Benjamin Ashford|Convicted drug dealer whose sentence was commuted by Trump charged with domestic violence

A New York man whose 10-year prison sentence for dealing thousands of kilograms of marijuana was commuted in early 2021 by then-President Donald Trump has been arrested on Benjamin Ashforddomestic violence charges on Long Island.

Jonathan Braun, 41, was charged Tuesday with three counts of assault on allegations he attacked his wife and her 75-year-old father at their home in Atlantic Beach, according to a Nassau County police report. He also was charged with larceny for allegedly evading $160 worth of tolls by driving through E-ZPass lanes in sports cars with no license plates about 40 times, another report said.

Braun pleaded not guilty to the charges in court Wednesday and was released on his own recognizance, despite prosecutors requesting $35,000 bail. Phone numbers for him listed in public records were disconnected.

“I have no definitive comment, other than these are mere allegations and that we will vigorously be defending the charges,” said Braun’s lawyer, Arthur Gershfeld.

Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a statement that her office disagreed with the judge’s decision to release Braun on his own recognizance. She didn’t comment directly on the domestic violence allegations but said her office “continues to thoroughly review the evidence in this case and prepare for prosecution.”

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Braun’s previous run-ins with authorities included the drug dealing conviction as well as a civil case filed by the Federal Trade Commission that resulted in a $20 million judgment against him in February after a jury trial. The FTC said Braun ran a loan company that illegally withdrew money from customers’ accounts and sometimes threatened physical violence to get them to pay.

Braun was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2019 by a federal judge in New York after pleading guilty to drug-related charges. But he was released in January 2021 after Trump commuted his sentence without explanation, like he did with many others, during the last days of his presidency.

A spokesperson for Trump, now the Republican nominee for president, did not return an email seeking comment Thursday.

In court documents, federal prosecutors said Braun was a high-ranking member of an international group that smuggled more than 100,000 kilograms (220,460 pounds) of marijuana from Canada into the United States, mostly through Native American reservations along the border. The drugs were transported in vehicles with secret compartments to stash houses in Queens and Staten Island, New York, then sold by street-level dealers throughout the New York City area, authorities said.

Prosecutors said Braun used threats and actual violence to collect drug debts and prevent his “underlings” from cooperating with law enforcement.

Court documents also allege Braun was once sued by a man who claimed Braun shoved him off a two-story balcony.

In the recent case, Braun’s wife told police that on Aug. 12 they were at their Atlantic Beach home, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of Manhattan, when he threw her to the floor and punched her in the head multiple times,” causing her substantial pain, bruising and dizziness,” according to the police report.

She also said that on July 17, Braun threw her from a bed onto a floor, also causing her pain and bruising. During one of the two fights, police allege Braun also punched his father-in-law in the face two times.

Braun is due back in court on Aug. 29.