Ex-NJ GOP aide still carries visible scars after she paid fetish artist to carve her up

CAMDEN, New Jersey – The Maserati-driving ex New Jersey GOP aide accused of paying a fetish artist to carve into her skin in a staged anti-Trump attack still bears the horrific scars — even as she’s trying to make a “fresh start” in Florida after undergoing mental health treatment.

Glamorous former law student Natalie Greene, 26, arrived at Camden Federal Court Wednesday in her Italian sports car, wearing a dark green mini dress and clutching a Louis Vuitton bag while sporting an ankle monitor on her left leg – along with the ghastly healed gashes still visible on her neck and jawline.

The Ocean City resident, arrested in November, allegedly paid a body modification artist $500 to slash dozens of gruesome wounds into her face, neck, chest, back, and shoulders with a scalpel on July 21.

Two days later, prosecutors said she staged a bogus attack at Egg Harbor Township Nature Reserve, claiming three assailants held her at gunpoint, mutilated her skin, and wrote “Trump Whore” on her stomach.

At a court hearing Wednesday, Camden federal Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Pascal approved Greene’s request to relocate to Fort Lauderdale, where she will live with – and be supervised by – a childhood friend who was previously busted for cocaine and riding an unlicensed vehicle in the streets.

Greene’s lawyer, Louis Barbone, argued that the accused fraudster was desperate to rebuild her life, saying she had struggled to find work due to the case, had received death threats and been stalked online.

“The prospect of Natalie Greene getting a job in this area is slim to none,” Barbone told the judge, adding that moving to the Sunshine State “gives her a fresh start and ability to act normal.”

He added that despite living with her ex-boyfriend’s mother in what he described as a tension-filled “hell hole,” the former Rutgers Law student has successfully completed her court-mandated mental health treatment.

Barbone said Greene, who has a job lined up in Florida, will continue mental health treatment, stay on electronic monitoring, and follow a curfew when she lives with Kristin Haughton-James, a twice arrested mom of two who appeared in court via video to confirm she can accommodate her former campmate.

Federal prosecutors argued that the request for Haughton-James to supervise the former congressional aide to Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) was taking her from “the frying pan into the fire.”

“I don’t think it’s a better plan,” prosecutor Patrick Askin said, pointing to the Florida woman’s 2025 arrest for riding an ATV in the street as a “red flag for judgement” and a “lack of respect for the law.”

Haughton-James was also busted in 2013 at age 19 for possession of cocaine, for which she went through a treatment program. She currently uses medical marijuana daily to treat her anxiety and is on probation for her current arrest.

But Pascal found Haughton-James, a waitress, “incredibly credible and forthright.”

The childhood friend agreed to report any violations Green – whom she met two decades ago and later reconnected with on Facebook following her high-profile arrest – assured the court that she “completely understands” her new responsibilities as a legal custodian.

Greene and Barbone declined to comment upon leaving court, though the latter said he hopes to negotiate a plea deal with federal prosecutors after reviewing the evidence.

The suspected con artist worked for Van Drew’s office while also attending Rutgers Law School at the time of the alleged hoax attack.

Greene claimed three gun-wielding men approached her on the nature trail, hog-tied her with black zip ties, and held her down while slashing her face and body on July 23.

“TRUMP WHORE” and “Van Drew is a racist” were also scrawled on her body with black marker.

Prosecutors said Greene was taken to a hospital, where she and her accomplice gave police conflicting accounts of what happened and provided faulty descriptions of the phantom assailants.

Police also found zip-ties stashed in her Maserati SUV.

Greene is charged with conspiracy to convey false statements and hoaxes and making false statements to federal law enforcement.

She faces up to ten years behind bars and a $250,000 fine if convicted on both counts.