Paolo Zampolli, a former modeling agent, who had once helped to bring Melania Trump to the US and eventually get her introduced to President Trump, is now in the midst of a controversy involving his Brazilian ex, Amanda Ungaro.
The couple was also involved in the custody fight of their teenage son. Zampolli allegedly called in a favor with ICE to ensure that Ungaro was detained and ultimately deported.
It should be noted here that in June 2025, Ungaro was arrested on charges of fraud and without a license medicine practice in a spa that she ran with her husband. Moreover, her temporary visa had expired back in 2019 and ICE came for her after she was taken into custody over the previously mentioned charges.
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As per reports, Zampolli reached out to senior ICE official David Venturella once he came to know that Ungaro was in jail. The New York Times reported that while Zampolli did admit that he had contacted ICE, he denied the allegations that his call was made with the intention of Ungaro’s deportation, as he said, “I asked David what was going on because I did not know the process.”
However, Venturella allegedly told ICE’s Miami office that the case was important to someone close to the White House and therefore ensuring that she was picked up by the agents before she left the local jail.
While Zampolli denied having done anything to get Ungaro deported, she faced the consequences rather harshly. She was transferred to ICE custody following her release from the local prison, held for months before eventually getting deported to Brazil.
Talking about how everything played out for her, Ungaro said, “It’s devastating that they could have affected what happened to me.” She also added that Zampolli had always given her the hope of marriage and a path to become a permanent US resident. However, when their relationship went south, he vanished, which ultimately led to the custody battle.
What makes Ungaro’s situation even more unfortunate is the fact that she had first arrived in the US in 2017 in Epstein’s infamous Lolita Express. She was only 17 years old then and was dating Zampolli, who was in his early 30s. Her name also appears in the Epstein related documents.
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Amid the allegations that Zampolli directly contacted the Trumps regarding Ungaro’s deportation, a spokesperson for Melania told PEOPLE that she “has no knowledge of, or involvement in, the personal affairs of Mr. Zampolli and Ms. Ungaro.”
The Department of Homeland Security also released a statement regarding the same that said, “Any suggestion that she was arrested and removed for political reasons or favors is FALSE.”
Zampolli remains an important figure because of his association with the Trumps. Not only did he introduce Melania to Trump, he also secured her modelling and paper work. Ungaro, while being an immigrant like Melania, navigated her life in the US very differently. She stayed in America while renewing her different types of visas and unlike Melania, her dream of securing a permanent residence in the country failed as she ultimately got deported.
