Conservative lobbyist accused of trying to extort client
Conservative lawyer and lobbyist Josh Nass appeared in federal court in Brooklyn to face accusations of attempted extortion. (Image from Shutterstock)
Josh Nass, a conservative lawyer and lobbyist, appeared in federal court in Brooklyn on Saturday to face accusations of attempted extortion. The accusations appear to be related to a client who was pardoned by President Trump, according to a report by the New York Times.
Nass had been paid $100,000 by the client but was owed an additional $500,000, according to court filings in the case unsealed on Saturday.
Nass is accused of hiring someone to “do anything and everything” to collect the outstanding funds from the client’s son, explaining “they are gonna end up paying me every penny of what they owe,” according to the New York Times.
The client appears to be Joseph Schwartz, who had been convicted of tax crimes related to a nursing-home empire that collapsed amid accusations of endangering residents and defrauding employees. Neither Schwartz nor his son was named in the court filings. Schwartz was pardoned in November 2025.
Nass is among a small group of attorneys, lobbyists, activists, influencers and others seeking to leverage their connections to people in Trump’s orbit to push for clemency on behalf of clients seeking to cut their prison terms short, according to a report by Law360.
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