ORLANDO, Fla. — Joel Greenberg, the former Seminole County tax collector who recently pleaded guilty to six federal charges — including sex trafficking of a child — is now set to face sentencing Aug. 19, records show.
In a pair of orders filed Thursday, U.S. District Judge Gregory A. Presnell also formally accepted Greenberg’s guilty pleas, which he made after striking a plea agreement with prosecutors last month.
The deal requires Greenberg to cooperate with authorities in the sprawling investigation, which has reportedly taken aim at U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a former friend and ally. According to reports, that probe concerns, among other things, whether Gaetz along with Greenberg paid for sex with women and a 17-year-old girl, allegations Gaetz vehemently denies.
Greenberg could face at least 12 years in prison — the statutory minimum for his offenses — though prosecutors have indicated they will recommend a lesser sentence if Greenberg provides substantial assistance.
Greenberg, who is being held in the Orange County Jail, will be required to appear at sentencing, to be held at 9:30 a.m. at the federal courthouse in downtown Orlando.
Presnell’s order requires the sides to submit sentencing recommendations and exhibits 10 days prior to the hearing, with any arguments in favor of departing from sentencing guidelines due a week in advance. The orders, totaling three pages between them, shed no light into a presentence investigation that will factor into Greenberg’s fate.
In addition to sex trafficking, which carries up to a life sentence, Greenberg also pleaded guilty to identity theft, stalking, wire fraud and conspiracy to bribe a public official.
In doing so, he confessed to having stolen the identities of a man from whom he’d bought a boat and a customer of his elected office, embezzling money from that office in order to enrich himself with cryptocurrency, smearing a political opponent with false child-rape allegations and paying a federal official to help him obtain bogus COVID-19 relief loans.
He also admitted to paying more than $70,000 over two years to women —and a 17-year-old girl — for sex, many of whom he met through a so-called “sugar daddy” website.
Greenberg told prosecutors he would invite the minor and others to meet and have sex at hotels around Central Florida and supply the girl and other attendees with ecstasy. Greenberg had sex at least seven times with the girl while she was still a minor — and also introduced her to adult men who had sex with her, his plea agreement said.
Federal authorities have yet to publicly identify those men, or confirm that Gaetz is among their targets, and the Florida congressman’s name did not appear in Greenberg’s plea deal. But numerous reports have indicated that Gaetz is suspected of potential trafficking offenses.
The New York Times first reported that Greenberg had told authorities that he and Gaetz had encounters with women who were given cash or gifts in exchange for sex. Subsequent reports have indicated that the Gaetz probe involves allegations he had sex with the same 17-year-old.
In a confession letter by Greenberg obtained by The Daily Beast, the former public official allegedly wrote that Gaetz had more than once been “involved in sexual activities with” the girl and others, in exchange for gifts which were documented in transactions on Venmo and other services.
Reports also indicate that prosecutors are scrutinizing a 2018 trip to the Bahamas involving Gaetz, his allies Jason Pirozzolo and Halsey Beshears and several women who may have been paid escorts.
Gaetz denies having ever paid for sex or had sex as an adult with a minor.
