Dissecting the Greenberg charges
Former tax collector facing 33 counts
The news that a plea agreement is in the works for Joel Greenberg, Seminole County’s disgraced former tax collector, came more than a week after prosecutors filed their fourth indictment against him, raising the number of federal charges he faces to a staggering 33.
Although Greenberg is a first-time offender, if convicted on all counts, his potential sentence could also be staggering: He faces a mandatory 10-year sentence on a sex-trafficking charge, while the other counts could tack on more decades behind bars.
To avoid that risk, Greenberg’s attorney and federal prosecutors are expected to work out a deal by May 15.
The terms of that agreement remain undisclosed. Greenberg’s lawyer said Thursday he hadn’t yet seen prosecutors’ offer in writing and the attorneys involved have not indicated whether it will be a cooperation agreement, requiring him to testify against other targets.
But news of the deal brought speculation that Greenberg could become a witness against U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, the Panhandle Republican who reports say is under investigation for potential sex-trafficking offenses, with investigators examining whether the congressman and the tax collector recruited women online to pay for sex or trafficked a teenage girl.
While there’s still much we don’t know about the Gaetz investigation, federal prosecutors have spelled out many of their allegations against Greenberg in court filings, as they seek to prove he used his elected office to enrich himself, victimize a child, tar a political rival and launder cryptocurrency, among other allegations.
Here’s a run-down on what Greenberg is accused of — so far — and what we know about each charge against him.
The charges: Sex trafficking of a child, violations of the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, unlawful use of means of identification of another person.
The allegations: Between roughly May and November 2017, prosecutors say Greenberg solicited a girl aged 14-17 for the purposes of a commercial sex act, which federal law defines as exchanging sex for anything of value. The indictment does not reveal how Greenberg met the girl or other details of how he’s accused of soliciting her. Greenberg is also accused in these counts of using his access as tax collector to Florida’s Driver and Vehicle Information Database, known as DAVID, to get the photograph and driver identification number of two people: the victim in the sex trafficking count, on Sept. 4, 2017; and another person, identified only as R.Z., on Nov. 18, 2017.
The penalty: The sex trafficking offense carries 10 years to life. The unlawful use of a means of identification has a maximum of five.