Orlando Sentinel (Sunday)

Counts 26 through 33

- Jeweiner@orlandosen­tinel. com

The charges: Conspiracy to bribe a public official, submission of a false claim, theft of government property, wire fraud

The allegation­s: Greenberg was arrested on the stalking charge June 23, resigning as tax collector the next day.

Four days later, he filed paperwork with the state to re-form two defunct companies: Greenberg Media and DG3 Network.

Prosecutor­s say this was part of a new criminal conspiracy hatched soon after his initial arrest. It allegedly involved bribing an official with the U.S. Small Business Administra­tion to submit fraudulent applicatio­ns for loans through a COVID-19 relief program.

According to prosecutor­s, Greenberg sought and received loans for both zombie companies through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, a part of the CARES Act intended to help business owners hurt by the pandemic — and only available to businesses operating before Feb. 1, 2020.

To get his loans through, authoritie­s say Greenberg bribed an SBA loan officer to approve applicatio­ns riddled with falsehoods, including that he wasn’t currently under an indictment, and that the two businesses employed a dozen people and brought in nearly $1.2 million in combined revenue in the year before the pandemic.

Greenberg allegedly paid the loan officer $3,000 via the payment service CashApp.

On June 26, three days after his arrest, Greenberg received the first of three loan payouts that would ultimately total $432,700, prosecutor­s say.

The penalty: The bribery charge carries a penalty of up to 15 years, while the others max out at five to 10. But Greenberg could face additional punishment because prosecutor­s allege these crimes were committed while he was out on court-ordered release while awaiting trial for the earlier counts.

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