By David Thomas

July 24 (Reuters) - Venezuelan-Italian bank founder Julio Martin Herrera-Velutini is facing a lawsuit claiming he owes nearly $500,000 in legal fees to the attorneys who once represented him in a criminal case that originally included charges of bribery.

U.S. law firm Kasowitz LLP sued Herrera, the billionaire founder of Britannia Financial Group, on Wednesday in Manhattan federal court. The firm alleged Herrera has failed to pay $493,332.31 in fees.

A spokesperson for the Kasowitz firm did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A spokesperson for Herrera said, "We are confident that this matter will be quickly resolved in Mr. Herrera’s favor."

Herrera was indicted in August 2022 for allegedly paying $300,000 to political consultants supporting Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vazquez during her 2020 election campaign.

Prosecutors said Herrera made the payments in an attempt to end an investigation into his bank, Bancredito, by the island's regulatory authority. After Vazquez lost her primary election in 2020, Herrera attempted to bribe her successor, named in the indictment only as "Public Official A," the prosecutors said.

Herrera, Vazquez and another defendant initially pleaded not guilty to charges of bribery, conspiracy and wire fraud. But in June, the government and the defendants, including Herrera, said they reached a deal to resolve the case — Herrera and the others will plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge for violating the Federal Electoral Campaign Act (FECA).

Meanwhile, the 2022 indictment, which contained the bribery, conspiracy and wire fraud charges, will be dismissed, the parties said in June.

Herrera is scheduled to plead guilty on August 27 to the FECA charge before U.S. District Judge Silvia Carreno-Coll in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The Kasowitz firm said in a May 2024 filing it was withdrawing from Herrera's legal team, but did not say why.

Herrera's current legal team includes Alex Spiro, a top partner at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan whose clients have included billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and former Trump defense attorney Christopher Kise. Spiro filed an appearance in the FECA case earlier this month.

Reuters reported in June that Kise tried to convince the Justice Department to dismiss or reduce the charges against Herrera, as the department undertakes a broader review of civil and criminal cases launched under Trump's Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden.

(Reporting by David Thomas)