A civil lawsuit filed in US district court for the middle district of Florida on Thursday accuses former Republican congressman Matt Gaetz of participating in sex trafficking involving two women identified as Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2. The complaint alleges that Gaetz and two other defendants “coordinated the recruitment, payments, drugs, and travel to obtain commercial sexual acts” from the women during a period spanning from 2017 through January 2019.
One of the co-defendants, Joel Micah Greenberg, a former Seminole County tax collector and close associate of Gaetz, pleaded guilty in May 2021 to six federal offenses including sex trafficking of a child and was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison. According to the lawsuit, Greenberg recruited the women through an online dating website and introduced them to Gaetz. The complaint alleges that Jane Doe 1 was 20 years old when first introduced to Gaetz in summer 2017, while Jane Doe 2 was 22 when Greenberg contacted her.
The allegations include specific claims about payments made to the women, ranging from $150 to $1,000 on multiple occasions between July 2017 and January 2019. The lawsuit also references an incident at a July 2017 party where Jane Doe 1 alleges she witnessed Gaetz with another individual who was 17 years old. The complaint further alleges that Gaetz and Greenberg arranged and funded travel to multiple locations including Miami, Las Vegas, the Bahamas, and New York City.
Gaetz, who resigned from his North Florida congressional seat in November 2024 following his nomination as attorney general, subsequently withdrew from consideration for that position. A bipartisan House ethics committee investigation concluded in December 2024 that Gaetz made tens of thousands of dollars in payments to women for sex and drugs on at least 20 occasions and found he “engaged in sexual activity with a 17-year-old girl” in 2017. Gaetz has repeatedly denied all accusations of wrongdoing, stating through his attorney that he looks forward to depositions and characterizing much of the conduct alleged against him as false.
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