South Texan imprisoned for stolen identity and plot to smuggle firearms to Mexico

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 32-year-old Brownsville man has been sentenced for aggravated identity theft and straw purchasing in connection to a firearm purchasing scheme out of Texas into Mexico, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Leonardo Barroso pleaded guilty June 9, 2022.

U.S. District Judge David S. Morales has now ordered Barroso to serve 87 months for the straw purchase conviction and a mandatory 24 months for the identity theft to be served consecutively for a total of 111 months in federal prison. The sentence will be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence that Barroso worked as a door-to-door electricity salesman who used his customers’ personal information to purchase firearms in San Antonio and Corpus Christi. Barroso purchased over 20 firearms to be smuggled into Mexico and intentionally delivered to cartel members.

On Feb. 7, 2022, Barroso purchased a firearm from a dealer in Corpus Christi using a Social Security number and identification that belonged to a known victim of identity theft. He then used the stolen identification to purchase a firearm for a third party to smuggle into Mexico. Barroso additionally provided false and misleading statements to the firearms dealer upon completing required paperwork for the purchase. 

Barroso also admitted to law enforcement he was transporting other firearms out of the United States. He served as a facilitator by recruiting Mexican nationals to purchase numerous firearms from dealers in Texas to be smuggled into Mexico.

Barroso will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Marck and Lance Watt prosecuted the case.