A billionaire Venezuelan-Italian banker received a full pardon from President Trump in January, weeks after his daughter's new company hired Alina Haba in a contract worth more than $50 million.

A billionaire Venezuelan-Italian banker received a full pardon from President Trump in January, weeks after his daughter's new company hired Alina Haba in a contract worth more than $50 million.

Julio Herrera Velottini was accused in 2022 in a bribery case in Puerto Rico alongside the former governor of the island.

The criminal charges were later dropped, and he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor campaign finance violations.

His daughter, Isabella Herrera, gave $3.5 million to the pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc. She also committed $2.5 million to the Trump White House Ballroom project.

At the end of October 2025, she registered a company in Florida with no apparent business. Days later, she hired Haba, Trump's former personal attorney and then Justice Department counsel, as general counsel. People familiar with the deal said they believe she was hired to help secure the pardon, which Trump granted on Jan. 15.

The father denied any connection, calling the insinuation "false."

The White House said she had nothing to do with the pardon.

Source: NYT