Boosie Badazz Thought $600k Could Buy Him a Pardon. Now, He’s Lost the Money and Still Dealing With the Drama.

Rapper Boosie Badazz has hit a snag in his quest for a federal pardon from President Donald Trump, leaving him to learn a painful lesson about exactly what his money can buy in Washington, D.C.

As we previously told you, the “Set It Off” rapper has been seeking a pardon from Trump in connection with two serious charges he received in June 2023 – possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon in interstate commerce, and knowingly possessing a firearm while dealing with abuse of a controlled substance. If convicted, he faced up to 10 years in prison. Upon hearing the news, he planned to call on either then-Vice President Kamala Harris or her then-Republican opponent, Trump, to pardon him, depending on who won the presidential election at the time.

Now, according to a report from NOTUS (a nonprofit news outlet that covers the federal government), we’ve learned that the Louisiana rapper sought out far-right Washington lobbyists to further legitimize his request. Specifically, in October 2025, Boosie paid JM Burkman & Associates $600,000 to push for a pardon in his case. However, in January 2026, he was sentenced to supervised release, community service, and a fine, ultimately avoiding prison time altogether, per Baton Rouge’s WAFB 9 News.

Related: Boosie Badazz Is In Trouble Again and You’ll Never Guess The Big Dogs He’s Calling On for Help

Now, the “Wipe Me Down” rapper is going through arbitration to recover at least half of what he paid to JM Burkman & Associates. According to the contract the two parties signed, Boosie was owed $300,000 if the company failed to secure him a full presidential pardon by January 31, 2025. Sadly, it seems the company has no plans to pay.

Speaking to the outlet about his dealings with JM Burkman & Associates, Boosie described them as “real aggressive” about helping him achieve his desired outcome.

“[They] were talking like they had Trump on speed dial,” he said.

He also alleged that he remained hopeful as the company told him that more than a handful of Republican and MAGA influencers like “Mike Cernovich, Jack Posobiec and Erika Kirk had endorsed a pardon for Boosie, as had House Speaker Mike Johnson and GOP Reps. Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Andy Biggs of Arizona.” Representatives for Kirk, Cernovich, and Speaker Johnson denied having played any part in Boosie’s quest. The company also allegedly continued to send Boosie messages with positive updates on his pardon application going through the proper channels.

Where things get more interesting is the fact that Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl—the men behind JM Burkman & Associates—reportedly have a history of shady dealings in Washington. Their most recent offense happened in 2022 after they both pleaded guilty in Ohio to “running an illegal robocall campaign that allegedly targeted Black voters.” They later paid $1.25 million to settle the case. Before that, the men allegedly plotted to plant false sexual assault allegations against Special Counsel Robert Mueller, according to a 2018 report from CNN.

Taking all this into consideration, it’s clear why Boosie is on a quest to collect on the money he’s owed. It seems unlikely, though, that he’ll receive it anytime soon, as text messages between the two parties show the company asking the rapper for more time to “get the pardon done.”

“We owe more six million dollars total due to the robo call fines plus other debts,” Burkman allegedly wrote to Boosie in a March 2026 text message. Let’s just focus right now on getting this pardon done. thx u!!”

In a separate statement, one of Boosie’s lawyers told NOTUS: “When people are in difficult situations, you know, they always want to have hope, right? You always want to have that tangible notion that this might turn out okay. And unfortunately, I mean, in this society of ours, there are people who, you know, recognize that in others and prey on it.”

JM Burkman & Associates is defending its ongoing commitment to helping Boosie secure his pardon, writing, “We cannot think of a single client for whom our firm has done more work than Boosie.”

The company continued in a statement: “This included a massive, highly tailored advocacy campaign across Congress, the executive branch, and leading political influencers and media figures. We continue to believe that Boosie very much deserves a pardon.”

However, with what we know, that statement doesn’t seem to be rooted in reality. A White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told NOTUS: “The team at the White House working on clemency has never heard from Wohl or Burkman, does not support their work, and would advise anyone seeking clemency that their involvement will actively harm their chances.”