A Chilean national who spent days targeting women in District restaurants—including the then-Secretary of Homeland Security—was sentenced today to 36 months in federal prison. Mario Bustamante Leiva, 50, will be deported from the United States immediately after serving his time for a string of high-end thefts and wire fraud.
The sentence, handed down by Judge Trevor N. McFadden, follows Leiva’s guilty plea to three counts of wire fraud and one count of first-degree theft.
Court documents reveal a calculated spree in April 2025, where Leiva stalked dining areas to lift handbags and drain credit cards before the victims even noticed they were gone.
His most high-profile target was Kristi L. Noem, who was serving as the Secretary of Homeland Security at the time. On April 20, 2025, Leiva sat near Noem while she dined with her family at Capital Burger on 7th Street NW.
Surveillance footage caught Leiva repeatedly glancing at Noem’s Gucci handbag before leaning down to snatch it. The bag contained credit cards and roughly $3,000 in cash. Within a short time, Leiva was seen at another restaurant using Noem’s stolen cards.
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“Bustamante Leiva came to Washington illegally to prey on citizens of the District,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro. “He methodically targeted women at restaurants, stealing their purses, and monetizing the stolen cards within minutes.”
The investigation showed this wasn’t an isolated incident. A few days earlier, Leiva used his coat to hide the theft of a purse at the Westin Hotel, later using the victim’s card to buy wine and a gift card used to pay for his motel room. On another occasion, he teamed up with Cristian Montecino-Sanzana to steal a purse from a Nando’s on F Street NW.
Law enforcement caught up with Leiva on April 26, 2025, at a motel on Georgia Avenue NW. Inside the room, investigators found Noem’s stolen Gucci bag and wallet, along with over $3,000 in cash and various fraudulent gift cards.
Leiva had been living in the U.S. illegally since late 2021 after overstaying a travel visa. He also faces outstanding warrants for similar crimes in Utah and New York. His accomplice, Montecino-Sanzana, was sentenced in March to 13 months in prison and also faces deportation.
“His pattern of theft ends here,” Pirro said. “He will serve his prison term and be deported.”
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