MATT Gaetz's friend Joel Greenberg has allegedly admitted to child sex trafficking and will aid a probe into the Republican representative.
Joel Greenberg will appear in federal court in Orlando, Florida, on Monday for a change of plea hearing, according to court documents.
However, according to the New York Times, Greenberg has already admitted to an array of federal crimes.
This included that he and unidentified others had paid a 17-year-old for sex and providing her with drugs.
In documents, obtained by the Times, he allegedly admitted that he "introduced the minor to other adult men, who engaged in commercial sex acts" with her.
Greenberg also agreed to cooperate with the Justice Department's investigations, according to the outlet.
Greenberg had been facing 33 counts with a maximum of life behind bars, but he submitted a plea deal admitting to guilt in just six of those charges.
The six charges are: sex trafficking a child, using a fake ID, identity theft, wire fraud, stalking and conspiracy to commit a crime against the US.
The most severe of the charges is sex trafficking – which could see him behind bars anywhere from 10 years to life.
He will also have to cough up $650,000.
He had been working for weeks toward a deal with federal prosecutors who are investigating sex trafficking and public corruption allegations.
The plea potentially escalates the legal and political jeopardy the Florida congressman is facing and signals that Greenberg could potentially serve as a witness in the Justice Department’s investigation into Gaetz.
Federal prosecutors are examining whether Gaetz and Greenberg paid underage girls or offered them gifts in exchange for sex, according to people familiar with the matter.
Gaetz has vehemently denied the allegations and any wrongdoing and insists he will not resign his seat in Congress.
Investigators have also been looking at whether Gaetz and his associates tried to secure government jobs for some of the women, the people said.
They are also scrutinizing Gaetz’s connections to the medical marijuana sector, including whether his associates sought to influence legislation Gaetz sponsored.
The people had knowledge of the investigation but spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to publicly discuss the ongoing investigation.
Greenberg’s legal problems began last summer when he was arrested on charges of stalking a political opponent.
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He mailed fake letters to the school where his opponent taught, signed by a nonexistent “very concerned student” who alleged the teacher had engaged in sexual misconduct with another student, according to an indictment filed against him.
Greenberg was charged in August with sex trafficking a girl between ages 14 and 17 and using a state database to look up information about the girl and other people with whom he was engaged in “sugar daddy” relationships, according to the indictment.
Charges on allegations he embezzled $400,000 from the Seminole County tax collector’s office were added last month, according to the indictment.
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