A 32-year-old man from Brownsville has been sentenced for aggravated identity theft and straw purchasing linked to a firearm buying scheme extending from Texas into Mexico, as declared by U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Leonardo Barroso admitted guilt on June 9, 2022.

U.S. District Judge David S. Morales has now decreed Barroso to serve 87 months for the straw purchase crime and a mandatory 24 months for identity theft, to be served successively, summing up to 111 months in federal prison. After his sentence, Barroso will be under three years of supervised release. During the hearing, it was revealed that Barroso, a door-to-door electricity salesman, misused his customers' personal details to buy firearms in San Antonio and Corpus Christi. Barroso bought more than 20 firearms to be smuggled into Mexico and handed over to cartel members.

On Feb. 7, 2022, Barroso bought a firearm from a Corpus Christi dealer using a Social Security number and identification belonging to a known identity theft victim. He then used this stolen identity to purchase another firearm for a third party to smuggle into Mexico. Barroso also provided false information to the dealer while completing the required paperwork for the purchase.

Barroso admitted to authorities that he was transporting other firearms out of the U.S. He acted as a facilitator, enlisting Mexican nationals to buy numerous firearms from Texas dealers for smuggling into Mexico.

Barroso will remain in custody until he's transferred to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility, to be determined soon.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives led the investigation.