SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – A victim of disgraced former Seminole County tax collector Joel Greenberg is asking a federal judge to unseal court records that would identify an “unindicted conspirator” linked to one of Greenberg’s criminal offenses, News 6 has learned.
Greenberg, 42, was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to a wide variety of crimes including child sex trafficking, aggravated identity theft and stalking.
A grand jury originally indicted Greenberg in 2020 for stalking a political opponent.
Brian Beute, who worked as a music teacher at a private school, announced the previous year that he would be running for tax collector against the incumbent Greenberg.
According to Greenberg’s plea agreement, the tax collector mailed several anonymous letters to Beute’s school falsely claiming to be a “very concerned student” who had information about Beute engaging in sexual misconduct with another fictional student.
[WATCH: Greenberg sentenced to 11 years in prison for child sex trafficking, fraud (from 2022)]
Greenberg also created bogus social media accounts using Beute’s name and photograph to publish a series of racially charged posts, Greenberg later admitted.
Shortly after Greenberg’s initial arrest, federal prosecutors filed court papers that repeatedly referred to an “unindicted conspirator” who was linked to the stalking investigation.
“(There) is information and evidence related to (Greenberg’s) use of the false letters, the imposter Facebook account, the imposter Twitter account, and the efforts of an unindicated conspirator to conspire with (Greenberg) to perpetrate the offense,” prosecutors wrote in a July 2020 court filing.
Beute, who no longer works at the school, recently filed a motion seeking to unseal a search warrant affidavit and other judicial records that identify Greenberg’s unindicted conspirator.
“This case involves coordinated conduct directed at a political candidate during an election,” Beute wrote in the motion he filed himself without the assistance of an attorney. “Disclosure reinforces accountability and deters similar conduct in future proceedings.”
[WATCH: Attorney claims ex-Seminole County tax collector had child porn (from 2023)]
The U.S. Department of Justice opposes the unsealing of court records that would identify the conspirator.
“There are compelling interests for the continued sealing of the search warrants that overcome the public right of access,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Chauncey A. Bratt wrote in response to Beute’s request. “In particular, to publicly reveal the identity of the unindicted co-conspirator could stigmatize this person as a criminal without providing the person with any avenue to defend or vindicate his or her reputation.”
Federal prosecutors claim Beute already knows the identity of the conspirator and “seeks to publicly shame” that person, the government’s response states.
Beute, who declined the opportunity to comment on this story, did not indicate in court filings who he thinks the conspirator might be.
“Access to judicial records does not rise or fall based on what the Government speculates a litigant may suspect,” Beute wrote in reply to the prosecutor’s opposition. “The public’s right of access does not depend on what any particular requester is presumed to know.”
Magistrate Judge Leslie Hoffman Price did not indicate when she might rule on Beute’s motion to unseal the court records.
After Greenberg’s original arrest for stalking, the former tax collector was indicted on more than 30 additional charges including child sex trafficking.
Greenberg pleaded guilty to six of those federal offenses in 2021 and was later sentenced to 11 years in prison. He is scheduled to be released in 2030.
There is no indication from court records that the “unindicted conspirator” referenced by prosecutors is former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, a onetime associate of Greenberg.
Gaetz, who has adamantly denied any wrongdoing, was investigated by federal authorities for unrelated sex offenses but was never charged with any crimes.