A top Donald Trump-appointed official was suspended after she was accused in a bombshell report of being on a sugar daddy website.
Officials told the New York Post that Julia Varvaro, a Department of Homeland Security deputy assistant secretary for counterterrorism, has been put on leave following a bombshell Daily Mail report that claimed the 29-year-old had a profile on Seeking.com, a site often used by young singles seeking older, wealthier partners to fund their lifestyles.
“Julia Varvaro is on administrative leave as a result of the investigation and she is no longer serving in her capacity as a Deputy Assistant Secretary at DHS,” an official confirmed.
Varvaro was accused by her former paramour—identified by the Mail as Robert B.—who said he filed a complaint with the Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General.
“‘I believe that she’s under financial stress and that her actions pose a security risk,’ the scorned business executive wrote in the complaint, according to the Mail.
Varvaro and Robert B. met on Hinge, a mainstream dating app. The disgruntled ex alleges he spent $40,000 on her over the course of three months, including first-class trips to Aruba and Italy.
The relationship ended after Robert B. refused to spend even more on her, according to text messages he shared with the publication. He has since filed a complaint with DHS’s Office of the Inspector General exposing the alleged Seeking.com profile.
The profile, which was under the name “Alessia,” said its owner worked for a government agency and offered “seductive sophistication.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to Varvaro. The St. John’s University alum, who earned her PHD in Homeland Security in 2024, denied having a profile on Seeking.com to the Mail—chalking up the allegations to a disgruntled ex.
“We were together in an exclusive relationship. We went on vacations. I don’t know what’s the problem with that,” Varvaro told the Daily Mail. “I did nothing wrong. This is just a mad ex-boyfriend putting crap together. And it’s just really weird.”
“Alessia’s” profile was removed soon after the outlet first contacted Varvaro for comment.
He alleged that Varvaro told him previous sugar daddies had paid for her college education and bought her $40,000 worth of jewelry.
A former CIA officer told the Daily Mail that if true, allegations of a sugar daddy relationship and unreported income are “serious issues for DHS security personnel that need to be resolved.”
This is hardly the first sordid scandal to come out of DHS. It was less than a month ago that the now-ousted secretary Kristi Noem’s husband, Bryon, was outed to have a secret “bimbofication” life in which he dressed up as a hypersexualized Barbie doll and spent big on adult models.
It’s also not the first age-gap relationship for a Trump appointee. Look no further than White House Press Sec. Karoline Leavitt, 28, whose 60-year-old husband, Nicholas Riccio, has a net worth of around $6 million, according to Realtor.com.
