Financial Flash│By Lee, Chen-Lin （ Daniel Lee ）李振麟
In late July 2025, Chilean law enforcement officials from the Policía de Investigaciones de Chile (PDI, also known as the Investigative Police of Chile) turned over to the FBI valuables that had been stolen during Los Angeles-area burglaries. The stolen items have since been returned to the victims.
In early 2025, items were recovered by the PDI during multiple search warrants as part of a joint FBI-PDI operation to target organized burglary crew members in Santiago, Chile. The items were identified as having been stolen from two victims of burglaries believed to have been carried out by South American Theft Groups (SATG), which continue to plague victims throughout the United States and other countries, and which have proliferated in Southern California communities over the past several years.
In August 2025, FBI personnel, in conjunction with personnel from the PDI, returned these stolen goods to their rightful owners.
One of the victims was identified as actor Keanu Reeves, whose Los Angeles home was burglarized in December 2023, generating an investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). Following the return of his property, to include a personalized Rolex watch from the “John Wick” film series, Mr. Reeves provided a handwritten letter to the FBI, thanking all parties involved, to include the LAPD, the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, the FBI’s legal attaché office in Santiago, Chile, Policia de Investigaciones (PDI), and Fiscalìa de Chile (Chilean National Prosecutor’s Office).
After naming each of the above units, the letter reads, “Thank you so much for all your effort, dedication, professionalism and cross-border cooperation. My warmest regards, Keanu.”
“This case is a perfect example of the excellent international cooperation we enjoy with our Chilean counterparts and our local partners at Los Angeles Police Department,” said Akil Davis, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office.
“While burglary is a local crime in the United States, the FBI works collaboratively with the Los Angeles Police Department and others to share intelligence via our Major Theft Task Force and through other channels. These crimes affect celebrities and non-public figures alike, and the FBI is committed to assisting our local partners in combatting this scourge affecting the lives of innocent victims.”
In late August 2025, Mr. Reeves met with FBI personnel and a Chilean PDI Officer in New York to receive his stolen property. Shortly thereafter, the international law enforcement team met with another victim, Erik Lorscheider, whose home was burglarized in Los Angeles on March 31, 2023. The team met with Lorscheider, who has since relocated to another state, to return his stolen property.
The items stolen from Mr. Lorscheider’s home included dozens of items of jewelry, including a class ring from his alma matter, Duke University. Additional items Lorscheider cherished from his time serving in the U.S. Marine Corps were stolen and have not been recovered.
Both Lorscheider and Reeves expressed similar gratitude to the entire investigative team in recovering some irreplaceable and important possessions.
“This case underscores how crime today knows no borders, and how vital our international partnerships are in bringing justice to victims here in Los Angeles,” said LAPD Chief of Police Jim McDonnell.
The recovery of these stolen items—thanks to the outstanding collaboration between the Policía de Investigaciones de Chile, the FBI, and our detectives—sends a strong message that organized theft groups will be pursued wherever they operate. I am proud of the work our team has done alongside our federal and international partners to hold these criminal networks accountable.”
SATG describes criminal organizations from South American countries who travel to the United States and other nations to commit theft.
“This operation demonstrates our institution’s ongoing commitment to the pursuit of transnational organized crime,” said Eduardo Cerna Lozano, director general of the PDI.
“Thanks to coordinated efforts with the FBI and the Public Prosecutor’s Office, we were able to recover high-value items and make progress in dismantling a criminal organization operating in several countries. International cooperation is key to confronting these types of threats that recognize no borders.”
These thefts include burglaries of residences and jewelry stores, retail and vehicle theft, and even pickpocketing. Chilean SATG actors are sophisticated; they are known to conduct surveillance and use technical tools to commit their thefts.
In recent months, there has been an increase by SATG actors in targeting the homes of professional athletes and celebrities.
“The return of these stolen items reflects the close collaboration between the FBI’s legal attaché in Santiago and Chile’s Policía de Investigaciones, demonstrating the results of strong international cooperation in complex transnational cases,” said Isaac Delong, FBI legal attaché, Santiago, Chile.
The information sharing and cooperation among the FBI and Chilean law enforcement officials and other security partners at the U.S. Embassy in Santiago is at an all-time high. Information-sharing agreements have helped to close loopholes that enabled criminal groups in South American countries to exploit illegal entry or tourist visas to travel in and out of the United States in order to facilitate the theft and transportation of stolen goods internationally.
Currently, multiple FBI field offices and the FBI’s legal attaché office in Santiago are actively investigating multiple SATG-linked crimes with local partners that occurred in numerous jurisdictions in the United States.
智利調查警察局（PDI）與 FBI 聯手破獲南美竊盜集團（SATG），成功尋回基努李維（Keanu Reeves）與另一名受害者的被竊珍藏物品。跨國合作展現強大執法能量，並將贓物物歸原主，名人與受害者向執法單位致謝。這起案件凸顯犯罪已無國界，而國際合作對於為洛杉磯的受害者伸張正義至關重要，在智利調查警察局、FBI，以及 LAPD 偵探們展現卓越的共同努力，使這些失物得以尋回，包括《捍衛任務》系列的客製化 Rolex。