Federal prosecutors arrested four illegal immigrants from South America believed to be behind a series of sophisticated burglaries that netted $1 million worth of personal property across several states.
Four men from Chile and Venezuela were indicted this week by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Prosecutors allege the thieves targeted more than a dozen homes in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Florida and got away with more than $1 million in cash, jewelry, firearms, and more.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin announced the charges on Tuesday, May 12, alleging the thieves traveled from South America to commit burglaries across the United States.
Chilean nationals Luciano Alexis Silva Cifuentes, Enjerbet Alejandro Rojas Silva, and Leandro Felipe Pino Uribe, and Venezuelan national Nobuaki Jesus Lara Watay face charges for conspiracy to violate U.S. laws, interstate and foreign transportation of stolen property, and conspiracy to launder criminal proceeds, according to the USAO.
According to the USAO, the South American theft group is behind more than a dozen completed and attempted residential burglaries in several states.
Court documents say 24-year-old Luciano Alexis Silva Cifuentes, 20-year-old Enjerbet Alejandro Rojas Silva, 20-year-old Leandro Felipe Pino Uribe, all Chilean nationals, and Nobuaki Jesus Lara Watay, a Venezuelan national, whose age is unknown, were ind… https://t.co/QAmvEAxOXK
— KSTP (@KSTP) May 18, 2026
It’s unclear if this group is connected to a larger international crime ring of Chilean thieves who have targeted professional athletes and other luxury homes across the country.
The case primarily came from the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office in Wisconsin, but several Twin Cities jurisdictions are also connected, KARE 11 reported. Local police departments began working together after they noticed similarities between the burglaries.
Investigators also shared photos of the suspected thieves posing and smiling with cash, jewelry and other valuables. Based on phone data, the suspects allegedly drove across the Midwest, breaking into homes in different communities along the way, according to court documents.
The case broke open after sheriff’s deputies in Wisconsin pulled over three of the four suspects in December 2025, and a search of their car found burglary tools, antennas for Wi-Fi jammers, two window punch devices and Sawzall blades, KARE 11 reported. They also found fake identification.
“We noticed that other agencies throughout the metro were also experiencing very similar burglaries, very similar items being stolen,” Captain Wayne Wegener with the Mendota Heights Police Department in Minnesota told KARE 11. “A lot of similarities between all of them.”
Wegener said they started to connect the burglaries once news reports out of Wisconsin revealed a similar pattern, but added “We didn’t see the suspects being an international crime ring.”
The Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office launched the investigation, which led to the involvement of the Milwaukee-area Homeland Security Task Force. HSTF is led by the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations, and the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation.
FBI Director Kash Patel shared news of the arrests on social media, adding the arrests were “conducted in a joint Homeland Security Task Force op with partners. Well done @FBIMilwaukee.”
Four illegal aliens arrested after being found allegedly tied to a massive multi-state burglary ring in the U.S. – arrests conducted in a joint Homeland Security Task Force op with partners. Well done @FBIMilwaukee. pic.twitter.com/or8HwtPG9t
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) May 13, 2026
According to publicly filed criminal complaints that preceded the indictment, the Chilean burglars traveled from Florida to Wisconsin and Minnesota several times. They stole $1 million worth of U.S. currency, jewelry, firearms, precious metals and rare coins.
They traveled in a rental car and stayed in Airbnbs with the support of Watay, who lives in Florida and is in the country illegally.
Watay allegedly supported and arranged the group’s travels. He reportedly reserved Airbnb rentals for the burglary crew, posted their bail when needed, and conducted financial transactions on the group’s behalf, according to the indictment.
The defendants face up to five years in prison for conspiring to violate U.S. laws, 10 years in prison for transporting stolen property across state or foreign boundaries, and 20 years in prison for conspiring to launder criminal proceeds.
The investigation involved multiple federal agencies, with the cooperation of the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office, Mequon Police Department, Dane County Sheriff’s Department, Brown County Sheriff’s Department, Mendota Heights Police Department, Orono Police Department, Edina Police Department, all in Minnesota, and the Plantation Police Department in Florida, and the North Central High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.
