Boosie Badass Seeks Refunds After Lobbying Firm Fails to Secure Pardon
Rapper Boosie Badass is asking for refunds from a lobbying firm that was unsuccessful in obtaining a pardon from President Trump.
In a contract reviewed by the newspaper, Boosie engaged Jack Berkman and Jacob Wall of JM Berkman & Associates in September 2025, paying them $600,000 to secure a pardon for federal gun crimes from 2023.
The agreement specified that if a pardon wasn’t granted by 5 p.m. on January 1, the firm would need to return $300,000.
Boosie’s attorney, Jill Craft, from Baton Rouge, confirmed the contract’s details, emphasizing that it was drafted by Berkman & Associates. “We expect them to honor the contract until its termination,” she stated.
According to News of America, the rapper, whose real name is Torrence Hatch Jr., felt optimistic about 2026 after Berkman texted him on New Year’s Eve, claiming that a pardon was “in hand and ready to sign.”
However, the following day, Boosie received a call from attorney Megan Blanco in San Diego. Blanco informed him that Berkman indicated the president had given him a legal pardon for possession of a firearm as a felon, with news of an announcement expected from the White House.
Contrary to those claims, the anticipated presidential pardon was never signed. Days later, Blanco learned from a White House aide that the pardon request had not even been seen.
The White House has not commented on the situation.
On January 9, a federal judge in San Diego sentenced Boosie to three years of supervised release, crediting him with only 10 days served. The rapper was also ordered to complete 300 hours of community service.
On March 25, Boosie filed a lawsuit with the American Arbitration Association, seeking half of the deposit back from Berkman and Wall.
Just recently, the rapper, who faced charges for an incident at a Houston nightclub in May, took to X, expressing frustration about the situation. “Don’t lie to me now, I have given you three months to return the money,” he posted.
He also followed up with claims that Berkman and Wall contacted various political figures, including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and Rep. Nancy Mace, in their efforts to secure the pardon.
In response, some of the named individuals, like Mace, clarified on X that her office had only briefly interacted with Berkman’s team and had not committed to any follow-up.
Boosie commented, “Everyone you said you contacted asking for forgiveness said you were lying! Where did the money go? Did you expect Trump to sign the pardon?”
In a statement to the newspaper, JM Berkman & Associates noted that while they endeavored to achieve a pardon, a refund of half the payment was never agreed upon. “In 25 years, we can’t recall a client more deserving than Boosie,” they stated.
It’s worth mentioning that Berkman and Wall have their legal troubles. In 2022, they were implicated in a wire fraud case related to an illegal robocall campaign targeting Black voters in Ohio, and they reached a settlement for a $1.5 million fine in Michigan.
