Boosie Badazz paid $600,000 to political operatives Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman promising to secure him a pardon from President Trump — and now he’s taking them to court to get half of it back after the pardon never materialized.
The Baton Rouge rapper’s legal mess is wild because of who these guys are. Wohl and Burkman pleaded guilty to an illegal robocall scheme in 2022 that targeted primarily Black voters. That’s right. Boosie, a Black rapper from Louisiana, handed six figures to two convicted operatives with a documented history of targeting Black communities. The irony isn’t subtle.
Here’s how the scam went down: Boosie hired the controversial duo in September 2025, paying them $600,000 upfront to lobby President Donald Trump to clear his federal record following a conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm. “They were real aggressive, they were talking like they had Trump on speed dial,” Boosie told NOTUS. Over the next few months, Burkman and Wohl allegedly misled Boosie’s attorney, Meghan Blanco, by name-dropping prominent MAGA figures and Republican lawmakers like House Speaker Mike Johnson, claiming they backed the effort.
The setup screamed desperation meets grift. On New Year’s Day, Boosie’s lawyer got a call claiming Trump had already signed the pardon and the White House just hadn’t announced it yet. Burkman assured Boosie on New Year’s Eve Trump had the pardon “in hand and ready to sign”. But then nothing. A White House official flatly denied the duo had any role in the pardon process, saying the clemency team had “never heard from” Wohl or Burkman and warning their involvement would actually hurt someone’s chances of getting a pardon.
Now the legal fight. The contract Boosie signed included a provision allowing for a $300,000 refund if the pardon was not secured by January 31, 2026. Pretty straightforward. Deliver the goods or give half the money back. But when Boosie demanded the money, the firm refused, claiming they never formally agreed to the refund clause and stating they are effectively bankrupt from unrelated fines and legal battles. Translation: They say they’re broke.
The bigger context matters here. Boosie was sentenced in January 2026 to time served, three years supervised release in his federal gun case — the case the pardon was supposed to erase. In May, Boosie was hit with a felony assault charge in Houston over accusations that he had smashed a nightclub bouncer in the head with a glass hookah. He wasn’t supposed to need the pardon that badly; he already got leniency from the judge. But he wanted to clear his record completely.
This lawsuit is historic in a weird way. This is the first known arbitration taken against a pardon lobbyist or firm during Trump’s second term. That says everything about how Trump’s pardon economy has spiraled. The changes have fostered a growing clemency economy outside the White House where people with ties to Trump or his aides sell their influence to those looking for a pardon. Millions are being paid to grifters with no delivery mechanism and zero accountability.
Boosie’s getting his day in court, which is more than most victims of this industry get. But the real loss here isn’t just the six figures — it’s the template. He paid cash to two people convicted of ripping off Black voters, then sued them for lying. That’s the 2026 Trump era in a nutshell.
The 16BARS take: Boosie got played by the exact type of operatives who’ve proven they’ll scam anybody for a check. The pardon game is a con, and he’s one of the only dudes bold enough to sue back.
