- Net worth
- $Billionare (source)
- Crimes
- bribery, wire fraud, conspiracy
- Convicted of
- Conspiracy (two counts); federal program bribery (two counts); honest services wire fraud (two counts)
- Original sentence
- N/A
- Time served
- N/A
Kumbalanga / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Background
Julio M. Herrera Velutini is a Venezuelan-Italian banker and the owner of Bancrédito International Bank & Trust.
The Case
In August 2022, Herrera Velutini was indicted alongside former Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced and former FBI agent Mark Rossini in a major public corruption and bribery scheme. Federal prosecutors alleged that Herrera Velutini and Rossini conspired to bribe Governor Vázquez Garced with more than $300,000 in campaign funds during her 2020 election bid. In exchange, the governor allegedly agreed to fire the commissioner of Puerto Rico’s financial regulatory body (OCIF), who was investigating Herrera Velutini’s bank, and replace him with a candidate selected by Herrera Velutini. The scheme was intended to stall or end the regulatory scrutiny of Bancrédito. Herrera Velutini was charged with conspiracy, federal program bribery, and honest services wire fraud. In May 2024, represented by Christopher Kise (a former personal attorney for Trump), Herrera Velutini reached an unusually lenient plea deal with the Justice Department, pleading to misdemeanor campaign finance charges rather than facing the original felony counts. Prior to Trump's pardon, Herrera Velutini's daughter, Isabela Herrera, donated $2.5 million to MAGA Inc. in December 2024 and $1 million in July 2024. A White House official said the donations had nothing to do with the pardon decision. The scheme undermined financial oversight in Puerto Rico and damaged public trust in government by trading regulatory capture for campaign cash.
The Pardon
On January 15, 2026, President Trump granted Herrera Velutini a full pardon. An amended pardon was issued on January 20, 2026.
Sources
- DOJ Pardon Warrant
- DOJ Clemency Grants
- Former Governor of Puerto Rico Arrested in Bribery Scheme (DOJ, August 2022)
- Banker Indicted in Puerto Rico Corruption Scheme (NYT, August 2022)
- Daughter of banker Julio Herrera Velutini donated $2.5 million to MAGA Inc. at the end of 2024 (El Nuevo Día)
- Trump's Pardon List: Puerto Rico Governor's Co-Conspirator Latest Big-Time Donor Sprung Free By President (Forbes, January 2026)