Federal prosecutors charged a lobbyist with trying to extort a former client and his son to recover half a million dollars in debt, according to court filings. Joshua Nass, a lobbyist who worked to obtain a client’s pardon from President Donald Trump, was arrested Friday outside his hotel in New York on charges of attempted extortion. The FBI affidavit and court filings do not identify the name of the former client Nass allegedly tried to extort. The former client’s son transferred $100,000 but said he was unable to come up with the rest of the money. Initially they discussed having the informant approach the former client’s son at his home to intimidate him into paying the debt.

Source: CNN March 15, 2026 01:15 UTC