Man accused of fencing stolen items linked to theft at star athlete’s Ohio home, prosecutors say

One of two men accused of fencing luxury goods stolen from homes across the country has been linked to a theft at the residence of a “high-profile athlete in Ohio” on the same day that Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow’s home was broken into, federal authorities said in court documents released Tuesday.

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.

A lawyer for Nezhinskiy did not immediately return phone and email messages Tuesday evening. Court records do not yet list an attorney for Villar.

“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,” U.S. Attorney John J. Durham said in a statement.

Prosecutors said a large amount of suspected stolen property was found at the two men’s business and at storage units in New Jersey belonging to Nezhinskiy.

No one was injured in the break-in at Burrow’s home, which was ransacked and had a shattered bedroom window, according to a report from the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.

“I feel like my privacy has been violated in more ways than one,” Burrow said afterward. “Way more is out there than I would want out there and that I care to share.”