Jonathan Braun, 41, a Long Island drug dealer pardoned by President Trump, was sentenced to 27 months in Brooklyn federal court for violating his 2021 pardon with new crimes, including sexually abusing his children’s nanny and assaulting a toddler.
According to the New York Times, Braun entered his children’s nanny’s bedroom in February, put her in a headlock, and groped her while masturbating. The victim, speaking by phone during Monday’s sentencing, had prosecutors read her impact statement aloud in court.
The nanny wrote she “endured deep emotional trauma” that left her “with lasting trust issues” and added that she was “grateful that justice had been served.”
Braun’s assault on his nanny was one of several violent incidents since his release on Trump’s final day in office, after serving three years of a 10-year sentence for running a multimillion-dollar cannabis smuggling ring from Canada to New York. The pardoned drug dealer, who was photographed with Trump at a Florida golf course in 2022, was later arrested in August 2024 for allegedly assaulting his wife and 75-year-old father-in-law, according to court records.
A month after molesting his nanny, Braun allegedly punched a man during a Shabbat dinner at his Long Island home and shoved the man’s 3-year-old son to the ground, leaving a red mark and “substantial pain,” according to a criminal complaint. Prosecutors said Braun — whose family is linked to Trump ally Charles Kushner — also assaulted a praying congregant at a synagogue and attacked a hospital nurse in separate recent incidents.
“Do you know who I am? Do you know what I could have done to you?” Braun allegedly told the worshipper, Edward Miller, after grabbing his arm and pushing into his face, the Times reported.
Miller said Braun was “freaking out all over the place,” adding how the confrontation had started after he asked him to be quiet.
State authorities said Braun ran predatory lending firms that charged up to 1,000% interest and used threats of violence to collect debts. Prosecutors sought a five-year sentence, citing his “brazen and violent conduct” that spread “fear and terror” and showed he remains a “serious danger to the community,” according to the New York Times.
Braun’s federal defender, Kathryn Wozencroft, said his outbursts stemmed from hallucinogenic drug use. In sentencing, Judge Kiyo Matsumoto urged him to honor his remorse and commitment to reform, warning, “Don’t squander it.”
Drug dealer freed from prison by Trump now back behind bars https://t.co/MEhDNRa8tx pic.twitter.com/HnTFGveYht
— The Independent (@Independent) November 11, 2025
