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Narrator: In the lead-up to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, the FBI has spent months working in lockstep with the National Football League and our law enforcement partners to secure the event from threats of terrorism.

This in-depth collaboration, coordination, and boots-on-the-ground support is key to fulfilling the Bureau’s mission of upholding the Constitution and protecting the American public. As Acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll explains...

Acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll: Fighting terrorism remains the FBI’s top priority, and working with our partners to keep folks safe at this year's Super Bowl is no exception.

Whether our people are meeting with the NFL or our law enforcement partners in Louisiana and other stakeholders to talk about plans for securing the event; helping our partners implement “No Drone Zones” near the Big Game; or ensuring that football fans who’ve trekked cross-country to watch their favorite teams battle it out on the gridiron can do so safely, the FBI is proud to be an indispensable member of the Super Bowl security team.

And the men and women of our New Orleans Field Office have worked night and day to ensure Super Bowl LIX is another example of our legacy of powerful public-safety partnerships.

Narrator: FBI New Orleans Acting Special Agent in Charge Stephen Cyrus echoed that sentiment in a recent press conference on Super Bowl security hosted by our partners at the NFL.

Acting Special Agent in Charge Stephen Cyrus: The FBI is proud to support the New Orleans Police Department and our other state, local, and federal partners in addressing the security need for Super Bowl LIX. The New Orleans office and specialty teams from around the country have been preparing for this week for more than a year now. In all, we have over 450 FBI personnel from the New Orleans office and brought in from around the country working daily with our law enforcement partners and standing ready to respond or to investigate any threats or crimes surrounding Super Bowl LIX.

While I'm proud to speak of the FBI's preparations and capabilities to support Super Bowl LIX, our goal for this week is to do our work quietly, professionally, and behind the scenes so that the focus of the next several days remains squarely on the teams, the fans, and the visitors.

New Orleans is an extraordinary city, and the FBI is honored to be part of the team entrusted to keep it safe.

Narrator: In addition to supporting the Super Bowl, as well as other large-scale events, did you know that the Bureau works to protect professional athletes and their families from targeted incidences of violent crime?

The FBI is investigating a recent trend of break-ins at the homes of professional athletes while they are away at games by South American Theft Groups. These informal but sophisticated organizations have also recently burglarized jewelry stores and robbed salespeople.

The groups aim to illegally sell their ill-gotten property or send it overseas, with their profits—and the resulting black-market demand for stolen goods—fueling the cycle of violent crime.

On this episode of our podcast, we’ll explain who these groups are, why the FBI is investigating the crimes allegedly committed by members and associates, and how we’re working with our domestic and international partners to stem this complex criminal threat. Finally, Acting Director Brian Driscoll will explain why the Bureau refuses to fumble the fight against violent crime.

This is Inside the FBI.

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Narrator: FBI field offices across the country—as well as our legal attaché offices in South America—are engaged in a battle against break-ins and related crime that the Bureau believes are tied to South American Theft Groups, or SATGs.

This term refers to groups of foreign nationals of South American descent who enter the U.S. illegally or overstay their visas, and who commit crimes, including commercial and residential burglaries. They frequently use rental vehicles and rely on fake IDs and documents.

Members of South American Theft Groups often use multiple burner phones to communicate, intentionally making it harder for law enforcement to identify their identities, phone numbers, and location. Additionally, they tend to use encrypted messaging applications to communicate with one another.

When choosing which homes to break into, these groups gravitate towards expensive homes with surroundings like golf courses, parks, or walking trails— features that can make it easier for would-be thieves to sneak in. They use a combination of internet research, surveillance, and commercially available camera and tracking technologies to scope out their targets.

When they decide to strike, they tend to break into homes through their back windows or glass doors—preferably on the second floor of a residence. And once inside, they mainly look to steal jewelry and designer accessories, frequently leaving other expensive items behind.

Afterwards, these groups retreat to one of their hubs along the East or West Coast of the United States.

From there, they tend work with accomplices known as “fences” to sell the stolen goods, though they sometimes send a portion of their loot to Chile or Colombia.

Ultimately, the South American Theft Groups wire most of their profits overseas, but use a portion to cover costs associated with their criminal activity—such as rental cars, hotels, and tools.

Most of these group members commit these crimes with the purposes of funding their lives in their home countries. Since overseas authorities extensively search people and luggage arriving from the United States, fencing allows them to send liquid profits back home instead of trying to smuggle stolen loot.

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Narrator: One thing that sets these groups apart from other criminal groups is their brazenness in targeting victims. Rather than trying to fly under the radar, these thieves have deliberately broken into the residence of at least one professional athlete.

In December 2024, the home of a Cincinnati Bengals player was looted while he was in Texas for an away game.

Three individuals have been charged in connection with the burglary: two for allegedly moving stolen property across state lines, and one for alleged falsification of records in a federal investigation. The thieves allegedly took nearly $300,000 worth of luggage, jewelry, and other accessories from the football player’s home.

Investigators believe that South American Theft Group members used fake identification to rent a vehicle, drove across state lines to commit the burglary, and then returned to Florida with the stolen items in tow.

After executing a search warrant, investigators discovered that one of the subjects had taken a selfie, in which they and others posed with property stolen from the football player’s home.

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Narrator: It’s important to note that crimes committed by South American Theft Groups victimize all types of people, not just professional athletes or wealthy business owners. They also pickpocket shoppers and steal from retail stores.

Acting Director Driscoll: While some victims of these brazen crimes happen to be professional athletes with careers in the spotlight, rest assured: The FBI is dedicated to protecting all Americans from violent crime—no matter their job description or zip code.

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Narrator: The FBI’s Newark and New York field offices also conducted investigations that helped the Justice Department bring charges against alleged fences—including a Chilean national. These cases seem to follow an established pattern of how—and why—these crimes are committed.

The FBI’s recent arrests of alleged South American Theft Group members and their alleged associates are part of our ongoing efforts to ensure public safety.

The Bureau has also spearheaded an initiative targeting South American Theft Groups. This initiative dedicates resources through various active investigations throughout the country and shares intelligence with law enforcement partners around the world. Member organizations share threat intelligence about these burglaries, and have been able to identify common throughlines across cases in different parts of the country.

Acting Director Driscoll: South American Theft Groups pose a complex threat to our nation. But because of the close relationships the Bureau has with our partners and the information we’re sharing to tackle this threat, we’ve been able to effectively and efficiently disrupt these organizations and their illegal schemes.

I applaud the hard work of our Cincinnati, Newark, and New York field offices in helping bring these criminal groups and their associates to justice. But our work in stemming the threat these groups pose is far from over.

Narrator: In short? We still need your help to bring these bad actors—and their accomplices—to justice.

Acting Director Driscoll: Here at the FBI, we don’t have an off-season. Our hardworking agents, analysts, and professional staff intake and triage tips from the public, investigate leads, and build cases 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We do it because we love our country, and because we’ve sworn a solemn oath to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution.

Narrator: You can visit tips.fbi.gov to report suspected South American Theft Group activity to the Bureau. Tips may be submitted anonymously.

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Narrator: This has been another production of Inside the FBI. You can follow us on your favorite podcast player, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube. You can also subscribe to email alerts about new episodes at fbi.gov/podcasts.

On behalf of the FBI’s Office of Public Affairs, thanks for listening.

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