A senior official in Trump’s counterterrorism team is currently under investigation following allegations that she seeks out wealthy patrons to support her lavish lifestyle.
A man has come forward, claiming he spent a staggering $40,000 on Julia Varvaro over a three-month period after they connected on the dating app Hinge.
“She caught my eye, so I swiped right,” shared Robert B, an executive who wished to keep his full identity private, in an interview with the Daily Mail.
At 29, Varvaro holds a PhD in Homeland Security, which she earned in 2024, and has been serving as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism since May 2025.
Robert, who is a divorced father, recounted how he whisked the striking brunette away on first-class vacations to Aruba, Italy, San Diego, and South Carolina during their whirlwind romance.
But he could never spend enough to keep her happy, he claimed in an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail.
Varvaro, however, told the Daily Mail she did nothing wrong. ‘I didn’t know it was bad to go on vacation with your boyfriend,’ she said.
‘We were together in an exclusive relationship. We went on vacations. I don’t know what’s the problem with that.’
Julia Varvaro, 29, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism with the Department of Homeland Security, is now facing scrutiny over claims about how she comes by her lavish lifestyle
Varvaro’s wealthy suitor, who the Daily Mail is identifying as Robert B, claims he funded multiple luxury shopping sprees and trips during their short-lived relationship, which he claims cost him up to $40,000
But Robert has made an official complaint with the Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General, revealing she had a profile on the sugar daddy website ‘Seeking’. On the page, seen by the Daily Mail, she called herself Alessia and offered ‘seductive sophistication.’ She used the same photo that is on her Instagram.
‘Alessia’ also said she is ‘flirty, fun, and fond of sultry spaces – mysterious lounges, velvet shadows, wine in hand…’ She said she is ‘drawn to a masculine man who’s attentive, protective, and quietly playful for mutually beneficial experiences.’
Varvaro denied having a profile on Seeking when questioned by the Daily Mail. The profile – which was set up on the day after Thanksgiving last year – was removed after we initially reached out for comment on this article.
In his complaint to the Inspector General, which the Daily Mail has seen, Robert said: ‘I did not want a sugar daddy/prostitution relationship, after spending $30,000-$40,000 for vacations, Cartier jewelry, expensive handbags, and various shopping trips.
‘She told me that she does not have college debt because sugar daddies paid for her college education.
‘She also told me directly that the $40,000 worth of jewelry on her wrists and ears are all trophies from her sugar daddies.
‘I believe that she’s under financial stress and that her actions pose a security risk,’ he added in the official complaint.
Robert also accused her of consuming marijuana during their time together, something she adamantly denies.
Security sources told the Daily Mail that if true, Varvaro’s case is comparable to that of former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s cross-dressing husband.
Earlier this month, the Daily Mail revealed Bryon Noem paid cash to several women he met online and posed for photos while wearing fake breasts.
Varvaro, pictured with the president, works as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism within the Department of Homeland Security
Some sources have likened the case to that of former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and her husband’s cross-dressing – and the security risks both pose. Varvaro posted this photo with Noem
‘It’s the same issue as Noem but on a much larger scale and I’d argue is actually worse because getting to Noem is much harder than picking off someone at the DAS (Deputy Assistant Secretary) level,’ said one government source.
And former CIA officer Marc Polymeropoulos also found the claims troubling.
‘Allegations of a sugar daddy relationship and unreported income from that relationship are serious issues for DHS security personnel that need to be resolved,’ he told the Daily Mail.
‘I would be curious to see what kind of vetting was done on her prior to her employment, given she would have been subject to a full background investigation. How did this not come up?’
Varvaro denies illegal drug use or smoking marijuana.
‘We do not comment on internal investigations,’ a Homeland Security spokesperson told the Daily Mail.
The Inspector General would neither confirm nor deny that an investigation is underway.
Varvaro has made frequent appearances at MAGA events both before and after Trump’s re-election in November 2024.
Her X-profile pictures show her wearing a Trump pin, flashing thumbs up with the president in front of the American flag.
Another video she posted in October 2024 shows her schmoozing with Trump loyalist Paul Ingrassia – soon to be White House liaison to DHS – poolside at Mar-a-Lago, sipping cocktails while promoting the screening of a movie about culture wars.
That same month Varvaro posted another picture of them posing at a Trump campaign event in New York, Varvaro clutching a red, white and blue MAGA jacket and handbag, and Ingrassia sporting a MAGA hat.
