investigators this wasn’t opportunistic. Someone was watching, planning and moving with precision. That’s a big part of why federal investigators treated the whole thing as an organized, multi-state conspiracy rather than a handful of unrelated incidents.

Now the case is closing in on a conclusion that’s been a long time coming. Zúñiga Cartés and Jiménez Freraut are facing formal extradition proceedings, and Argentina will need to decide whether to hand them over. If that request gets approved, it becomes the next major development in a case that has already touched some of the most recognizable names in the entire league.