Matt Gaetz and two others named as defendants in sex trafficking civil lawsuit

Two women have filed a federal civil lawsuit accusing former Florida U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz and two others of participating in an sex trafficking scheme involving young women, drugs, and travel across state lines.

It came nearly two years after a House Ethics Committee report said Gaetz made payments totaling tens of thousands of dollars to women for sex, including a 17-year-old girl. Gaetz denied the allegations at the time, but it led to his withdrawal from his nomination by President Trump to serve as U.S. attorney general.

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Orlando. It alleges Gaetz and former Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg, from 2017 through January 2019, coordinated recruitment, payments, drugs, and travel to obtain commercial sexual acts from young women.

It further alleges that former Florida House Republican member Chris Dorworth “knowingly” participated in such events and Greenberg Dental and AWG Inc. supplied the money that funded these illicit acts.” Those businesses are owned by Greenbergs father.

The two women are listed in the lawsuit as “Jane Doe 1” and “Jane Doe 2.” Jane Doe 1 was 20 years old when she met Gaetz and Jane Doe was 22. They are demanding judgement against Greenberg Dental and AWG for compensatory damages and attorney fees and seek a jury trial.

Gaetz is denying the allegations and says he intends to fight the claims in court.

“I look forward to taking the plaintiffs’ depositions because much of the conduct alleged against me is false,” he said in a written statement published in The Guardian. “The lawsuit relies almost exclusively on a Congressional Committee Report that didn’t allow me to confront my accusers. Now I will finally have that chance.”

Gaetz served in the Florida House from 2010 to 2016. He was elected to represent Florida’s 1st Congressional District from 2016 until Trump nominated him for attorney general in November 2024.

But he stepped down soon afterwards because of growing doubts he could be confirmed due to the Ethics Committee report.

Gaetz said at that time that he had “NEVER had sexual contact with someone under 18. Any claim that I have would be destroyed in court — which is why no claim was ever made in court.”

Greenberg was a close associate of Gaetz who pleaded guilty in May 2021 to six federal offenses: sex trafficking of a child, illegally producing a false identification document, aggravated identity theft, wire fraud, stalking, and conspiracy. He is serving an 11-year federal prison sentence.

Cash and travel

The lawsuit closely follows the allegations included in the 2024 House Ethics Committee report. It alleges that between July 2017 and January 2019, Gaetz and Greenberg paid Jane Doe 1 on at least 19 occasions, ranging from $150 to $1,000.

The suit alleges that in place of cash payments, “the venture also paid with travel,” flying Jane Doe 1 to Venice Beach, Calif.; Las Vegas; the Florida Keys; the Bahamas; and New York City in exchange for sexual activity.

The woman listed as Jane Doe 1 alleges that she saw Gaetz “having sex with Victim A” who was “only 17 years old” at the time, and that Gaetz “gave Victim A $400 in cash that night, which Victim A understood to be payment for sex.”

The lawsuit says the defendants’ actions caused the two women severe emotional and psychological trauma and that they continue to suffer emotional distress, humiliation, and loss of employment as a result.

Greenberg Dental and AWG Inc. were businesses associated with Greenberg’s family. Seth Greenberg’s father, Andrew W. Greenberg, is the principal of AWG, Inc. and serves as president of Greenberg Dental. The lawsuit alleges he controlled the disbursements AWG made to his son.