Federal prosecutors charged a lobbyist with making an attempt to extort a former consumer and his son to get well half 1,000,000 {dollars} in debt, in accordance to court filings.
Joshua Nass, a lobbyist who labored to get hold of a consumer’s pardon from President Donald Trump, was arrested Friday outdoors his lodge in New York on expenses of attempted extortion.
Nass, of South Carolina, appeared earlier than a decide in federal court docket in Brooklyn on Saturday and was launched on a $5 million bond. He faces up to 20 years in jail if convicted. Neither Nass nor his legal professional may instantly be reached for remark.
The FBI affidavit and court docket filings don’t determine the title of the previous consumer Nass allegedly tried to extort.
According to an FBI affidavit, in January, Nass contacted a person, who’s cooperating with federal authorities, to threaten and bodily hurt a former consumer and the consumer’s son to get well $500,000 in owed charges.
Nass’ former consumer agreed to pay $600,000 for lobbying companies, in accordance to court docket filings. The former consumer’s son transferred $100,000 however stated he was unable to come up with the remainder of the cash.
According to experiences filed underneath the Lobbying Disclosure Act, the one cost Nass acquired as a lobbyist in 2025 for $100,000 was from Joseph Schwartz, a former nursing house govt who was convicted of tax crimes and later pardoned by Trump. Nass had been paid $100,000 to pursue clemency for Schwartz, who started serving his sentence in August earlier than being pardoned by Trump in November. Court filings, nonetheless, don’t title Nass’ alleged victims.
In late January, Nass and the informant, who communicated in English and Russian, mentioned approaching the previous consumer’s son, in accordance to textual content messages included in court docket filings.
Initially they mentioned having the informant strategy the previous consumer’s son at his house to intimidate him into paying the debt.
“Let’s say – give me the address, let me see and, er er listen, if I need to sock him a few times,” the informant stated.
Nass replied, in accordance to the court docket submitting, “I will give you the right to do anything and everything.”
After the informant falsely informed Nass that he went to the son’s house to gather the debt however was rebuffed, Nass allegedly escalated the risk.
Nass agreed to pay the informant $15,000 if he would bodily assault the previous consumer’s son, doubtlessly by forcing him right into a automobile from his house, in accordance to the affidavit. Nass supplied to pay a further $5,000 for any further males the informant wanted, in accordance to the affidavit.
If the previous consumer’s son refused to pay, Nass allegedly informed the informant that he didn’t need him to behave “like a human being with” the son.
Nass, who runs a political consulting agency referred to as Merkava Strategies, payments himself as an issue solver to assist folks navigate “complex political, regulatory, and reputational environments.”