Joshua Nass, a New York lobbyist and attorney who played a role in a presidential pardon issued by Donald Trump, has been charged with attempting to extort a former client. The 34-year-old was arrested on Friday and faces a charge of attempted Hobbs Act extortion in federal court in Brooklyn.
Prosecutors allege that Nass threatened a client over an alleged $500,000 debt, providing an unnamed individual with a phone number and addresses to intimidate the client. The individual was instructed to “do anything and everything” to force payment, including physically assaulting the client’s son or forcing him into a car with masked men.
Nass is also accused of agreeing to pay the individual at least $15,000 for his efforts. US attorney Joseph Nocella Jr stated that Nass “plotted the violent extortion of one of his own clients,” while FBI assistant director James Barnacle said Nass “chose to shake him down by hiring an enforcer”.
If convicted, Nass faces up to 20 years in prison. He was released on a $5m bond secured by five properties and $50,000 in cash, and placed on GPS monitoring.
Nass was involved in Trump’s 14 November 2025 pardon of Joseph Schwartz, who was convicted for failing to pay nearly $40m in taxes and Medicaid fraud. Nass reported receiving $100,000 for clemency advocacy. The case has raised concerns about lobbyists shaping Trump’s clemency system, though the White House has denied this.
