Joel Greenberg, the disgraced Florida tax collector and associate of Rep. Matt Gaetz, is expected to plead guilty to federal charges on Monday.
Greenberg is scheduled to appear in Orlando’s U.S. District Court at 10 a.m. on May 17 for a “change of plea hearing,” according to an order. The criminal case, in which Greenberg is facing charges of sex trafficking of a minor, stalking, wire fraud, and identity theft, is said to involve sex-trafficking allegations levied against Gaetz.
The former tax collector initially pleaded not guilty to the array of alleged offenses, though he has since expressed a willingness to strike a deal with prosecutors. It remains unclear whether Greenberg will testify against Gaetz in any proceedings.
JOEL GREENBERG, ALLY OF MATT GAETZ, HIT WITH NEW CHARGES
In late March, it was reported that Gaetz, a sophomore congressman from Florida, is under investigation by federal authorities in connection to Greenberg’s myriad of charges, particularly those pertaining to sex trafficking.
The New York Times reported that the Justice Department is investigating whether Gaetz had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old and paid her to travel with him. Gaetz has called the report “totally false” and told Axios that his lawyers told him he “was not a target but a subject of an investigation regarding sexual conduct with women.”
Gaetz, 38, countered the report on Twitter and in statements to Axios and Fox News with a claim that his family is being extorted for $25 million and that the people pushing stories about an investigation into his relationships with women are the people extorting him and the subjects of an FBI investigation.
During an interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Gaetz named David McGee, an attorney with Beggs & Lane, as the former DOJ official who was trying to extort him and his family. The Pensacola law firm called the claims “false and defamatory.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Also in March, Greenberg was hit with 21 charges, bringing the grand total of alleged offenses to 31, after he was said to have diverted $432,700 in taxpayer funds to purchase cryptocurrency and signed sports memorabilia from NBA superstars Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. Other charges allege that the Florida man used the Seminole County tax collector’s office to furnish a bank account in his own name to write himself checks. He was also accused of obtaining government loans on false premises and threatening a political rival who worked at a local school.
