Lawyer Charged with Attempted Extortion of Former Client nd Client’s Son Over Alleged $500,000 Debt

Yesterday, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, a complaint was unsealed charging Joshua Nass, an attorney licensed to practice in New York, with attempted Hobbs Act extortion for enlisting an individual to threaten and force a former client and his son into paying Nass $500,000. Nass was arrested yesterday and will make his initial appearance today before United States Magistrate Judge Clay H. Kaminsky.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and James C. Barnacle, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the arrest and charge.

"As alleged, Nass plotted the violent extortion of one of his own clients and hired an individual to 'do anything and everything" to force the client's son to pay for services," stated United States Attorney Nocella. "It will always be a priority of our Office to hold accountable those abusing a position of trust by violating the laws and oaths they have been sworn to support."

"Rather than honestly representing his client, Joshua Nass allegedly chose to shake him down by hiring an enforcer to extort payment. The FBI prioritizes crushing violent crimes offenses and extortion schemes," stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Barnacle.

As alleged in court filings, starting in early January 2026, Nass recruited an individual (Individual) to force a former client (John Doe 1) and his son (John Doe 2) to pay Nass $500,000 that Nass claimed he was owed for services he purportedly rendered on behalf of John Doe 1. Nass provided the Individual with a phone number and addresses associated with John Doe 2, and Nass instructed the Individual to visit John Doe 2 at his home in an effort to intimidate John Doe 2 into paying Nass. Nass paid the Individual $3,000 in cash in exchange for Individual's efforts to force John Doe 2 to pay Nass. Additionally, Nass told the Individual to "do anything and everything" to force John Doe 2 to pay the defendant.

Between January 2026 and March 2026, Nass contacted the Individual several times to plan meetings and discuss methods by which the Individual could extort payment by John Does 1 and 2 of the debt purportedly owed to Nass. Nass and the Individual discussed the Individual physically assaulting John Doe 2, or forcing John Doe 2 into a car with masked men and threatening him to make someone in John Doe 2's family pay Nass. On one occasion, Nass told the Individual that, if John Doe 2 rebuffed an attempt to pay, the Individual could not be a "human being" with John Doe 2. Nass agreed to pay the Individual at least $15,000 for his continued efforts at extorting John Does 1 and 2, with a $5,000 up-front payment and the remainder after John Doe 2 paid Nass.

The charge in the complaint is an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, Nass faces up to 20 years in prison.

The government's case is being handled by the Office's Organized Crime and Gangs Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Victor Zapana, Anna L. Karamigios and Kamil R. Ammari are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Danielle Barber.

The Defendant:

JOSHUA NASS
Age: 34
Charleston, South Carolina

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 26-MJ-54