Washington DC - The man who stole former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem's purse, including $3,000 and her security badge, has been sentenced to three years in prison.

On April 20, 2025, Mario Bustamante Leiva allegedly snatched an expensive Gucci handbag from Noem while she was having dinner with her family at the Capital Burger in downtown Washington DC.

Unaware that the woman he was stealing from was the then DHS secretary, Leiva reportedly slid the purse across the floor with his leg and made off with it hidden beneath his jacket.

Inside the bag was about $3,000 in cash and Noem's security badge.

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Leiva is a 60-year-old Chilean citizen who had reportedly robbed three women over eight days in Washington DC, including Noem. He was arrested by law enforcement six days after the Capital Burger incident.

"Bustamante Leiva came to Washington illegally to prey on citizens of the District," US Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro wrote in a statement released by the Department of Justice on Wednesday.

"He methodically targeted women at restaurants, stealing their purses, and monetizing the stolen cards within minutes," Pirro said. "His pattern of theft ends here."

In November, Leiva pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree theft and three counts of wire fraud. He has now been sentenced to three years in prison, after which he will be deported.

Shortly after the incident last year, Noem thanked the Secret Service, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and local law enforcement for finding and arresting Leiva in a statement on X.

"This individual is a career criminal who has been in our country illegally for years," she wrote. "Unfortunately, so many families in this country have been made victims by crime."