When Athletes and Affluence Become the Target

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The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) captures a broad decline in Burglary offenses nationwide since 2022, but a string of high-profile offenses targeting affluent neighborhoods and several cases targeting professional athletes show unsettling new burglary trends.

In February of 2025, the Department of Justice unsealed a criminal complaint charging seven Chilean nationals with conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property. They were connected to a South American theft group that burglarized the homes of professional athletes across the United States. The theft group leveraged publicly available game schedules to target homes while players were away competing or traveling to competitions.

These thefts were associated with losses in excess of $2 million, targeting jewelry, designer watches, luxury suitcases, designer bags, and in at least one case, a firearm. They were charged in connection with burglaries occurring in Kansas City, Tampa Bay, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, and Memphis. In May of 2026, three additional individuals were arrested by Chilean law enforcement in connection with these robberies as well as athlete robberies in Argentina.

While the FBI and U.S. State Department have issued warnings about international organized theft rings, there have also been similar high-profile burglaries of domestic origin. In June of 2025, a Seattle man was charged with several burglaries targeting the homes of current and former football and baseball players living in King County. The primary targets were high-end and luxury items, including jewelry and designer bags, with losses totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Despite these arrests, burglaries targeting athletes have continued. A recent burglary targeting a professional football player in Pittsburgh occurred on August 26, 2026. Investigators continue to examine links to other thefts targeting athletes.

Recent high-end burglaries cast a wider net than professional athletes. Several burglaries targeting an affluent neighborhood in San Antonio, Texas, through the first half of 2026 accrued losses valued at approximately USD five million. A similar spate of burglaries in 2023 across Oakland, California, garnered media attention and community concern. Agency-level data for both communities via the FBI’s UCR reveal an offense rate higher than the national average.

Much of modern criminology rejects affluence as a main driver for how burglars determine their targets. Burglar Target Selection: A Cross-National Comparison by Townsley et al. emphasizes that burglars are motivated to target neighborhoods geographically close to their own home or within familiar space rather than to target affluence. However, the international organized theft group in question clearly shows the existence of atypical offenders, motivated to travel far and wide to specific targets, driven by affluence and a sense of opportunity. 

The increased guardianship associated with high-income and gated communities is also generally considered an effective deterrent. However, the 2014 study Burglary in Gated Communities: An Empirical Analysis Using Routine Activities Theory by Breetzke and Cohn found a positive correlation with burglary rates in South African gated communities in both daytime and nighttime compared to ungated communities. Researchers noted that increased physical barriers and formal guardianship failed to deter offenders, instead signaling high-value targets within. Motivated offenders’ anticipation of greater rewards outweighed the additional risk associated with breaching the perimeter.  

These recent highly charismatic instances of burglaries targeting affluence are unlikely to overturn widescale offending rates, but they do show innovation and creativity on the part of highly motivated offenders. For example, the schedules for professional athletics are publicly announced well in advance of the season, particularly in the case of the NFL, which announces its schedule in mid-May, offering ample time to case out and plot potential vulnerabilities.

A 2024 press release from the FBI’s Indianapolis Office alerting locals to the possibility of international organized theft groups offered risk reduction insights that remain best practices against burglary, regardless of origin: vary your daily routine, don’t post on social media that you are on vacation, use a doorbell camera and alarm system, keep inside lights on timers, take photos of valuables and store them in a safe, don’t keep large amounts of cash at home.

As this data shows, affluence itself can become the target — drawing offenders willing to travel far and take bigger risks for the right payoff. If your name, assets, or lifestyle make you a potential target, Pinkerton provides complete protection designed around your life.

Learn more about our High Net Worth Individual (HNWI) services.

SOURCES

Avila, J. (2026, July 22). $5 Million burglary spree targets affluent neighborhood, now there’s a $25,000 reward. CBS Austin. https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/5-mil-burglary-spree-targets-affluent-north-side-neighborhood

Breetzke, G. D., & Cohn, E. G. (2013). Burglary in gated communities: An empirical analysis using routine activities theory. International Criminal Justice Review, 23(1), 56–74. https://doi.org/10.1177/1057567713476887 

Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2024, April 5). FBI warns of international organized theft groups. https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/indianapolis/news/fbi-warns-of-international-organized-theft-groups

Federal Bureau of Investigation. (n.d.). Crime Data Explorer [Interactive data dashboard]. Retrieved September 29, 2026, from https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#/pages/explorer/crime/crime-trend

Golden, H. (2025, June 6). Seattle man charged with string of burglaries at the homes of NFL and MLB stars. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/seattle-man-charged-athlete-burglaries-306692a047f32982e49f8497d47f761b

Golden, H. (2025, June 6). Seattle man charged with string of burglaries at the homes of NFL and MLB stars. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/seattle-man-charged-athlete-burglaries-306692a047f32982e49f8497d47f761b

Sales, D. (2026, May 25). Three arrested over burglaries against high-profile athletes. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0m22vdwrr9o

Singh, H. (2026, September 9). Is Max Iheanachor's home burglary part of a larger trend targeting NFL players? Yahoo Sports. https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/max-iheanachor-home-burglary-part-175437033.html

Townsley, M., Birks, D., Bernasco, W., Ruiter, S., Johnson, S. D., White, G., & Baum, S. (2015). Burglar target selection: A cross-national comparison. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 52(1), 3–31. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022427814541447

U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida. (2025, February 18). Seven Chilean nationals charged following nationwide burglaries of several professional athletes [Press release]. U.S. Department of Justice. https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/seven-chilean-nationals-charged-following-nationwide-burglaries-several-professional