(José Niño, Headline USA) A senior Trump administration counterterrorism official faces an Inspector General investigation after her ex-boyfriend filed a formal complaint alleging she sought out wealthy men to fund an extravagant lifestyle, per a report by The Daily Mail.
Julia Varvaro, 29, has served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism at the Department of Homeland Security since May 2025. A businessman identified only as Robert B claims he spent between $30,000 and $40,000 on her during a three month relationship that began when they matched on the dating app Hinge.
“She was attractive and I swiped right,” Robert told the Daily Mail.
A top-level Trump counterterrorism official is under investigation amid claims she actively looks for sugar daddies to maintain her exorbitant lifestyle https://t.co/C2tRNlRNN3 🔗 pic.twitter.com/rC1pRcKmYi
— Daily Mail US (@Daily_MailUS) April 22, 2026
The divorced executive says he flew the young official on first class trips to Aruba, Italy, San Diego, and South Carolina. He purchased Cartier jewelry, designer handbags, and picked up tabs at upscale restaurants. Yet he claims she always wanted more.
Robert has filed an official complaint with the DHS Inspector General. The complaint reveals that Varvaro maintained a profile on Seeking, a website that connects wealthy men with younger women seeking financial arrangements. On the profile, which the Daily Mail viewed, she called herself Alessia and advertised “seductive sophistication.”
The profile described her as “flirty, fun, and fond of sultry spaces – mysterious lounges, velvet shadows, wine in hand…” She wrote that 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 the Daily Mail contacted her. The profile disappeared after reporters reached out for comment. It had been created the day after Thanksgiving last year.
In his complaint, Robert stated, “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.”
He alleged that Varvaro told him 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,” the complaint states. “I believe that she’s under financial stress and that her actions pose a security risk.”
The complaint also accuses her of marijuana use during their relationship, which she adamantly denies.
Security sources told the Daily Mail the case resembles the recent scandal involving Kristi Noem’s husband, whom the outlet exposed for paying women he met online and posing in photographs while wearing fake breasts.
“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,” one government source said.
Former CIA officer Marc Polymeropoulos expressed concern about the allegations. “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?”
Robert provided the Daily Mail with text exchanges showing escalating financial demands. After he balked at buying her $1,000 sandals, paying for a $2,000 cellulite removal treatment, and giving her a credit card in her name, she allegedly messaged him, “I like feeling provided for and you’re not doing that for me, so not sure it will work.”
Varvaro defended herself to the Daily Mail. “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.”
She attributed the complaint to a failed romance. “I did nothing wrong. 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.”
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
