Matt Gaetz’s friend Joel Greenberg gets 11 YEARS in prison for sex trafficking a minor and stalking

Joel Greenberg, an associate of Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, was sentenced Thursday to 11 years in prison for sex trafficking a minor and stalking a political opponent.

There was speculation that Greenberg would turn on the Florida congressman in exchange for a lighter sentence after he told police last year that Gaetz had sex-trafficked 17-year-old girls.

Gaetz has not been formally charged and continues to deny ever paying for sex, claiming instead that he is the victim of an extortion plot.

Greenberg pleaded guilty to six federal crimes, including sex trafficking of a minor, identity theft, stalking, wire fraud and conspiring to bribe a public official. Prosecutors say he paid at least one girl to have sex with him and other men.

“Nothing justifies my actions,” Greenberg said in court during Thursday’s sentencing. ‘My conduct is so shameful. I feel remorse for what I have done.

The former Seminole County tax collector was first arrested in 2020 and faced a series of charges including embezzlement, stalking a political opponent and sex trafficking of a girl between the ages of 14 and 17.

A pre-sentence hearing on Wednesday showed the government estimated a sentence of between 9.25 and 11 years for Greenberg.

The judge said he believes Greenberg deserves more than the federal guidelines because of unrelated crimes, but his attorney argued that he deserves less because of extensive cooperation throughout the process.

“The parties agree on something that I don’t agree with,” US District Judge Gregory Presnell said Wednesday, then sentenced Greenberg to 11 years the next day.

The cooperation Greenberg’s lawyer, Fritz Scheller, is referring to is that his client assisted in the investigations of 24 people, including eight for sexual offences. That cooperation, according to Scheller, has led to four federal indictments with more expected this month.

It is possible that Greenberg’s cooperation could play a role in Gaetz’s investigation into whether he paid a minor for sex.

Greenberg was elected to public office at the age of 31, about six years ago. He quickly became a rising star in Republican politics, but his abuse of taxpayer funds drew the attention of federal investigators and led to his eventual downfall.

The Washington Post reported in April that anonymous sources claimed Greenberg was pleading with prosecutors to cut a deal with him in exchange for information he gave them about Rep. Gaetz.

Prosecutors were told, according to the report, that Gaetz paid the women for sex with “cash or gifts” in a possible violation of sex trafficking laws. It is unclear how old the women she accuses of paying for sex are.

Although the judge imposed the upper limit of the sentence recommended by the government, he openly expressed his dissatisfaction with the leniency shown towards Greenberg.

His defense attorney pointed out in court documents that the minor in question was almost an adult and advertised himself as over 18 years of age in a companion profile with “Seeking arrangements.”

Scheller also said Greenberg has provided “significant substantial assistance to the government” in multiple cases and asked Judge Presnell to take into account his client’s struggles with mental health.