CelebnMusic247.com reports Boosie Badazz says his attempt to secure a presidential pardon cost him a staggering $600,000—and after the pardon never materialized, the Baton Rouge rapper is fighting to recover half of his money.
The dispute received fresh national attention after CBS’ 60 Minutes examined the lucrative business of presidential pardon brokers, including political operatives and lobbyists who charge substantial fees to advocate for clemency.
At the center of Boosie’s story are political operatives Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl, whom the rapper hired in 2025 as he sought a pardon from President Donald Trump related to his federal gun case.
According to Boosie, the men didn’t merely suggest they could submit paperwork.
He says they made him believe they had serious political influence—and at one point, he claims he was even told the president had already signed his pardon.
There was just one enormous problem:
The pardon never came.
Boosie Says He Paid $600,000 for Help Getting a Presidential Pardon
Boosie Badazz, whose legal name is Torrence Hatch, paid Burkman and Wohl’s firm $600,000 in 2025 to lobby for presidential clemency, according to reporting on the dispute.
Federal lobbying records show the firm registered to contact the White House, Justice Department and Congress on Hatch’s behalf.
Boosie later described the sales pitch as extremely aggressive, saying the men talked as though they had President Trump “on speed dial.”
That alleged access was understandably important.
Boosie wasn’t paying hundreds of thousands of dollars simply for general political advice. He believed he was hiring people capable of getting his pardon request in front of the right people.
Boosie Says He Was Told Trump Had SIGNED the Pardon
Then the story became even more extraordinary.
According to reports, Boosie’s attorney was contacted around New Year’s Day and allegedly told that Trump had signed the pardon, but that the White House hadn’t announced it yet.
Imagine hearing that after spending $600,000.
Boosie later described celebrating after believing the news was real.
But days passed.
No pardon appeared.
And reporting on the dispute says a White House official subsequently denied that Burkman and Wohl had a role in the White House pardon process.
Now Boosie Wants $300,000 Back
Boosie isn’t currently demanding the entire $600,000 payment back.
He’s seeking $300,000.
An agreement reviewed by NOTUS reportedly described $300,000 as nonrefundable while providing for the other $300,000 to be returned under certain circumstances if Boosie did not receive a pardon by the specified deadline and requested his money back in writing.
Burkman disputes Boosie’s interpretation of that agreement.
He has denied that the refund provision Boosie relies upon was actually agreed to and defended the work performed on the rapper’s behalf, telling TMZ:
“We tried very, very hard.”
That disagreement has now become a legal fight, with Boosie pursuing the money he says should have been returned.
Boosie Took His Frustration Public
And anyone familiar with Boosie knows he’s rarely shy about expressing himself.
After details of the dispute became public in July, the rapper blasted the situation on social media.
Boosie accused Burkman of lying about the pardon and said he had given him months to return the money. He also recalled how excited he became when he was allegedly told Trump had signed it.
For Boosie, this appears to be about more than losing $300,000 or even $600,000.
He says he believed the pardon was actually happening.
That’s what makes his account so striking.
60 Minutes Investigates the Growing “Pardon Economy”
Boosie’s experience has now become part of a much broader story.
The September 13 season premiere of 60 Minutes investigated what has been described as a growing pardon-brokering industry, examining lobbyists who charge people seeking presidential clemency large amounts of money for their services.
It’s important to make one distinction clear:
Charging someone to lobby or advocate for a presidential pardon is not, by itself, proof of illegal conduct.
The controversy centers instead on questions about what clients are promised, what kind of access brokers actually possess, how much money changes hands and whether the services delivered match what clients believed they were purchasing.
CBS previously found more than two dozen lobbying registrations involving pardons during Trump’s second term, although only a small fraction preceded grants of clemency.
Burkman and Wohl Say They Did Nothing Improper
Burkman and Wohl have disputed allegations of wrongdoing and maintain that significant work was performed for Boosie.
So this shouldn’t be characterized as an established finding that the two men illegally sold Boosie a presidential pardon.
Boosie says he paid for an effort he believed would produce clemency. Burkman and Wohl say they worked hard on his behalf. The pardon did not happen, and the parties dispute whether $300,000 must now be refunded.
That’s the heart of the fight.
Boosie Didn’t Get a Pardon — But His Gun Case Took Another Turn
There’s another important development in the story.
Although Boosie did not receive the presidential pardon he sought through this effort, he later received time served in his federal gun case, according to TMZ’s reporting on the dispute.
He has also reportedly continued pursuing clemency separately.
That means the rapper’s attempt to obtain a pardon isn’t necessarily over.
But his $600,000 experience with Burkman and Wohl has become a cautionary example of just how expensive—and uncertain—the world surrounding presidential clemency can become.
CelebNMusic247 Take
$600,000 is a LOT of money to spend chasing a presidential pardon.
But the most remarkable part of Boosie’s story isn’t simply the dollar amount.
It’s his claim that he was led to believe the pardon had already been signed.
If you’re told the President of the United States has approved your pardon, you’re probably not sitting around wondering whether it might happen.
You’re celebrating because you believe it already happened.
That’s why Boosie’s frustration isn’t difficult to understand.
At the same time, the dispute needs to play out based on the actual agreement and evidence. Burkman and Wohl deny that they owe Boosie the refund he is demanding and maintain that they worked extensively on his behalf.
One fact isn’t disputed:
Boosie paid $600,000.
He didn’t receive the pardon.
And now he wants $300,000 back.
With 60 Minutes putting the wider pardon-broker industry under a national spotlight, Boosie’s expensive experience has suddenly become much bigger than another celebrity legal dispute.
It raises a question anyone considering this kind of arrangement should probably ask before writing a six-figure check:
What exactly are you paying for—and what happens if the pardon never comes?
