Florida Sex Trafficking Scandal Pulls in Public Officials

A Florida lawsuit has helped expose elected tax official Joel Greenberg’s involvement in underage sex trafficking, stalking, bribery and tax evasion, and has dragged public figures into a mire of conflicting accusations.

Greenberg’s friend, Keith Ingersoll, who was the tax office’s consultant, dreamed up a scheme where they could cheat the tax office out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Simultaneously, Ingersoll was defrauding an 80-year-old man out of $12 million dollars.

Greenberg’s sex ring has come into sharp focus since he agreed to cooperate with authorities, and a filing by Greenberg’s lawyers Friday claims that Republican congressman Matt Gaetz was at a sex and drugs party that involved an underage girl. But no objections have been proved against Gaetz and he has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in the corruption and sex scandal that has gripped the media in South Florida.

Gaetz is close to Donald Trump and helped prepare him for the September 10 presidential debate against Vice President Kamala Harris on ABC. He also played a pivotal role in the removal of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House in 2023.

Among the cast of characters in the Florida case is Chris Dorworth, a lobbyist friend of Gaetz, who allegedly hosted the party and who says that Gaetz was not there.

Newsweek sought email comment on Monday from Gaetz and Dorworth, as well as Greenberg and Ingersoll’s attorneys.

Allegations from two women and the underaged girl emerged on Friday in the lawsuit Dorworth took against Greenberg and others for allegedly trying to drag him into the scandal.

Greenberg and the other defendants in the case wrote in a court brief that the two women and the 17-year-old girl have given sealed testimony that Gaetz was at the party and that he and Dorworth exchanged 30 texts and two phone calls in the hours before the party—an indication, the defendants claim, that Gaetz was there.

Like Gaetz, Dorworth has never been charged with a crime and denies any wrongdoing. And whether or not the men were at the party is still hotly contested in court filings that have yet to be resolved.

The legal dispute between Dorworth and Greenberg is vast and complex, with many accusations and counter accusations. On Friday, the Greenberg side filed dozens of documents, totaling hundreds of pages, which include the new allegation that three women have given sealed testimony against Matt Gaetz.

What is known for sure is that Dorworth’s now implacable foe, Joel Greenberg, himself a former friend of Gaetz, was jailed for 11 years in December, 2022, for sex trafficking of a minor, stalking, identity theft, wire fraud, and conspiracy to bribe and public official.

That was after strikingly a plea deal in which he agreed to give evidence against others in sex trafficking cases.

While working as a Seminole County tax collector, Greenberg went on a website that advertised itself to “Sugar Daddies” who could pay “Sugar Babes” for relationships and sex.

There, he met underage girls for sex and introduced them to other men.

In addition, when a teacher ran against Greenberg for the elected position of Seminole County tax collector, Greenberg began an appalling stalking campaign that included sending letters to the teacher’s school, falsely accusing him of having sex with a student.

He also tried to destroy the teacher’s reputation with Black voters by setting up a Facebook page in the teacher’s name that included racist statements.

In addition, he and Ingersoll, the Seminole tax office’s consultant, set up a straw man company to buy a property and just a few hours later, sold it to the Seminole tax office, making $262,000 profit for Ingersoll.

As if it couldn’t get any worse, Ingersoll also admitted defrauding an elderly investor out of $12.7 million. The man thought Ingersoll was investing his money in property, in reality, Ingersoll transferred the money to his bank account. Ingersoll is now serving nine years in prison after taking a plea deal.