GOP Aide Faked Egg Harbor Nature Preserve Attack After Paying Artist To Cut Her: Prosecutor

By Cecilia Levine From Daily Voice

A New Jersey woman was charged after federal authorities said she staged a violent attack, hired a scarification artist to cut her, and falsely claimed she had been assaulted at gunpoint because of her employment with a federal official.

The case began on July 23, when 26-year-old Natalie Greene’s co-conspirator called 911 and claimed that she and Greene had been attacked by three men while walking on a trail in a nature preserve in Egg Harbor Township, according to court documents released by Acting US Attorney and Special Attorney Alina Habba's office. The caller said the men used Greene’s name and referenced her job.

Records show that Greene interned for Rep. Jeff Van Drew from August 2021 to June 2023, eventually working her way up to advocate director in June 2024. 

Officers found Greene lying in a wooded area with her hands and feet bound with black zip ties, court documents say. Her shirt had been pulled over her head and tied with another zip tie and she had lacerations on her face, neck, upper chest, and shoulder. Words had been written across her stomach and back, and she appeared distressed. Greene told officers one of the attackers had a gun and threatened to shoot her, federal officials said. She repeated the claims two days later after receiving medical treatment, including in an interview with the FBI, according to federal documents.

Click here for more photos and the criminal complaint.

Former US Rep. Jeff Van Drew's staff member, Natalie Greene, 26, of Ocean City, found ziptied in the woods. 

USDOJ

Investigators later concluded the attack never happened. According to the complaint, Greene hired a body-modification and scarification artist “to deliberately cut the lacerations” on her body using a pattern she provided. Officers found black zip ties in her car similar to those used to bind her, and investigators discovered that two days before the supposed attack, her co-conspirator’s phone searched “zip ties near me,” according to federal documents.

Greene was charged with one count of conspiracy to convey false statements and hoaxes and one count of making false statements to federal law enforcement. She appeared in federal court on Wednesday, Nov. 19, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth A. Pascal and was released on a $200,000 unsecured bond with conditions.

A spokesperson for Van Drew's office tells New Jersey 101.5 that Greene is "no longer associated with the Congressman's government office" and that they "hope she's getting the care she needs."