Thief who stole Noem’s purse at DC restaurant gets three years

The man who stole Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s purse while she dined at Capital Burger in Northwest Washington was sentenced Tuesday to three years in federal prison, closing a case that exposed how quickly a table-side theft can unfold in a busy restaurant.

Mario Bustamante Leiva, 50, a Chilean national prosecutors said was illegally residing in the United States, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Washington to 36 months after pleading guilty Nov. 21, 2025, to three counts of wire fraud and one count of first-degree theft. Prosecutors said he will be deported after serving the sentence.

The theft happened April 20, 2025, as Noem ate with her family on Easter Sunday. She was under Secret Service protection nearby, but prosecutors said Bustamante Leiva did not recognize her when he took her Gucci handbag from the floor. The purse reportedly held about $3,000 in cash, her driver’s license, passport, keys, a DHS access card or badge and credit cards.

Police later recovered the purse from Bustamante Leiva’s motel room, along with about $3,174 in cash and other items. Investigators identified him after he used stolen cards and a stolen gift card to make purchases. The Secret Service said the incident had no protective nexus to Noem’s office, even though she was being protected in the area.

Prosecutors said Bustamante Leiva and others targeted women dining at restaurants across Washington, D.C., on three separate days in April 2025, then used stolen cards within minutes to make fraudulent purchases. That pattern matters for operators because it shows how purse thefts often happen in plain sight, with the thief moving before staff or guests realize anything is missing. In a crowded dining room, servers can watch for suspicious behavior and managers can train staff to flag unattended bags, but the final line of defense is often how close guests keep their belongings.

The case also reached beyond Noem’s table. Cristian Montecino-Sanzana was sentenced in March 2026 to 13 months in prison for his role in one of the related thefts, underscoring that prosecutors viewed the restaurant thefts as part of a broader string of coordinated crimes. Noem thanked Secret Service, ICE and local law enforcement after the arrest and tied the case to her immigration crackdown, while U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro said Bustamante Leiva came to Washington illegally to prey on District residents. For restaurants, the sentence is a reminder that even high-profile protection details do not stop a fast-moving theft from reaching a guest’s chair, a server station or the floor beside the table.