MIDTOWN, Manhattan (WABC) -- Two men allegedly involved in a string of burglaries at the homes of professional athletes are expected in court Wednesday in Downtown Brooklyn. Their arrests came after FBI raids along the Diamond District. A search warrant was executed at 75 West 47th Street on Tuesday around 11:30 a.
m. Tuesday. Dimitriy Nezhinskiy, 43, and Juan Villar, 48, are charged with conspiracy to receive stolen property as part of an alleged fencing operation tied to the South American theft groups behind the string of burglaries targeting professional athletes, including Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow.
The two men are accused of buying luxury items linked to burglaries across the country and then selling them from a pawn shop in the Diamond District. The suspects allegedly bought stolen property from Bryan Leandro Herrera Maldonado, who's accused of committing 16 residential robberies across the U.S.
between 2019 and 2020. Nezhinskiy was arrested Tuesday in New Jersey and Villar in Manhattan. "As alleged, the defendants created an illicit market and fueled demand for burglaries by South American Theft Groups and other crews around the country by purchasing stolen watches, jewelry and other luxury items, and then re-selling them in their New York City store," said United States Attorney John Durham.
For almost five years, authorities say Nezhinskiy and Villar served as unlawful brokers to sell stolen luxury items by purchasing them from burglary crews based ou.
