Mario Bustamante Leiva Sentenced To Three Years For Stealing Kristi Noem’s Purse

A U.S. district court sentenced Mario Bustamante Leiva to three years in prison for stealing a handbag last year belonging to then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and the administration of President Donald Trump added that he would also be subject to deportation after his time behind bars.

“A United States district court has sentenced a Chilean man to three years in prison for stealing a handbag last year belonging to then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem”

Al Jazeera

The Justice Department statement described how “Surveillance cameras recorded Bustamente Leiva repeatedly looking down toward Noem’s purse before bending down and snatching it,” and it said Noem’s purse contained “several credit cards and about $3,000 in cash.”

Al Jazeera

Prosecutors said Bustamante Leiva targeted women at restaurants and used stolen cards quickly, with U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro saying, “His pattern of theft ends here. He will serve his prison term and be deported.”

The Los Angeles Times reported that Bustamante Leiva grabbed Noem’s Gucci handbag from the floor of a restaurant where she was eating with her family in April 2025, and it said Noem’s purse had “credit cards and about $3,000 in cash.”

The BBC similarly said Noem’s handbag had “$3,000 (£2,260) in cash inside” when it was swiped while she was dining at a Washington DC restaurant with her family last April.

The Department of Justice press release tied the sentence to a “string of thefts” and said Leiva was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to “36 months in prison,” while also stating that “At the completion of his 36-month prison sentence, Leiva will be subject to deportation.”

Prosecutors and court filings described a sequence of purse thefts in April 2025 in Washington, DC, with Bustamante Leiva accused of targeting female diners across multiple days.

The Department of Justice press release said that “on three separate days in April 2025, Bustamante Leiva targeted female diners at restaurants in the District of Columbia,” and it described how he surveilled targets, stole purses containing “wallets, credit cards, and personal identifying information,” and used stolen cards to make fraudulent purchases “within minutes of each theft.”

BBC

It gave specific locations and dates for the other incidents, including an April 12 case at “Nando’s, located in the 800 block of F Street NW,” where surveillance video captured the defendants “pausing outside Nando’s” before taking a woman’s purse and then traveling to “a supermarket in the 400 block of L Street NW” to purchase a “$500 Visa gift card.”

The DOJ press release also described an April 17 theft at the “Westin Hotel in the 900 block of 9th Street NW,” where Bustamante Leiva used his coat to conceal theft of a purse while families were dining, and it said he returned to the supermarket to purchase “wine and a $400 gift card,” later using that gift card to pay for a motel room in the “6700 block of Georgia Avenue NW.”

For the Noem incident itself, the DOJ press release said it occurred on April 20, 2025 at “Capital Burger in the 1000 block of 7th Street NW,” where surveillance cameras recorded Bustamante Leiva “repeatedly looking down toward Noem’s purse before bending down and snatching it.”

The BBC and CNBC both described the theft as happening while Noem was protected by Secret Service agents, with the BBC saying “Because she was a cabinet official at the time, Noem had Secret Service protection and officers were with her at the restaurant when her bag went missing.”

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro and Kristi Noem both framed the case as a targeted pattern of theft rather than a one-off incident.

“A Chilean citizen, Mario Bustamante-Leiva, has been arrested for stealing the handbag of the United States Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem”

CiberCuba

Pirro said in a statement, “Bustamante Leiva came to Washington illegally to prey on citizens of the District,” and she added, “He methodically targeted women at restaurants, stealing their purses, and monetizing the stolen cards within minutes,” before concluding, “His pattern of theft ends here. He will serve his prison term and be deported.”

The Department of Justice press release echoed Pirro’s characterization, quoting her that “Bustamante Leiva came to Washington illegally to prey on citizens of the District,” and it repeated the line that “His pattern of theft ends here. He will serve his prison term and be deported.”

Noem, in an X post reported by the New York Post, said, “This individual is a career criminal who has been in our country illegally for years,” and she added, “Unfortunately, so many families in this country have been made victims by crime, and that’s why President Trump is working every single day to make America safe and get these criminal aliens off of our streets.”

The Al Jazeera report also described the administration’s use of the case in support of deportation efforts and a military-led crackdown on crime in Washington, DC, quoting Trump’s executive order language that “Citizens, tourists, and staff alike are unable to live peacefully in the Nation’s capital, which is under siege from violent crime,” and stating that Trump wrote, “which is under siege from violent crime,” in an executive order on August 11.

The Department of Justice press release, meanwhile, described the case’s investigation and prosecution, stating that “This case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and Metropolitan Police Department” and that “The matter was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Helfand.”

While multiple outlets agreed that Mario Bustamante Leiva received a prison term of three years and would face deportation, they diverged on the exact phrasing and length in months.

Al Jazeera and the Los Angeles Times both described the sentence as “three years” in prison, with Al Jazeera saying the court sentenced him to “three years in prison” and the Los Angeles Times stating he was sentenced on Wednesday to “three years in prison.”

CNBC

The Department of Justice press release, however, stated that he “was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 36 months in prison,” and it specified that “At the completion of his 36-month prison sentence, Leiva will be subject to deportation.”

CNBC likewise said he was sentenced to “three years in prison,” and it reported that he pleaded guilty on Nov. 21 to “three counts of wire fraud and one count of first-degree theft,” while also describing the sentencing memo and the judge’s decision.

The BBC said he was sentenced to “three years in prison” and described the cash as “$3,000 (£2,260) in cash inside,” while also noting that he faced deportation after his sentence.

The Independent also described the sentence as “36-month prison sentence Wednesday,” and it said he received “a 36-month prison sentence” in connection with a “string of thefts.”

The sentencing outcome set up deportation after incarceration and reinforced the Trump administration’s broader approach to immigration and crime in Washington, DC, as described in the reporting.

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Department of Justice (.gov)

Al Jazeera said the administration added that Bustamante Leiva “would also be subject to deportation after his time behind bars,” and it described how the Trump administration used the case to justify its deportation push and “military-led crackdown on crime in Washington, DC.”

Emol

It reported that Trump initiated “a series of National Guard deployments around the country” and that in August the campaign came to Washington, DC, which Trump described as overwhelmed with crime, writing in an executive order on August 11 that “Citizens, tourists, and staff alike are unable to live peacefully in the Nation’s capital, which is under siege from violent crime.”

Al Jazeera said the order deployed “thousands of National Guard troops to patrol the capital to address what he described as a “crime emergency,”” and it added that “Roughly 2,500 troops remain in the capital to support local law enforcement.”

The report also said it was “unclear when their deployment might end,” and it explained that “Federal law otherwise largely forbids the military from serving as civilian law enforcement, so the troops cannot make arrests.”

The Department of Justice press release stated that Leiva would be subject to deportation “At the completion of his 36-month prison sentence,” and it tied the case to a broader pattern of illegal entry and warrants, saying he entered “at Orlando International Airport on Aug. 16, 2021” and remained “illegally” after his visa waiver ended “until Nov. 13, 2021.”