A man known for his close association with the President and First Lady is now facing allegations of exploiting his White House connections to have his former girlfriend, who is also the mother of his child, deported.

According to a report by The New York Times on Friday, Paolo Zampolli, 56, a modeling agent credited with bringing First Lady Melania Trump to the United States, allegedly contacted a senior official at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last June. He purportedly asked if his ex-girlfriend could be detained by ICE.

Zampolli, who acts as Trump’s special representative for global partnerships, reportedly believed that this action might aid in regaining custody of his son, as per the newspaper’s account.

“At no point did I seek any special favors from my contacts,” Zampolli told the Daily Mail on Friday afternoon. “My inquiries were strictly to gain clarity on the situation, and any guidance I sought was solely related to ensuring my son’s well-being.”

He further clarified that he did not initiate any reports to immigration authorities regarding his ex, Brazilian model Amanda Ungaro.

Ungaro has ties to the Epstein scandal, having been a passenger on the infamous “Lolita Express” plane associated with the convicted sex offender during her teenage years.

The model also previously served as Grenada’s ambassador to the United Nations. 

She met Zampolli as a 17-year-old, when the modeling scout was 32. 

Paolo Zampolli (center) poses in photographs with his Brazilian model ex-girlfriend Amanda Ungaro (far left and right) who has been deported to Brazil after facing fraud charges in the United States

Paolo Zampolli (left) is photographed with his ex-girlfriend Amanda Ungaro (right) at an event in 2016. The New York Times reported Friday that Zampolli reached out to a top official at ICE and asked if Ungaro could be put in ICE detention, a claim he denies

The relationship would last two decades, with the couple now the parents of 16-year-old son. Their relationship broke down in 2023, and she left him and moved to Brazil and married a doctor.  

Zampolli also told the Daily Mail that their son is now in his custody. 

Ungaro was in a Miami jail after being arrested in June 2025 on fraud charges related to the activities at the Med Spa where she was employed. She plead not guilty. 

The Times report said that Zampolli reached out to immigration official David Venturella. He then called ICE’s Miami office to ensure that Ungaro would be picked up by ICE agents before she was released on bail. 

Venturella said the case was important to someone with close ties to the White House, the newspaper said. 

In September, after weeks in ICE custody, Ungaro asked an immigration judge to deport her back to Brazil. She believed that if she stayed in ICE jail for any longer, she would lose custody of her son. 

Their son asked to move to Brazil with her in November – which Zampolli agreed to. But by the end of 2025, their son decided to move back to the United States.  

Zampolli also denied to the Times that Ungaro’s deportation was due to favoritism, a sentiment echoed in a statement from the Department of Homeland Security.

‘Any suggestion that she was arrested and removed for political reasons or favors is FALSE,’ the statement to the Times read. 

She had already been flagged for ICE detention, according to people familiar with the situation talking to the Times.  

Amanda Ungaro (left) and Paolo Zampolli (right) photographed in 2017. Ungaro’s deportation has come under scrutiny after a New York Times story claimed that Zampolli was behind her ICE detention, which he denies

The explanation DHS gave was that Ungaro was in the US on a visa that had expired in 2019, and had been charged with a crime. 

A spokesman for Melania Trump told the Times that the first lady ‘has no knowledge of, nor involvement in, the personal affairs of Mr. Zampolli and Ms. Ungaro.’  

Ungaro told the newspaper ‘it’s devastating that they could have affected what happened to me,’ regarding the allegation that her former partner had got involved in her ICE case.

The Daily Mail has made efforts to contact Ungaro, but has been able to do so, as of the date of this article.