Venezuelan billionaire won Trump pardon after $50 million Habba deal
Alina Habba, then a senior Justice Department adviser, was guaranteed more than $50 million over four years as general counsel of a little-known Florida company.
By The Carnegie Standard Staff
· 1 min read
Julio Herrera Velutini, a Venezuelan-Italian billionaire, received a full and unconditional pardon from President Donald Trump in early 2026, weeks after his family put one of Trump's former personal lawyers on its payroll under a contract worth more than $50 million, The New York Times reported on October 20.
According to the Times, Herrera Velutini had faced charges tied to a 2022 bribery allegation involving Puerto Rico's governor and settled the case in August 2025 by pleading guilty to a single campaign finance misdemeanor. His daughter, a U.S. citizen, donated $3.5 million to a super PAC aligned with Trump, and the family retained Christopher Kise, another former Trump lawyer, to press for clemency, the newspaper said.
The family then recruited Alina Habba, at the time a senior adviser to Attorney General Pam Bondi with responsibility for U.S. attorneys, offering $10 million a year for four years plus bonuses. She agreed to serve as general counsel of Concord Partners, a Florida company set up by Herrera Velutini's daughter in late October 2025 whose business activity remains unclear, the Times reported. Habba began the job on January 1.
Habba denied any involvement in the pardon, saying her employment had been disclosed to the Justice Department. She resigned as U.S. attorney for New Jersey after a federal court found her appointment unlawful.
This story was first reported by Yahoo.
Comments