New Jersey man arrested in fencing operation allegedly has links to Joe Burrow burglary

Two men who were believed to have ties to a string of burglaries in the U.S., including at a famous pro athlete’s home in Ohio, were arrested on Tuesday, officials announced.

Dimitriy Nezhinskiy and Juan Villar were charged with “with conspiracy to receive stolen property related to their purchasing of stolen goods that traveled across state lines,” the Eastern District of New York said in a news release. The two men will be arranged on Wednesday.

Nezhinskiy, of North Bergen, New Jersey and Villar, of Queens, New York, were accused of acting as “fences” for South American-based crime groups who traveled around the U.S. to commit burglaries targeting luxury items. The two were accused of being linked to the “prolific burglar” Bryan Leandro Herrera Maldonado, who officials said committed 16 burglaries in the U.S. between 2019 and 2020.

Officials said Nezhinskiy was linked to at least two members of a crew who were allegedly involved in the Dec. 9, 2024, burglary of a “high-profile athlete in Ohio.” Sources told Fox News Channel the athlete in question is Cincinnati Bengals star quarterback Joe Burrow.

Law enforcement officials executed a search warrant for a pawn shop the two men allegedly operated in New York City’s Diamond District. Authorities “seized large quantities of suspected stolen property, including dozens of high-end watches and jewelry. Law enforcement also recovered large quantities of cash and marijuana,” officials said.

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Another search warrant was executed in a storage facility in New Jersey allegedly belonging to Nezhinskiy. Officials said “large quantities of luxury goods and clothing, including high-end handbags, wine, sports memorabilia, jewelry, artwork and power tools consistent with those commonly used in burglaries and opening safes” were recovered.

Nezhinskiy was arrested in New Jersey, and Villar was arrested in New York, officials said.

The arrests came weeks after four Chilean nationals were arrested in connection with the burglary to Burrow’s home on Dec. 9, 2024. At the time of the arrest, authorities found “an old LSU shirt and Bengals hat, believed to be stolen from the December 9, 2024 burglary in Hamilton County, Ohio,” which is where Burrow’s home is located.

The search of the vehicle the suspects were in also discovered “two Husky automatic center punch tools wrapped in a cloth towel.” The tool has been used by the South American Theft Group, according to authorities. 

Burrow’s home was burglarized while he was in Dallas facing the Cowboys. Police were called to Burrow’s home by Olivia Ponton, a model and social media influencer who was identified as Burrow’s employee in the incident report.

Burrow discussed the break-in a few days after its occurrence during a media availability, where he stressed the difficulty of living a life where his personal information is in the public’s eye. 

“So obviously everybody has heard what has happened. I feel like my privacy has been violated in more ways than one. And way more is already out there than I would want out there and that I care to share, so that’s all I got to say about that,” Burrow began.

“We live a public life, and one of my least favorite parts of that is the lack of privacy. And that has been difficult for me to deal with my entire career. Still learning. But I understand it’s the life that we choose. Doesn’t make it any easier to deal with.”

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