Trump Pardon Scandal: Lawyer Hired Enforcer Over $500K Debt

Lobbyist Accused of Attempted Extortion After Securing Trump Pardon

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A Washington lawyer who helped secure a presidential pardon from Donald Trump is now facing criminal charges, accused of attempting to extort his client and the client’s son out of $500,000.

Josh Nass, a lobbyist with connections in Trump’s orbit, allegedly hired someone he believed to be an enforcer to “persuade” Joseph Schwartz to pay the money, according to prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York. The alleged extortion plot unfolded after Nass was paid $100,000 to lobby for Schwartz’s clemency, which was granted late last year.

Prosecutors allege Nass instructed the individual to “do anything and everything” to collect the outstanding funds from Schwartz’s son, even suggesting violence. In recorded conversations, Nass reportedly offered a justification for the aggressive tactics, stating that because the client had dismissed him as a “human being,” the enforcer shouldn’t treat the son like one either.

The individual Nass contacted was a confidential informant. The case highlights concerns about the role of lobbyists in securing presidential pardons and the potential for abuse of the clemency process.

Nass had recently represented Schwartz, a former nursing home executive who was convicted of tax crimes before being pardoned by Trump in November 2025. Schwartz was released on parole from state prison in Arkansas in January 2026, after serving only 2.5 weeks.

The case is illustrative of a larger issue: the potential for corruption when a president turns the pardon power into a favor-trading system, creating a market where access is sold and legal constraints are disregarded. Figures like Rudy Giuliani and Corey Lewandowski have likewise been linked to efforts to profit from the pardon process.