A longtime friend of Donald Trump who has long claimed he introduced the president to Melania Trump is accused in a new lawsuit of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman at his Manhattan townhouse.
Paolo Zampolli, 56, who has served as Trump's special envoy for global partnerships since March 2025, is named in a civil complaint filed by tech entrepreneur Victoria Drake, 33, according to The Daily Beast's investigative unit PunchUp.
Drake alleges that Zampolli approached her on Oct. 5, 2023, at the Zero Bond private members' club in Manhattan and said he recognized her from Mar-a-Lago, where she had previously attended events with a former boyfriend. The two exchanged numbers and later met at Zampolli's Gramercy Park home, where she says he gave her a drink and she lost consciousness.
Drake claims she briefly came to and found herself naked in a bed as Zampolli sexually assaulted her with his hands around her neck. She says she "did not and could not consent," and that she woke the next morning with bruises on her hips and legs and couldn't find her clothes.
According to the complaint, Drake reported the incident to the New York Police Department the next day, and she was then taken by ambulance to Lenox Health Greenwich Hospital, where she underwent sexual-assault and drug-facilitated-assault exams.
There is no evidence Zampolli was arrested, and he says police closed the complaint. The NYPD did not respond to questions about why the case wasn't pursued.
The allegations have not been adjudicated. Zampolli, an Italian citizen, says the claims are an attempt to extort or damage him. In April, he filed a criminal complaint against Drake in Rome accusing her of making false and defamatory accusations and said he plans to countersue her for $100 million, calling her "out of her mind."
Zampolli said he has not discussed the lawsuit with the White House.
"We are slightly busier than engaging with personal attacks on people who serve the president or are close to the president," he told PunchUp.
The Trump associate's name appears several times in the Jeffrey Epstein files. An FBI memo records a former Epstein assistant telling investigators Zampolli had tried to buy the Elite Model Management agency with the late sex offender. None of the released files establish wrongdoing by Zampolli in connection with Epstein.
The modeling agent reportedly arranged a visa for then-Melania Knauss to come work in the U.S.
Zampolli is also in a bitter custody fight with his former partner, Brazilian former model Amanda Ungaro, who has accused him of using his connections to get her detained by ICE before she was deported. Zampolli denies involvement, and DHS says political influence played no role.
The White House and State Department did not respond to PunchUp's requests for comment.