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A Pardoned Banker’s Lobbying Account Adds a Trump Intelligence Insider

Ballard reports $2.52 million across four quarters for Bancrédito’s holding group. Its newest lobbyist, the firm says, still serves on presidential intelligence boards.

By Michael Starr Hopkins
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Burn The Playbook editorial art for A Pardoned Banker’s Lobbying Account Adds a Trump Intelligence Insider

Money and power · Document reporting

Ballard reported $630,000 in Q3 2026 lobbying income for the Bancredito-related client. Firm income, not Fox Kennedy personal pay.

Source: Ballard Partners Q3 2026 LD-2, filed October 16. The figure is a firm-reported estimate.

Ballard Partners has added Amaryllis Fox Kennedy, a former senior Trump intelligence official, to a Treasury lobbying account tied to Bancrédito. The firm’s October 16 report lists $630,000 in quarterly income from Chris Kise & Associates on behalf of Bancrédito Holding Corporation. Ballard says Fox Kennedy still serves on presidential intelligence advisory and oversight boards.

That makes four straight quarters at $630,000 each. That's $2.52 million in reported lobbying income from one client whose bank lost its license, agreed to a $15 million federal penalty, and was placed in receivership. The issue on the filing is five words long: banking regulatory restrictions and requirements. These lobbying filings do not identify the specific Treasury relief sought.

By the Numbers

Watch or listen

Trump Pardoned the Banker. What Does His Company Want From Treasury?

Watch the BTP explainer: The Treasury Question, with Amaryllis Fox Kennedy in source interview footage.

Watch the explainer · Listen to the 4:51 podcast episode

The reporting follows the October lobbying disclosure and January pardon warrant. The full sourced account continues below.

The money chronology

Start with the bank. In September 2023, FinCEN hit Bancredito International Bank and Trust with a $15 million penalty for willful violations of federal anti-money-laundering law from 2015 to 2022, and the bank admitted the conduct. Puerto Rico's banking regulator had already revoked its license and put it in receivership in January 2023. In July 2024, a federal judge in San Juan dismissed the holding company's suit against the receiver without prejudice on jurisdictional grounds.

Then the founder. In 2022, the Justice Department charged Herrera Velutini in a bribery case involving Puerto Rico's former governor. The bribery charges were allegations, not a bribery conviction. The Associated Press reported on August 27, 2025, that Herrera pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor campaign-finance offense. That resolution is distinct from the original bribery allegations. On January 15, 2026, Trump signed a full and unconditional pardon in that 2022 case. A second warrant, dated January 20, covers a separate misdemeanor case.

The lobbying started before the pardon. Ballard's registration lists a client effective date of November 1, 2025, and was filed December 11 under the banking-restrictions issue. Its Q4 report, filed January 13, covers October through December and lists the White House Office as a contact. Bloomberg Government reported that hire, the White House lobbying and the pardon back in May. The new development is the team and agency disclosed in the October report.

First page of the January 15, 2026 pardon warrant identifying Julio Herrera Velutini and the 2022 case.

The January 15 warrant names Herrera and the 2022 case. A separate January 20 warrant covers the misdemeanor case. Source: U.S. Department of Justice.

What changed on October 16

Q1 and Q2 of 2026 came in as no-activity reports. Ballard still reported $630,000 each time. The Q3 report does something different. It names Treasury for the first time, and it brings in Fox Kennedy, whose filing lists her covered posts as CIA clandestine officer, Deputy Director of National Intelligence and an OMB program associate director for intelligence and international affairs, plus a seat on the President's Intelligence Advisory Board, 2025 to 2026. The White House named her to that board in February 2025. Ballard's own bio goes further and says she "continues to serve" on it. That is the firm's claim. We have not seen the government confirm she is serving today.

The new name on the Treasury account held senior intelligence and budget posts. Her prior OMB responsibilities included international Treasury programs, according to Ballard’s biography. The bank associated with this client was penalized by FinCEN; its holding company is pursuing asset recovery. Ballard’s description of continuing presidential advisory service puts a public-private overlap on the record. It does not establish that she used a government role for this client. The holding company says it is trying to recover assets and disputes the receiver’s handling of the liquidation, a lawful reason to retain counsel and seek government action.

The money in the other column

Separately, MAGA Inc. reported $2.5 million from Isabela Herrera on December 31, 2024, and another $1 million on July 22, 2025. A complaint the Campaign Legal Center filed in February says she is related to the banker and alleges a foreign-funded straw donation. That is an allegation, not an FEC finding.

Here is the honest edge of the record. The filings show dates, dollars, an issue and an agency. They do not show what Treasury relief Bancredito wants, any contact on a specific date, any favor granted, any misuse of anyone's government role, or any personal payout. The $3.5 million in super PAC receipts, the $2.52 million in lobbying income and the $15 million penalty are three separate pools of money, and the available records do not establish a transfer between those amounts or a quid pro quo. The FEC filings do not establish where Isabela Herrera's money ultimately came from, and the complaint’s current enforcement status is unverified. The unresolved question is concrete: what does the bank group want Treasury to change, and who inside government is considering it? The disclosed connection puts a former intelligence and budget official on that account while her employer describes an ongoing presidential advisory role.

BTP Polling

Snapshot checked Oct 22, 2026, 00:10 UTC. Aggregate date 2026-10-22.

2026 congressional ballot
Democrat 51.3% · Republican 42.5%
Democrat +8.8 points; 3 polling organizations; likely voters; online.
Newest survey ended 2026-10-04 (18 days old).

Weighted polling averages, not election predictions. One latest survey per organization; 45-day window; recent surveys receive more weight. Populations and methods are kept separate.

Polling board · Methods and sources. VoteHub feed under CC BY 4.0; BTP source checks, corrections, selection and weights.

Sources

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