NEW YORK (NewsNation) — Two men are in custody in connection to the burglaries of professional athletes, including Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow.
Grand jury indictments in federal court in New York City accuse Dimitriy Nezhinskiy and Juan Villar of buying stolen watches, jewelry and other expensive items from a variety of burglary crews, including some from South America, and re-selling them at their pawn shop in Manhattan since 2020.
The court documents do not specifically name Burrow as a victim. But prosecutors alleged there was evidence including phone records linking Nezhinskiy to suspects in a theft near Cincinnati on Dec. 9 — the same day of the burglary at Burrow’s home while he and the Bengals were playing in Dallas. A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office did not immediately return an email Tuesday evening.
The charges against Nezhinskiy and Villar come after four men from Chile were indicted in what the Ohio attorney general called a string of burglaries at multimillion-dollar homes. But he declined to say whether professional athletes were the targets.
The four men were arrested last month in Ohio after being found in an SUV along with a Louisiana State University shirt and a Cincinnati Bengals hat. Both were believed to be stolen from the house near Cincinnati on Dec. 9, according to an affidavit. Burrow played in college at LSU.
Nezhinskiy, 43, a Georgian national who lives in North Bergen, New Jersey, and Villar, 48, of the Queens section of New York City, were arrested Tuesday and are scheduled to be arraigned in court Wednesday. They are charged with multiple counts of receiving stolen goods.
Items such as jewelry, watches, handbags, and luxury items were stolen by burglary crews based out of South America and transported to New York for sale, according to court documents.
Prosecutors say that between October 2022 and January 2024, an undercover detective conducted seven controlled sales of high-end handbags and luxury accessories to the defendants at their pawn shop in New York City’s Diamond District, according to court documents. The detective told the defendants the goods were stolen and received cash in exchange.
Law enforcement executed raids at the pawn shop Tuesday on West 47th Street, resulting in the seizure of large quantities of suspected stolen property.
Raids were conducted at storage units in New Jersey owned by Nezhinskiy, where more suspected stolen property were recovered. This included luxury clothing, high-end handbags, sports memorabilia, and artwork. Additionally, power tools commonly used in burglaries and for opening safes were discovered.
Last month, four men from Chile were indicted for a string of burglaries at multimillion-dollar homes, the Ohio attorney general announced. He did not, however, say whether professional athletes were targeted, AP reported at the time.
Star NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes, of Kansas City, along with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, have been victims, as have NBA players Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers (then a member of the Dallas Mavericks), Bobby Portis of the Milwaukee Bucks, and Mike Conley Jr. of Minnesota.
The Associated Press and NewsNation affiliate WPIX in New York contributed to this report.