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Joel Greenberg, the erstwhile Florida taxation collector who sources accidental agreed to cooperate successful the national probe into his one-time adjacent associate, Rep. Matt Gaetz, was sentenced Thursday to 11 years successful situation aft pleading blameworthy to crimes ranging from ligament fraud to enactment trafficking a minor.
Greenberg pleaded guilty past May to six of the 33 national charges helium was facing, including charges of stalking, individuality theft, ligament fraud, and conspiracy to bribe a nationalist official, arsenic good arsenic 1 complaint of enactment trafficking.
The lawsuit grabbed nationalist attraction successful the outpouring of 2021 aft quality broke that the probe into Greenberg, a Seminole County taxation collector, had, according to aggregate sources, erupted into a sprawling national probe that included whether Gaetz, his adjacent friend, had had enactment with a insignificant who helium met done Greenberg.
Gaetz has agelong maintained his innocence and has vehemently denied immoderate wrongdoing.
In September of this year, The Washington Post reported that vocation prosecutors had recommended against charging the Florida congressman with enactment trafficking. During a consequent interrogation with Fox News' Sean Hannity, Gaetz said helium didn't cognize immoderate much astir the lawsuit than what's been successful the media, adding that "I proceed to proclaim my innocence."
Multiple sources acquainted with the probe told ABC News that the probe into Gaetz has stalled, with national investigators having concerns regarding aggregate cardinal witnesses successful the case, including Greenberg -- arsenic good arsenic specifics successful the lawsuit that could marque a condemnation hard for prosecutors.
Greenberg, who served arsenic Seminole County taxation collector for conscionable implicit 3 years, was initially charged successful 2020 with implicit 30 counts that included defrauding the Seminole County Tax Office retired of hundreds of thousands of dollars done schemes ranging from buying sports memorabilia and cryptocurrency to paying women helium met connected a self-described "sugar daddy" website utilizing the bureau recognition card.
Former Seminole County taxation collector Joel Greenberg talks to the Orlando Sentinel during an interrogation astatine his bureau successful Lake Mary, Fla., successful Sept., 2019.
Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/TNS via Getty Images, FILE
Greenberg reached a plea woody with investigators successful May 2021 successful which helium agreed to supply "substantial assistance" to prosecutors arsenic portion of their ongoing probe into Gaetz and others, according to sources acquainted with the arrangement. The erstwhile taxation collector provided investigators with years of Venmo and Cash App transactions and thousands of photos and videos, arsenic good arsenic entree to idiosyncratic societal media accounts.
He was facing decades successful situation earlier reaching the deal, which led to probes of 2 twelve individuals, including 8 radical being investigated for enactment crimes, 7 for nationalist cooperation, and 10 for predetermination fraud, according to Greenberg's attorney, Fritz Scheller. Four individuals person been indicted successful portion owed to Greenberg's cooperation, and Scheller said 2 further caller indictments related to crimes stemming from fraudulent COVID alleviation loans were expected successful the coming months.
Judge Persnell, during sentencing Thursday, called Greenberg's grade of practice "more than I've seen successful 22 years." But the tribunal besides came down hard connected Greenberg by handing down a condemnation connected the highest extremity of the sentencing guidelines.
"In 22 years I've ne'er experienced a lawsuit similar this," the justice said regarding the breadth of Greenberg's crimes. "I person ne'er seen a suspect who has committed truthful galore antithetic types of crimes successful specified a abbreviated period."
Greenberg, successful a little code to the court, apologized to the erstwhile insignificant astatine the halfway of the enactment trafficking charge, and to schoolhouse teacher Brian Beute, whom Greenberg had stalked aft Beute announced he'd tally against him for taxation collector. Greenberg besides apologized to his household and to the taxpayers of Seminole County.
"Nothing I accidental contiguous volition warrant my actions," Greenberg said. "I cognize I merit punishment."
Ahead of Thursday's sentencing, Greenberg's lawyer issued a veiled disapproval of the Justice Department's inaction against different individuals whom his lawsuit has implicated arsenic portion of his cooperation.
"If the Government is truthful acrophobic with wide deterrence, past wherefore hasn't it prosecuted the different individuals, including nationalist figures, who were besides progressive successful Greenberg's offenses?" Schiller wrote successful a memo filed up of his client's sentencing. "Perhaps the DOJ are maestro strategists acold beyond the capabilities of the undersigned. Or possibly the DOJ is similar Nero fiddling distant arsenic Rome burns."
At a pre-sentencing proceeding connected Wednesday, some the prosecution and Greenberg's defence attorneys recommended to U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell that Greenberg beryllium sentenced to betwixt 9.25 and 11 years successful prison, per national sentencing guidelines. But Presnell signaled Wednesday that helium was considering a harsher condemnation for Greenberg, citing concerns astir stacking the multiple, wide-ranging charges together.
"We don't person related crimes," Presnell said, noting that "there is nary precedent" for the scope of crimes Greenberg pled blameworthy to committing.
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