“… All of us are victims of crimes where the public trust is abused.”įor his crimes, Greenberg faced decades in prison, but his cooperation deal significantly shortened his punishment. “To have a tax collector stealing the money he collects is truly outrageous,” Presnell said. He used government equipment to make fake ID cards, and abused his access to a DMV database on his first day in office, according to court filings. The wire fraud charge stemmed from Greenberg misusing hundreds of thousands of Florida taxpayer dollars to make personal cryptocurrency investments. Greenberg also successfully scammed the Small Business Administration of $430,000 in Covid-19 relief funds by bribing a federal official, according to court filings. ![]() Greenberg apologized to the teacher, Brian Beute, at Thursday’s hearing, and Beute told reporters later that he accepts the apology. The judge said this was “perhaps the most egregious” of Greenberg’s crimes and said it was “downright evil” to frame the teacher of sexual misconduct. He also tried to make the teacher look racist by making fake social media accounts under their name and posting inflammatory material. The stalking charge was related to a hoax that Greenberg perpetuated against a teacher who ran against him in 2020, when he was running for re-election as Seminole County tax collector.Īs part of his plea, Greenberg admitted sending letters to the teacher’s school, falsely accusing them of sexual misconduct with a student. Scheller said he and Greenberg communicated “fairly recently … in the past few months” with prosecutors as part of his cooperation in the sex-trafficking investigation.Īfter initially facing 33 counts, Greenberg pleaded guilty in May 2021 to six federal crimes. “That’s what they’re there for,” Scheller added, saying the Justice Department should hold “higher-level” figures accountable for the sake of democracy. “We expect the federal government to take on the hard cases and not just the easy convictions,” Scheller said, urging prosecutors to “pursue others.” Scheller previously said in court that Greenberg gave investigators information about seven or eight other men as it pertains to the illegal sexual contact with a minor. Gaetz has denied ever paying for sex or having sex with a minor, and no charges have been filed against Gaetz.ĬNN reported in September that prosecutors recommended against an indictment, though senior Justice Department officials get to make the final call – and it’s unclear if that decision has been made.Īfter the sentencing, Greenberg’s attorney Fritz Scheller said he was “disappointed” that the Justice Department hasn’t charged anyone else as part of the sex-trafficking investigation, which includes Gaetz. ![]() Judge scolds Justice Department for its slow investigations at hearing for Rep. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP) Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/AP/FILE Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., for their involvement with multiple women who were recruited online and received cash payments for sex. ![]() Greenberg has since been implicated in an investigation with U.S. Women who attended parties with Greenberg and Gaetz previously told CNN that they participated in sex parties near Orlando that featured local political figures, young women, Venmo payments, alcohol, and drugs.įILE - In this Tuesday, June 23, 2020, file photo, Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg leaves the federal courthouse in Orlando after making a first appearance following his indictment on a federal stalking charge. Presnell did praise Greenberg’s cooperation against others allegedly involved in sex crimes and fraud schemes, saying the cooperation was “more than I’ve seen in 22 years.”Īs part of his plea deal, Greenberg provided information to investigators about Gaetz related to the sex-trafficking probe, a source familiar with the case previously told CNN. ![]() “I have never seen a defendant who has committed so many different types of crimes in such a relatively short period,” said district Judge Gregory Presnell, who has been on the federal bench for decades and has sentenced more than 1,000 defendants. He has been in jail since early 2021 and will get some credit for time served. Greenberg, a former Seminole County tax collector, previously pleaded guilty to underage sex trafficking, wire fraud, stalking, identity theft, producing a fake ID card, and conspiring to defraud the US government. Matt Gaetz, was sentenced Thursday to 11 years in prison by a federal judge in Florida. Convicted fraudster Joel Greenberg, who cooperated extensively with the Justice Department’s sex-trafficking probe into GOP Rep.
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