ORLANDO, Fla. – Former Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg was questioned by federal authorities as part of several criminal investigations including the probe into the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the United States capitol and allegations of Florida public officials engaging in commercial sex, newly unsealed court records reveal.
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.
[To read the full unsealed court document, see below]
Unsealed Greenberg court documents by Jacob Langston on Scribd
A federal judge unsealed records in Greenberg’s criminal case Wednesday that reveal new details about his cooperation.
According to federal prosecutors, Greenberg assisted the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia with its probe into the congressional certification of the 2020 electoral college vote on Jan. 6, 2021.
Greenberg provided information about the recount in Florida’s 2018 gubernatorial election in which Republican Ron DeSantis ultimately defeated Democrat Andrew Gillum.
The unsealed court records do not specify what types of information Greenberg provided about the recount effort.
According to a 2022 report by the New York Times, federal prosecutors investigated whether “Stop the Steal” demonstrations that occurred in Florida at the time of the 2018 recount may have been a model for the attack on the U.S. Capitol three years later.
The unsealed records confirm Greenberg cooperated with a federal investigation into Florida public officials accused of engaging in commercial sex, including with a minor.
That probe also involved the alleged distribution of narcotics, obstruction of justice, and other offenses, the records indicate.
Greenberg was interviewed by federal investigators on two occasions about those matters and allowed agents to copy his cell phone and access his social media accounts, the documents state.
“During these interviews, [Greenberg] provided truthful and timely information which advanced the ongoing investigation,” representatives with the U.S. Department of Justice wrote.
Last year the U.S. House Committee on Ethics released a report linking Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz to the commercial sex investigation.
Gaetz, who is not mentioned by name in the unsealed Greenberg records, has adamantly denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged with any crimes.
“I have no objection to a full release of Joel Greenberg’s lies,” Gaetz told News 6 earlier this week before a judge decided to unseal the records. “I’ve never been accused of a crime in this matter in a court of law. He rots in a prison, deservedly so.”
Greenberg assisted prosecutors regarding his involvement in a conspiracy to submit false claims to the Small Business Administration over loans intended to help companies hurt during the COVID-19 pandemic, records show.
According to the documents, Greenberg recruited an individual to run for elected county office to siphon votes from a rival candidate and provided improper financial benefits to a candidate for county office, the documents state. Additional details about those matters were not disclosed.
Greenberg was interviewed by Florida investigators about a so-called “ghost candidate” scheme tied to a state senate seat in Seminole County after prosecutors had already charged three people with election-related crimes in that matter, the documents show. There is no indication Greenberg’s testimony resulted in criminal charges, and he was not called as a witness.
Greenberg’s attorney supported the unsealing of the court documents detailing his client’s cooperation with the government.
“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’,” Greenberg’s attorney Fritz Scheller wrote in response to requests from news organizations to unseal the documents. “Despite this bold and unnerving statement, the Government has not prosecuted any individual, other than Greenberg, for this crime.”
Federal prosecutors did not file any public court documents objecting to the documents being disclosed, but the judge indicated that the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a sealed response arguing that “there are compelling interests for [sealing the records] that overcome the public right of access”.
U.S. District Judge Gregory A. Presnell ruled the Government failed to show good cause to keep the judicial records sealed and ordered them to be placed on the public docket.