Varvaro earned her doctoral degree at St John’s University in New York, completing a program in Homeland Security in 2024.
Just a year after her graduation, she was appointed to the senior position with DHS, at age 28.
In December 2025, 11 months into the Trump administration, Robert B, the much older businessman, noticed the young woman’s photo while scrolling through the popular dating app Hinge.
Robert and Varvaro first connected in January and their first date was at the Minetta Tavern, an upscale French restaurant in Washington, DC.
After their meal, they continued their evening with caviar and cocktails in the bar upstairs.
Robert claims he picked up the $1,400 tab and they ended their night with a kiss.
A few dates later, they jetted off on their first trip together, spending an extended MLK weekend on the Caribbean island of Aruba, he said.
The Daily Mail has seen photos of them at an island bar together.
While the trip was his treat, he said Varvaro flexed her DHS clout by having a TSA supervisor meet them at the United check-in counter and whisk them through security at Dulles Airport.
Arriving in Aruba on a first-class flight, they checked in to the oceanside Renaissance Wind Creek Resort, where he says she expressed modest displeasure.
‘She was like: “This is nice, but it’s not the Ritz,”‘ Robert said.
Rather than dipping her foot in the sea, he added, her first desire was to check out the resort’s Cartier jewelry store.
The man said the relationship began with an upscale date in Washington, DC, where he picked up a $1,400 bill. Above they are pictured having dinner during a trip to Charleston
Robert told the Daily Mail he took Varvaro on a first class trip to Aruba – where he is pictured holding a ‘She’s Horny’ sign – but claimed she later expressed disappointment in his choice of resort
The pair also went on an expensive vacation to Milan, where he says they went to a mall and he bought her a maroon, $3,500 Bottega handbag
‘I need a souvenir,’ she purportedly told him. ‘Let’s stop in before dinner.’
He told the Daily Mail that he put her off but later came around.
After two nights at the Renaissance, he switched hotels to the $1,700-a-night Ritz-Carlton.
Then just as their trip was ending, she revisited the subject of jewelry, having him stop by the Cartier shop on their way to the airport, he said.
‘I didn’t think you’d be so stupid not to get me a souvenir,’ he recalled her telling him.
Back in DC they continued dating.
‘Everywhere we went, she’d always order the most expensive things on the menu, like the Wagyu premier cut of Japanese beef,’ he said.
They took their second international trip in February, flying to Italy and Switzerland, he said. ‘She was like: “I’ve got a three-day weekend, but could extend it to a week. I’m the big boss and can do what I want,”‘ he recalled.
Robert says Varvaro led them on shopping sprees for dresses and luxury footwear – ‘mostly for herself,’ and sent $2,000 to cover half of her rent
In one text exchange on March 28, Varvaro apparently sent a picture of herself clutching $1,000 sandals, to which he replied: ‘so cute,’ only for her to later express her disgust that he didn’t just Venmo her the money to buy them, he told the Daily Mail
Before Easter, she sent him a picture of her arms. ‘I’m sad because my arms are fat,’ she allegedly told him, then followed up with details on a $2,000 package for Emsculpt, a laser cellulite remover she wanted him to buy her
They spent Valentine’s Day on the Italian Riviera, then skied in the Swiss Alps, for which he said he gifted her a new coat and gear, along with a $1,000 camera to take photos.
Then it was off to Milan, where he said they went to a mall and he bought her a maroon, $3,500 Bottega handbag.
In planning this leg of the trip, he said, she talked up how she could seek VIP access from federal agents working the Winter Olympics.
‘Well, I’m DHS counterterrorism, I might be able to get us behind the scenes,’ Robert recalled her telling him. ‘ICE works for me.’
He said they ended up skipping the games after one of his daughters booked them tickets at a competition too far away.
Returning to Washington, their romance evolved.
‘She was calling me “daddy,” and we’d refer to each other as “my lover,”‘ he told the Daily Mail.
He started introducing her to family, flying her to meet his daughter in Charleston.
Robert shared a text message conversation from early April in which Varvaro argued that she liked ‘feeling provided for’ and accused him of not doing that for her
He said his new girlfriend led them on another shopping spree for dresses and luxury footwear – ‘mostly for herself,’ he said.
Days later, he said, Varvaro had him send $2,000 to cover half of her rent.
‘I’m not used to having to ask like this for a simple card or help with my rent especially being furloughed,’ she allegedly texted. ‘Any past relationship would’ve jumped up and cared for me, which is what I like.’
