Federal charges filed against illegal immigrant who allegedly stole Kristi Noem's purse
The criminal complaint filed in court on Monday charges 49-year-old Mario Bustamante Leiva with wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and robbery.
The complaint alleges that Bustamante Leiva committed three robberies between April 12, 2024, and April 20, 2025, and after each robbery, he made fraudulent purchases using the credit cards obtained from each victim.
He was ultimately arrested on Saturday by members of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and the Secret Service.
Suspect Arrested For Alleged Theft Of Kristi Noem's Bag Containing $3K In Cash: Reports
Authorities say Bustamante Leiva is an illegally present Chilean national, and in each ruse, he approached victims as they ate in a restaurant, stole their purses from the back of their seats, and then fled the scene.
Read On The Fox News App
Detectives located video evidence of the thefts, which led them to identify the alleged suspect as Bustamante Leiva. He was arrested on Saturday and initially charged with two counts of robbery, though additional charges were pending for an additional offense being investigated by the Secret Service, officials said.
Dhs Chief Kristi Noem Reveals How Her Purse Was Stolen At Restaurant: 'Professionally Done'
Noem was with her family on Easter Sunday at The Capital Burger in Washington, D.C., when the suspect nabbed her luxury bag containing the cash as well as her driver's license, passport, medication, makeup bag, blank checks, DHS badge, apartment keys and a Louis Vuitton Clemence wallet.
Kimmel Mocks Dhs Sec Kristi Noem For Getting Robbed, Says Her Being Crime Victim Is 'Embarrassing'
The bag was on the floor at her table when it was stolen, according to a complaint filed with local police.
Security footage captured a White man in a N95 surgical mask, dark pants and a baseball cap grabbing the bag before leaving the restaurant.
Fox News Digital's Stepheny Price, Landon Mion and Stephen Sorace contributed to this report. Original article source: Federal charges filed against illegal immigrant who allegedly stole Kristi Noem's purse
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
25 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Appeals court allows Trump to end temporary protections for migrants from Central America and Nepal
Temporary Protected Status is a designation that can be granted by the Homeland Security secretary, preventing migrants from being deported and allowing them to work. The Trump administration has aggressively sought to remove the protection, thus making more people eligible for removal. It's part of a wider effort by the administration to carry out mass deportations of immigrants. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Secretary Kristi Noem can extend Temporary Protected Status to immigrants in the U.S. if conditions in their homelands are deemed unsafe for return due to a natural disaster, political instability or other dangerous conditions. Advertisement Noem had ruled to end protections for 51,000 Hondurans and nearly 3,000 Nicaraguans after determining that conditions in their homelands no longer warranted them. Their designations are set to expire Sept. 8 after more than two dozen years working in the U.S. after Hurricane Mitch devastated both countries in 1998. TPS designations for an estimated 7,000 people from Nepal were scheduled to end Aug. 5. Advertisement The National TPS Alliance did not respond immediately to a request for comment. In a sharply written July 31 order, U.S. District Judge Trina L. Thompson in San Francisco kept the protections in place while the case proceeds. The next hearing is Nov. 18. She said the administration ended the migrant status protections without an 'objective review of the country conditions,' such as political violence in Honduras and the impact of recent hurricanes and storms in Nicaragua. In response, Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary at DHS, said, 'TPS was never meant to be a de facto asylum system, yet that is how previous administrations have used it for decades.' The Trump administration has already terminated TPS designations for about 350,000 Venezuelans, 500,000 Haitians, more than 160,000 Ukrainians and thousands of people from Afghanistan and Cameroon. Some have pending lawsuits in federal courts. Lawyers for the National TPS Alliance argued that Noem's decisions are unlawful because they were predetermined by President Donald Trump's campaign promises and motivated by racial animus. But Drew Ensign, a U.S. deputy assistant attorney general, said at a hearing Tuesday that the government suffers an ongoing irreparable harm from its 'inability to carry out the programs that it has determined are warranted.' In May, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to end TPS designations for Venezuelans. The justices provided no rationale, which is common in emergency appeals, and did not rule on the underlying claims.
Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
Fox News Politics Newsletter: DeSantis sends 'Chuck Norris' deputy after fugitive
Print Close By Fox News Staff Published August 20, 2025 Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here's what's happening… -DHS pulls funding from groups with 'alleged terrorist ties' after watchdog report -Giving Putin the Donbas would hand Moscow powerful leverage over Kyiv's financial survival -Vance says National Guard is 'busting their a--' in Washington, floats mission could last longer than 30 days DeSantis: State line won't protect criminal illegals; sends 'Chuck Norris' deputy to nab fugitive trucker EXCLUSIVE: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sent his deputy to California to pick up fugitive Harjinder Singh – an illegal immigrant from India who allegedly killed three motorists after making an illegal U-turn in his big-rig on Florida's Turnpike near Port St. Lucie. "I have dispatched my new lieutenant governor, Jay Collins, to California to apprehend Harjinder Singh ," DeSantis told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. "Fleeing to a sanctuary state will not prevent him from facing justice in Florida—and we will make sure of that." "He will be held accountable for his criminal actions."…READ MORE. White House MOTHER'S BETRAYAL: FBI arrests woman on 'Ten Most Wanted Fugitives' hiding in India, transports back to US for prosecution 'STUPID HIPPIES': White House blasts 'crazy communists' protesting DC clean-up, says 'stupid White hippies' terrorize residents 'POLITICAL SCANDAL': Hillary Clinton slapped with ethics complaint targeting her law license over role in Russiagate scandal POLLS AND PAYROLL: Trump admin bans federal work-study funds from supporting political activism on college campuses SWEEP SUCCESS: SCOOP: White House touts guns and drug haul removed from DC streets as Trump's crime blitz nets 550 arrests 'SAFE AGAIN': Top law enforcement agency offers cash awards for tips leading to DC arrests amid Trump's crime crackdown HIDDEN TESTIMONY: Second federal judge blocks Justice Department bid to release Jeffrey Epstein grand jury files CRIME CRACKDOWN: FBI's Kash Patel vows agency won't stop combating DC crime until 'every community is safe' after 550 arrests World Stage THREAT LEVEL ESCALATED: NATO scrambles warplanes as Russia hits near Romanian border in Ukraine FRONTLINE ECONOMY: Giving Putin the Donbas would hand Moscow powerful leverage over Kyiv's financial survival Capitol Hill RULES FOR THEE: 'Full of s---': New York Republican accuses state Dems of hypocrisy in redistricting push DEMOCRACY DISRUPTED: House Democrat clashes with activists over Israel 'genocide' as pro-Palestinian protests derail town hall Across America HOUSE CALL SHOWDOWN: Letitia James' lawyer blasts Ed Martin's 'bizarre' 'stunt' at New York AG's house LOGISTICS IN CHAOS: Illegal trucker 'deported himself to CA,' lawmaker says, while revealing systemic crisis in transportation REDISTRICTING REVISIONISM: Newsom-style redistricting efforts critiqued by California Democrats as recently as July, statements show MANHATTAN MADNESS: Mamdani sidesteps 'communism' question, says his campaign is about 'distribution of wealth' BORDER BRUTALITY: FIRST ON FOX: Two illegal aliens charged with rape, aggravated sodomy, and kidnapping of woman in Kansas: ICE RADICAL SHUTDOWN: Stefanik booed offstage as protesters chant 'traitor' during upstate New York memorial event MOST WANTED: ICE arrests 65 illegal aliens in sanctuary state operation targeting gangs, transnational organized crime Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on . Print Close URL
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
White House rips ex-White Stripes singer for slamming Trump Oval Office redecorating as 'gaudy'
The White House slammed former White Stripes frontman Jack White after he insulted President Donald Trump's new Oval Office décor on Monday. White House communications director Steven Cheung ripped the "Seven Nation Army" singer for calling Trump's new gold-accented office "gaudy" and "vulgar," stating that the musician is "washed-up" and a "has-been." "Jack White is a washed-up, has-been loser posting drivel on social media because he clearly has ample time on his hands due to his stalled career," Cheung said in a statement to The Daily Beast. Trump Installs Massive New Us Flags At The White House – And They Don't Cost Taxpayers A Penny He continued, "It's apparent he's been masquerading as a real artist, because he fails to appreciate, and quite frankly disrespects, the splendor and significance of the Oval Office inside of 'The People's House.'" Cheung's statement followed White's Instagram post on Monday night that featured an image of Trump's Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy when they discussed finding peace in the Russia-Ukraine war. Read On The Fox News App However, the musician focused on attacking the gold decor adorning the office's fireplace that was visible behind the two world leaders. Trump Spars With European Leader During Ukraine Talks Over Key Step To Peace "Look at how disgusting trump has transformed the historic White House. It's now a vulgar, gold leafed and gaudy, professional wrestler's dressing room," White began. "Can't wait for the UFC match on the front lawn too, he's almost fully achieved the movie 'Idiocracy,'" he added, mentioning Trump's ambitions to host a UFC fight in front of the White House next year as part of America's 250th birthday celebrations. Since the start of his second term, Trump has updated the look of the presidential office, adding gold adornments throughout the room, as well as framing a copy of the Declaration of Independence on a wall near the Resolute Desk. Trump is also planning on adding a ballroom to the White House that will reportedly cost $200 million to build. The rocker continued slamming Trump's renovations. "Look at his disgusting taste, would you even buy a used car from this conman, let alone give him the nuclear codes? A gold plated trump bible would look perfect up on that mantle with a pair of trump shoes on either side wouldn't it? What an embarrassment to American history." Click Here For More Coverage Of Media And Culture White added praise for Zelenskyy at Trump's expense, stating, "Also pictured in this photograph, a REAL leader of a nation in a black suit." White has feuded with the president in the past. His former band, The White Stripes, sued the Trump campaign in 2024 for using the riff from "Seven Nation Army" in intro videos during campaign rallies. White also called out celebrities who appeared friendly with Trump at a UFC fight in 2023. "Anybody who 'normalizes' or treats this disgusting fascist, racist, con man, disgusting piece of s—t Trump with any level of respect is ALSO disgusting in my book. That's you Joe Rogan, you Mel Gibson, you Mark Wahlberg, you Guy Fieri. This is a statement from me, not a discussion/debate. - Jack White III," he wrote on Instagram at the article source: White House rips ex-White Stripes singer for slamming Trump Oval Office redecorating as 'gaudy'
