A pardon lobbyist, $500,000 demand and alleged 'enforcer' lead to extortion charge in New York

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NEW YORK (AP) — Federal authorities in New York have arrested and charged a lobbyist — one who had worked on behalf of an ex-nursing home operator pardoned recently by President Donald Trump — with attempting to force a former client and his son to pay him $500,000, according to documents.

Joshua Nass, 34, of Charleston, South Carolina, was scheduled to appear Saturday before a magistrate judge on an attempted extortion charge unsealed Friday, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York said. Nass could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Court documents allege that starting in January Nass recruited and agreed to pay what the government calls a confidential witness to force the former client and intimidate his son into paying the amount that Nass claimed was owed for the client's services. The father and son are named in court documents only as “John Doe 1” and “John Doe 2.”

“Rather than honestly representing his client, Joshua Nass allegedly chose to shake him down by hiring an enforcer to extort payment," James Barnacle Jr., assistant director in charge of the FBI's New York field office, said in a news release. "The FBI prioritizes crushing violent crimes offenses and extortion schemes.”

A federal lobbying disclosure form filed with the U.S. House and Senate dated Jan. 15, signed digitally by Nass and covering final three months of 2025 listed Joseph Schwartz as a client. The form said the firm that Nass founded generated an estimated $100,000 in income for lobbying activities for the reporting period, with “federal presidential pardon advocacy” among his lobbying issues.

Trump had pardoned in November a man named Joseph Schwartz who had pleaded guilty in federal court in 2024 for his role in a $38 million employment tax fraud scheme involving nursing homes he owned across the country. Schwartz operated New Jersey-based Skyline Management Group.

Reached by phone, John Marzulli, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, said Saturday he had no comment about whether the allegations against Nass are related to activities involving Schwartz.

Nass was arrested outside of his New York hotel on Friday, the same day he had expected to meet with the confidential witness, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Nass’ attorney did not respond immediately to email and text messages seeking comment on the case.

According to a letter from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Nass agreed in December to provide lobbying services to the client, who signed an agreement to pay Nass $600,000 in exchange for the services. The son helped make a $100,000 payment but said he could not then pay the full amount and asked for “a payment plan,” which Nass viewed as an “insult,” the letter said.

Nass, who is also a licensed attorney in New York, had told the witness to go to the son's New York-area home to compel payment, but the son shut the door on him after being told Nass had sent him, court documents allege.

Between January and March, Nass and the witness discussed ways the witness could extort the payment, including assaulting the son or forcing him into a car with masked men and threatening him, according to the government's news release. Nass said he did not want the witness to behave "like a human being with” the son, an FBI agent's signed affidavit said.