US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) headquarters in Washington, DC, USA, on Saturday, January 24, 2026.
Valerie Preche | Bloomberg | Getty Images
A Chilean man who admitted stealing then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s Gucci handbag as part of a series of wallet thefts in Washington, D.C., last year was sentenced Wednesday to three years in prison, the Justice Department announced.
The fraudster, Mario Bustamante Leyva, 50, is in the United States illegally and will be subject to deportation at the end of his sentence, the Justice Department said.
Bustamante Leyva was arrested in late April 2025, less than a week after she entered the Capital Burger restaurant in Washington, D.C., and snatched the wallet of Noem, then one of President Donald Trump’s most prominent Cabinet members, without her knowledge.
Noem was dining at a restaurant with her family for Easter. At the time of the theft, she was under Secret Service protection.
Noem was ousted from his post last month amid growing turmoil in Trump’s cabinet.
Along with Kristi Noem’s purse and wallet.
Provided by: Metropolitan Police Department
Her Gucci bag contained credit cards and about $3,000 in cash, prosecutors said.
The theft was captured on security cameras, and Bustamante Leyva was later seen at another restaurant with Noem’s purse, wallet and at least one credit card in her possession, and used them to make fraudulent purchases, the Justice Department said.
Bustamante Leyva was later charged with stealing wallets in three separate incidents in April 2025.
He pleaded guilty on Nov. 21 to three counts of wire fraud and one count of first-degree theft.
“Bustamante Leyva came to Washington illegally to prey on District residents,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a statement Wednesday.
“They systematically targeted women at restaurants, stole their wallets, and monetized the stolen cards within minutes,” Pirro said. “His pattern of theft ends here. He will serve his sentence and be deported.”
Prosecutors in Pirro’s office told U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden in a sentencing memo that Bustamante Leyva’s criminal activity dates back to at least the mid-1990s and was a “disturbing pattern” of illegally entering various countries, targeting “unsuspecting victims,” committing theft, and then facing deportation or incarceration.
Pirro told the judge that Bustamante Leyva’s actions were “egregious” and deserved “the highest standard of sentencing in the guidelines,” asking for a sentence of 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release.
However, McFadden gave Pirro six months more than the term he requested.
Bustamante Leyva’s lawyer, AJ Kramer, asked the judge for a total of 15 months in prison, saying in a court filing that his client had lived an “extremely difficult life marked by fear, abuse and severe addiction.”
“All signs suggest that Mr. Bustamante Leyva’s actions in this case are related to his crimes.”
Alcohol use and addiction,” Kramer wrote in his April 17 sentencing memorandum.
“Immediately following his arrest, Mr. Bustamante Leyva experienced a period of severe and life-threatening sobriety, but has since become sober,” Kramer wrote.
Co-defendant Cristian Montesino Sanzana pleaded guilty to one of the three thefts Bustamante Leyva admitted to, as well as two charges related to the April 12 snatching at Nando’s restaurant.
Montesino-Sanzana was sentenced on March 13 to 13 months in prison and three years of supervised release. He could be deported after completing his sentence, the Justice Department said.
