Employee of a Federal Official Charged with Conspiracy to Falsely Report Violent Attack and Giving False Statements to Law Enforcement

CAMDEN, N.J. – Federal prosecutors announced that a woman from New Jersey has been accused of working with another individual to fabricate a violent attack involving a firearm and then falsely reporting the incident to authorities, claiming it happened because of her job with a federal official. The announcement came from Acting U.S. Attorney and Special Attorney Alina Habba.

Natalie Greene, a 26-year-old resident of Ocean City, is facing two charges: one for allegedly participating in a conspiracy to submit false statements and hoaxes, and another for allegedly lying to federal investigators. She appeared for the first time in federal court on November 19, 2025, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth A. Pascal. The judge ordered her released on an unsecured bond worth $200,000, along with several additional conditions.

Court filings and statements made during the hearing outline what investigators say took place:

On the night of July 23, 2025, Greene’s alleged accomplice called 911 and reported that the two of them had been attacked by three men as they walked along a trail in a nature preserve in Egg Harbor Township. This caller claimed the assailants used Greene’s name during the assault and made comments referencing the fact that she worked for a particular federal official, whose identity prosecutors say is known to them.

When police found Greene, she was on the ground in a wooded section near the trail. Her hands and feet had been tied together with black zip ties, and her shirt had been pulled over her head and secured with another zip tie. She had multiple cuts on her face, neck, upper chest, and shoulder. According to the police, someone had written the words “TRUMP WHORE” across her stomach and “[Federal Official 1] IS RACIST” on her back. Greene was described as crying and shouting that one of the supposed attackers was armed.

Greene reportedly told officers that at least one of the men threatened her with a gun and said he would shoot her. She also claimed that the men pinned her down, prevented her from moving, sliced her skin, and wrote messages on her body. A few days later, after she had received medical treatment, she repeated these allegations to investigators, including an FBI agent.

However, investigators eventually determined that the reported attack had not taken place. Instead, they concluded that Greene arranged for a scarification and body-modification practitioner to intentionally create the cuts on her body, following a design she had chosen ahead of time. Police also found black zip ties in her car on the night she reported the incident, matching the ones used to restrain her. Additionally, investigators learned that two days before the alleged assault, the cellphone belonging to Greene’s co-conspirator had been used to look up “zip ties near me.”

If convicted, Greene could face significant penalties. The conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and three years of supervised release. The false-statements charge carries the same maximum penalties.

Habba commended the agencies involved in the investigation, which included FBI special agents and members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force; detectives from the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office; officers and detectives with the Egg Harbor Township Police Department; the New Jersey State Police; and special agents with the Capitol Police.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick C. Askin and Sara A. Aliabadi from the Camden Criminal Division, along with James Donnelly from the Department of Justice’s National Security Division.

Officials emphasized that the charges are only allegations at this stage, and Greene is presumed innocent unless proven otherwise in court.

Source: United States Attorney’s Office