Matt Gaetz associate Joel Greenberg signs guilty plea agreement
Joel Greenberg, a former county tax collector and associate of Congressman Matt Gaetz, has signed a plea agreement with the federal government — and it includes a clause stipulating he'll "cooperate fully in the investigation and prosecution of other persons."
In the agreement made public Friday, Greenberg said he would plead guilty to six federal charges, including sex trafficking with a child.
According to the plea agreement, Greenberg admitted he was involved in "sugar daddy" relationships in which he paid women for sex, including a minor with whom he engaged in "commercial sex acts." The agreement also says Greenberg "introduced the minor to other adult men, who engaged in commercial sex acts with the minor in the Middle District of Florida."
The agreement does not identify the other adult men. Multiple sources told CBS News that Gaetz was one of the men Greenberg introduced her to and federal investigators are looking into whether Gaetz had a sexual relationship with her when she was 17.
CBS News has learned the identity of the minor in question, who is now 21, but is not naming her.
Multiple sources say in September 2018, the woman in question, who by that point had turned 18, traveled to the Bahamas with Gaetz and at least three other paid escorts.
Last month, CBS News reported investigators were trying to determine if the women were illegally trafficked across state or international lines for the purposes of sex with the congressman.
Gaetz has not been charged with any crimes.
Harlan Hill, a spokesman for Gaetz, noted that his client's name is not mentioned in Greenberg's plea agreement. "Congressman Gaetz doesn't seem to be named nor referenced in Mr. Greenberg's plea. Congressman Gaetz has never had sex with a minor and has never paid for sex. Mr. Greenberg has now (pleaded) guilty to falsely accusing someone else of sex with a minor. That person was innocent. So is Congressman Gaetz," Hill said in a statement.
The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Orlando has scheduled a hearing for Monday where Greenberg is expected to enter a new guilty plea. Greenberg pleaded not guilty last month to charges related to embezzlement and sex trafficking of a child.
As a part of the plea, Greenberg agreed "to cooperate fully with the United States in the investigation and prosecution of other persons, and to testify, subject to a prosecution for perjury or making a false statement, fully and truthfully before any federal court proceeding or federal grand jury in connection with the charges in this case and other matters."
He faces a minimum of 12 years in prison, but a judge can reduce his sentence if he fully cooperates.