DOJ probe into Gaetz focuses on cash payments to women
WASHINGTON — A Justice Department investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz and an indicted Florida politician is focusing on their involvement with multiple women who were recruited online for sex and received cash payments, according to people close to the investigation and text messages and payment receipts reviewed by The New York Times.
Investigators believe Joel Greenberg, the former tax collector in Seminole County, Florida, who was indicted last year on a federal sex trafficking charge and other crimes, initially met the women through websites that connect people who go on dates in exchange for gifts, fine dining, travel and allowances, according to three people with knowledge of the encounters. Greenberg introduced the women to Gaetz, who also had sex with them, the people said.
One of the women who had sex with both men also agreed to have sex with an unidentified associate of theirs in Florida Republican politics, according to a person familiar with the arrangement. Greenberg had initially contacted her online and introduced her to Gaetz, the person said.
Gaetz denied ever paying a woman for sex.
The Justice Department inquiry is also examining whether Gaetz had sex with a 17-year-old girl and whether she received anything of material value, according to four people familiar with the investigation. The sex trafficking count against Greenberg involved the same girl, according to two people briefed on the investigation.
The authorities have also investigated whether other men connected to Gaetz
and Greenberg had sex with the 17-year-old, two of the people said.
Gaetz, 38, was elected to Congress in 2016 and became one of former President Donald Trump’s most outspoken advocates.
The Times has reviewed receipts from Cash App, a mobile payments app, and Apple Pay that show payments from Gaetz and Greenberg to one of the women, and a payment from Greenberg to a second woman.
The women told their friends that the payments were for sex with the two men, according to two people familiar with the conversations.
In encounters during 2019 and 2020, Gaetz and Greenberg instructed the women to meet at certain times and places, often at hotels around Florida, and would tell them the amount of money they were willing to pay, according to the messages and interviews.
One person said that the men also paid in cash, sometimes withdrawn from a hotel ATM.
No charges have been
brought against Gaetz, and the extent of his criminal exposure is unclear. Gaetz’s office issued a statement on Thursday night in response to a request for comment.
“Matt Gaetz has never paid for sex,” the statement said. “Matt Gaetz refutes all the disgusting allegations completely. Matt Gaetz has never ever been on any such websites whatsoever. Matt Gaetz cherishes the relationships in his past and looks forward to marrying the love of his life.”
A lawyer for Greenberg, Fritz Scheller, declined to comment, as did a Justice Department spokesman.
The investigation stems from the Justice Department’s continuing inquiry into Greenberg, who potentially faces decades in prison on three dozen charges.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Central Florida secured an indictment against Greenberg in June, alleging he had stalked a political rival and had used his elected office to create fake ID cards. During the probe, authorities discovered evidence that prompted them to broaden it.