ORLANDO, Fla. – A federal judge who presided over former Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg’s criminal case is considering whether to unseal documents related to Greenberg’s cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice.
Greenberg is serving an 11-year prison sentence after pleading guilty in 2021 to several offenses, including child sex trafficking, aggravated identity theft, and wire fraud.
As part of a plea deal, Greenberg agreed to provide “substantial assistance” to federal authorities in the investigation and prosecution of other individuals.
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One of those investigations involved former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, court records show.
Gaetz has adamantly denied any wrongdoing and has never been charged with any crimes.
The DOJ closed its investigation into Gaetz in 2023 without filing any criminal charges.
“I have no objection to a full release of Joel Greenberg’s lies,” Gaetz told News 6 after this story had been published. “I’ve never been accused of a crime in this matter in a court of law. He rots in a prison, deservedly so.”
Greenberg also assisted in the prosecution of several former associates, including Michael Shirley, Joseph Ellicott, Nabil Dajani, and Keith Ingersoll.
Due to Greenberg’s cooperation in those criminal cases, federal prosecutors asked a judge for some leniency when sentencing Greenberg.
As part of that request, the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a sealed memorandum with the court in November 2022 detailing “sensitive information regarding pending criminal investigations”.
Last year a producer for NBC News asked the judge to unseal the memorandum, arguing that the filing should be made public now that Greenberg’s criminal case was closed and other investigations had likely concluded.
At the time of the request, President Donald Trump had nominated Gaetz as the next U.S. Attorney General.
Gaetz later withdrew his nomination as the House Ethics Committee was preparing to release a report detailing allegations against the former Congressman.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell ordered Greenberg and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to explain in writing why the court document should remain sealed.
Federal prosecutors did not file an objection, which was due on Friday.
Greenberg’s attorney believes the court document should be unsealed and disclosed to the public.
“Since Greenberg’s sentencing, all cases involving his coconspirators have been completed,” Greenberg’s attorney Fritz Scheller wrote in a response.
In a footnote, Scheller alleged that federal authorities had abandoned an investigation into other men who allegedly had sex with the same 17-year-old girl who was the victim in Greenberg’s child sex trafficking case.
“In Greenberg’s plea agreement, the Government asserted that ‘Greenberg also introduced the Minor to other adult men, who engaged in commercial sex acts with the Minor in the Middle District of Florida’,” Scheller wrote. “Despite this bold and unnerving statement, the Government has not prosecuted any individual, other than Greenberg, for this crime.”
Presnell has not indicated whether he will unseal the court document detailing Greenberg’s cooperation with the DOJ.