‘Half your rent due to furlough,’ he later texted her along with a screenshot of the $2,000 Apple Cash payment he sent.
He said the requests started to irk him.
‘I asked her about her finances, assuming that as a grown woman, she had six months emergency funds at a minimum,’ he told the Daily Mail. ‘But she said her funds were kind of locked up in stocks and bonds.’
Next, it was off to San Diego to introduce Varvaro to his other daughter, who initially disliked her.
‘My daughter’s like, “She’s a Long Island gold digger, what are you doing?”‘ Robert recalled.
The couple are seen enjoying a getaway in San Diego during their three-month romance
Robert claims she regularly ordered the most expensive items on the menu during their outings
The pair first connected on dating app Hinge, where, the man said, her profile listed only that she worked for a government agency
‘I was like: “What do you mean? I’m falling in love.” And she was like, “Dad, I’ll be nice to her, but no”.’
He said his daughter’s comments weighed on him after he and his young girlfriend returned to DC.
‘By that point, she was asking me for a credit card in her name so she could just shop and not ask for permission,’ he told the Daily Mail.
‘I was like: “You know that’s not happening because I see how you like to shop.”
‘That got me the cold shoulder.’
On March 28, he said, she sent him a picture of herself clutching $1,000 sandals.
He replied ‘so cute,’ but she later expressed her disgust that he didn’t just Venmo her the payment, he said.
Approaching Easter, she sent him a picture of her arms.
‘I’m sad because my arms are fat,’ she allegedly told him, then followed up with details on a $2,000 package for Emsculpt, a laser cellulite remover she wanted him to buy her.
‘I’ll check, but we could just go to the gym,’ he replied in one text.
More arguments ensued, evident in nasty back and forth texts seen by the Daily Mail.
‘I like feeling provided for and you’re not doing that for me, so not sure it will work,’ she messaged him in early April.
‘Hm, I’ve dropped $30-40K on/with you in the three months we’ve dated,’ he replied.
‘I did not want a sugar daddy/prostitution relationship,’ Robert said in his complaint to the Inspector General
Varvaro has shared social media photos posing at Mar-a-Lago and at other MAGA events such as the Liberty Ball in 2025
The Department of Homeland Security has not confirmed whether an investigation is underway but the allegations have raised questions about potential security risks tied to personal conduct and her official capacity
‘In the last week, you demanded I give you $4k for rent, $2k for Emsculpt, $1k sandals, a credit card and haven’t gotten to the weekend yet.’
She also exchanged messages with him as she attended a Homeland Security conferment in mid-March, enjoying the stature of being a public official.
‘They call me Secretary,’ she allegedly wrote. ‘I like it.’
‘Probably think you’re an admin assistant – lol,’ he replied.
‘Nooooo. They know I’m the boss princess,’ she texted back, including a princess emoji.
‘I have my two minions following me around.’
In his complaint Robert mentioned Varvaro’s alleged drug use: ‘I have observed her ingesting marijuana on at least 11 occasions over the last two months, as well as recreational use of Xanax.’
He claimed he warned her that this could put her Top Secret Clearance in jeopardy but that ‘she indicated that she was not concerned because she was above being tested’.
The security expert who spoke to the Daily Mail warned the behaviors in the complaint, like a ‘sugar daddy’ arrangement, created ‘serious vulnerabilities’.
‘In a senior counterterrorism role, those behaviors open you up to blackmail and show compromised judgment while putting national security at risk and undermining what it’s supposed to mean to serve the public.’
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Varvaro admitted she was whisked through security at Dulles but denied she said she would try to get VIP access to the Olympics. ‘I never would have said that.’
She denied ‘asking for anything crazy’ during the relationship and said a man getting his girlfriend a credit card was ‘kind of a normal thing’.
She said she has no college debt because she had a full scholarship and her parents paid for the rest of her tuition.
She also said she has a prescription for Xanax, but does not smoke marijuana: ‘I’ve never taken any drugs for recreational use.’
‘I was always Ubering out to his house which is over an hour away, or getting gas. It was helpful especially while I was furloughed,’ said Varvaro.
‘I did nothing wrong,’ she added. ‘This is just a mad ex-boyfriend putting crap together. And it’s just really weird.
‘If we made a story about every failed short relationship in DC, this town would implode. I thought it was a great relationship until we just didn’t work and that was it.’
