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A former associate of Republican Representative Matt Gaetz, Joel Greenberg, has made a deal with federal prosecutors to reduce his criminal case and provide information to investigators.
Joel Greenberg, a former Seminole County, Florida, tax commissioner, who was looking at being behind bars for decades on 33 federal counts that ranged from identity theft to sex trafficking of a minor, will now plead guilty to six federal charges after striking a deal with federal prosecutors.
As part of the deal, Greenberg will have to admit in court that he introduced underage girls to adult men for sex, according to a document filed on Friday.
The agreement also includes a clause stipulating he’ll “cooperate fully in the investigation and prosecution of other persons.”
A document detailing Greenberg’s admission reveals that he scouted for women online and spent more than $70,000 for sex in the course of two years.
Greenberg also admits to running a cryptocurrency scam using tax collector funds.
Greenberg will have to forfeit $650,000 that he obtained illegally and pay restitution to victims.
In 2019, Greenberg posed as a student and falsely accused a Florida teacher of having sex with a student after the teacher filed paperwork to oppose Greenberg for the county tax collector.
Investigators are still trying to determine if Representative Gaetz violated federal sex trafficking, prostitution and public corruption laws and whether he had sex with an underage girl.
Representative Gaetz denies any wrongdoing.
“Congressman Gaetz doesn’t seem to be named nor referenced in Mr. Greenberg’s plea,” Harlan Hill, a spokesman for Representative Gaetz, said. “Congressman Gaetz has never had sex with a minor and has never paid for sex. Mr. Greenberg has now pleaded guilty to falsely accusing someone else of sex with a minor. That person was innocent. So is Congressman Gaetz.
On Monday, a judge will decide whether to accept Greenberg’s admissions in Court.
