A judge has ruled that Xaviar Babudar, also known as Chiefsaholic, must pay $10.8 million to Payton Garcia, a former teller in Bixby, Oklahoma, whom he threatened with a gun during a series of bank robberies in December 2022.
Last Wednesday, Tulsa County District Judge Tracy L. Priddy ordered Babudar to pay Garcia $3.6 million for causing physical harm and emotional distress, along with $7.2 million in punitive damages.
Babudar’s attorney, Matthew Merryman, has not yet responded to requests for comment.
Garcia’s attorney, Frank Frasier, acknowledged the difficulty in collecting the money, considering Babudar’s unemployed status and transient lifestyle at the time of the crimes.
Xaviar Babudar, also known as Chiefsaholic (Via Getty Images)
Babudar had pleaded guilty in February to stealing over $800,000 in 11 robberies across seven states and laundering the proceeds through casinos.
As part of his plea deal, he is required to pay at least $532,675 in restitution to the financial institutions he targeted.
Frasier emphasized the significance of the ruling, stating, “The judge sent a message that you cannot profit from crime… anything he obtains from that will be paid to his creditors.”
Babudar, who cultivated a large social media following under the handle @Chiefsaholic on X and Instagram, was arrested in December 2022 after fleeing a bank in Bixby, where he threatened Garcia with a CO2 pistol.
Xaviar Babudar, also known as Chiefsaholic Arrested
Despite being released on bond in February 2023, he escaped custody a month later, only to be captured in California in July 2023.
Currently incarcerated at Leavenworth federal prison in Kansas, Babudar is set to be sentenced in July.
Frasier highlighted the lasting impact of the robbery on Garcia, noting that she was forced to leave her job and continues to grapple with the trauma inflicted by the crime, which has affected various aspects of her life, including her family and career.
