Trump Pardon Recipient's Lobbyist Charged With Extortion After Securing Clemency

The Trump pardon pipeline just got a lot uglier. Joshua Nass, the lobbyist who helped nursing home magnate Joseph Schwartz secure a presidential pardon last November, is now in plea negotiations over charges that he hired a convicted racketeer to extort and assault his former client and the client's son.

According to an FBI complaint filed in Brooklyn federal court, Nass demanded $600,000 for his lobbying services after getting Schwartz released from federal prison. When Schwartz's son agreed to pay only $100,000 in December 2025, Nass allegedly escalated -- hiring someone with a racketeering conviction to threaten and physically assault both father and son in January.

The scheme unraveled fast. Nass was arrested March 13 on extortion charges. Court filings this week show his attorneys negotiating a potential plea deal with prosecutors, asking for more time to "confer regarding a potential resolution of the case."

The Pardon That Started It All

Joseph Schwartz, 66, pleaded guilty in November 2024 to orchestrating a $38 million tax fraud scheme. He began serving a three-year sentence at a federal prison in Otisville, New York in August 2025.

Enter Joshua Nass and his firm, Merkava Strategies. Congressional lobbying records show Nass registered to represent Schwartz on November 13, 2025, specifically for "petitioning for a pardon/clemency." The next day -- November 14 -- Trump pardoned Schwartz. Total time served: less than three months.

Nass billed $100,000 for the fourth quarter of 2025, records show. Apparently, he thought the job was worth six times that.

Pay-to-Play Clemency

This case exposes the mercenary machinery behind Trump's unprecedented use of the pardon power. While presidents historically grant clemency near the end of their terms after extensive Justice Department review, Trump has turned pardons into a transactional business during his second term -- issuing them early, often, and with minimal scrutiny.

Nass is hardly the first lobbyist to cash in. The pardon industry has exploded under Trump, with well-connected fixers charging six figures to bypass traditional clemency channels and go straight to the Oval Office. What makes this case remarkable is that the lobbyist allegedly turned around and shook down the same client he just freed from prison.

The complaint does not name Schwartz, referring only to a "former client." But two sources familiar with the matter confirmed to Reuters that Schwartz was the target of the extortion scheme. Schwartz's attorney, Kevin Marino, declined to comment. Nass's lawyers have not responded to requests for comment.

A Pattern of Impunity

Trump's pardon spree has rewarded tax cheats, fraudsters, and violent January 6 rioters who assaulted police officers. It has undermined federal prosecutions, obstructed justice, and sent a clear message: loyalty to Trump -- or the ability to pay the right people -- matters more than the rule of law.

Now we are learning that some of the people greasing those wheels are themselves allegedly operating outside the law. Nass is accused of hiring muscle to collect a debt that his client's family apparently believed was inflated or illegitimate. The Brooklyn U.S. Attorney's office has not commented on the case, and prosecutors consented to the request for more time to negotiate a plea.

Whether Nass ultimately pleads guilty or goes to trial, the damage is done. The pardon Trump granted Schwartz stands. There is no mechanism to revoke presidential clemency, even if it was obtained through a lobbyist now facing criminal charges for extorting the same client.

That is the system working exactly as Trump designed it: a pay-to-play racket where consequences are for suckers and everyone else is for sale.