Mounting Evidence

Matt Gaetz’s Wingman Seeks Sentencing Delay to Continue Cooperating

Joel Greenberg asks for more time to cooperate with investigators before he's sentenced.

Joel Greenberg—the Rep. Matt Gaetz wingman who pleaded guilty and is now helping authorities investigate the congressman’s involvement in an underage sex ring—has so much evidence that he needs more than 44 days to share it.

In a court document filed Tuesday, Greenberg, the disgraced local tax collector, asked a federal judge to push back his sentencing.

The letter describes “ongoing cooperation which will not be completed prior to his current sentencing date.”

In May, Greenberg admitted to engaging in sex trafficking, identity theft, and other crimes on the condition that he would turn over evidence that implicated others who helped him. He was scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 19.

Greenberg has become a witness in an ongoing probe into Gaetz’s alleged paid sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl, according to two sources familiar with the investigation who have spoken on condition of anonymity.

His lawyer, Fritz Scheller, indicated in a court filing today that Greenberg has been providing key information to federal investigators and is planning to turn over more evidence.

His “cooperation… cannot be completed prior to the time of his sentencing” next month, Scheller wrote.

Greenberg has requested an additional 90-day extension, hinting that this investigation is far from over.

Scheller did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, which is investigating the case, declined comment.

In the waning days of the Trump administration, Greenberg wrote a confession letter detailing how he and Gaetz both paid to have sex with the teen while she was underage. Greenberg wrote that he saw the acts occur “first hand” and explained how he paid women on Gaetz’s behalf. The Daily Beast also obtained private Venmo transactions between the two that named several women and tracked down two witnesses who described how Gaetz snorted cocaine with an escort in a Florida hotel room after a 2019 GOP fundraiser.

Greenberg is the first publicly known person to strike a deal with the government, but sources have told The Daily Beast that investigators are also pressuring additional associates to become potential witnesses, including Gaetz’s ex-girlfriend and Greenberg’s friends.

See more of our coverage in your search results.

ADD THE DAILY BEAST ON GOOGLE

Jose PaglieryPolitical Investigations Reporter

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.