Justice Dept. Inquiry Into Matt Gaetz Said to Be
Focused on Cash Paid to Women
The congressman and a former official in Florida sent
money to the women using cash apps, receipts showed.
Katie Benner Michael S. Schmidt
By Katie Benner and Michael S. Schmidt
Published
April 1, 2021
Updated
April 2, 2021, 12:09 a.m. ET
WASHINGTON
— A Justice Department investigation into Representative Matt Gaetz and an
indicted Florida politician is focusing on their involvement with multiple
women who were recruited online for sex and received cash payments, according
to people close to the investigation and text messages and payment receipts
reviewed by The New York Times.
Investigators
believe Joel Greenberg, the former tax collector in Seminole County, Fla., who
was indicted last year on a federal sex trafficking charge and other crimes,
initially met the women through websites that connect people who go on dates in
exchange for gifts, fine dining, travel and allowances, according to three
people with knowledge of the encounters. Mr. Greenberg introduced the women to
Mr. Gaetz, who also had sex with them, the people said.
One of the
women who had sex with both men also agreed to have sex with an unidentified
associate of theirs in Florida Republican politics, according to a person
familiar with the arrangement. Mr. Greenberg had initially contacted her online
and introduced her to Mr. Gaetz, the person said.
Mr. Gaetz
denied ever paying a woman for sex.
The Justice
Department inquiry is also examining whether Mr. Gaetz had sex with a
17-year-old girl and whether she received anything of material value, according
to four people familiar with the investigation. The sex trafficking count
against Mr. Greenberg involved the same girl, according to two people briefed
on the investigation.
The
authorities have also investigated whether other men connected to Mr. Gaetz and
Mr. Greenberg had sex with the 17-year-old, two of the people said.
Mr. Gaetz,
38, was elected to Congress in 2016 and became one of President Donald J.
Trump’s most outspoken advocates.
The Times
has reviewed receipts from Cash App, a mobile payments app, and Apple Pay that
show payments from Mr. Gaetz and Mr. Greenberg to one of the women, and a
payment from Mr. Greenberg to a second woman. The women told their friends that
the payments were for sex with the two men, according to two people familiar
with the conversations.
In
encounters during 2019 and 2020, Mr. Gaetz and Mr. Greenberg instructed the
women to meet at certain times and places, often at hotels around Florida, and
would tell them the amount of money they were willing to pay, according to the
messages and interviews.
One person
said that the men also paid in cash, sometimes withdrawn from a hotel ATM.
Some of the
men and women took ecstasy, an illegal mood-altering drug, before having sex,
including Mr. Gaetz, two people familiar with the encounters said.
In some
cases, Mr. Gaetz asked women to help find others who might be interested in
having sex with him and his friends, according to two people familiar with
those conversations. Should anyone inquire about their relationships, one
person said, Mr. Gaetz told the women to say that he had paid for hotel rooms
and dinners as part of their dates.
The F.B.I.
has questioned multiple women involved in the encounters, including as recently
as January, to establish details of their relationships with Mr. Gaetz and his
friends, according to text messages and two people familiar with the
interviews.
No charges
have been brought against Mr. Gaetz, and the extent of his criminal exposure is
unclear. Mr. Gaetz’s office issued a statement on Thursday night in a response
to a request for comment.
“Matt Gaetz
has never paid for sex,” the statement said. “Matt Gaetz refutes all the
disgusting allegations completely. Matt Gaetz has never ever been on any such
websites whatsoever. Matt Gaetz cherishes the relationships in his past and
looks forward to marrying the love of his life.”
A lawyer
for Mr. Greenberg, Fritz Scheller, declined to comment, as did a Justice
Department spokesman.
It is not
illegal to provide adults with free hotel stays, meals and other gifts, but if
prosecutors think they can prove that the payments to the women were for sex,
they could accuse Mr. Gaetz of trafficking the women under “force, fraud or
coercion.” For example, prosecutors have filed trafficking charges against
people suspected of providing drugs in exchange for sex because feeding another
person’s drug habit could be seen as a form of coercion.
It is also
a violation of federal child sex trafficking law to provide someone under 18
with anything of value in exchange for sex, which can include meals, hotels,
drugs, alcohol or cigarettes. A conviction carries a 10-year mandatory minimum
prison sentence.
The
investigation stems from the Justice Department’s continuing inquiry into Mr.
Greenberg, who potentially faces decades in prison on three dozen charges. The
U.S. attorney’s office in Central Florida initially secured an indictment
against Mr. Greenberg in June, alleging that he had stalked a political rival
and had used his elected office to create fake identification cards.
During the
investigation, the authorities discovered evidence that prompted them to
broaden it, and Mr. Greenberg was indicted in August on the sex trafficking
charge.
One of the
sites the men met women through was called Seeking Arrangement, which describes
itself as a place where wealthy people find attractive companions and pamper
them “with fine dinners, exotic trips and allowances.” The site’s founder has
said it has 20 million members worldwide. The F.B.I. mentioned the website in a
conversation with at least one potential witness, according to a person
familiar with the conversation.
Mr.
Greenberg was indicted this week on additional charges, accusing him of
submitting false claims to receive pandemic relief aid from the government and
trying to bribe a government official. The authorities said Mr. Greenberg
undertook those efforts after he was initially indicted last summer.
Mr.
Greenberg, who has pleaded not guilty to the earlier charges, is scheduled to
go on trial in June. He was sent to jail in March for violating the terms of
his bail.
Mr. Gaetz
said this week that his lawyers had been in touch with the Justice Department
and that he was the subject, not the target, of an investigation. Subjects of
investigations are often witnesses or people who might have information that
could help the government pursue its targets. But it is common for that
designation to shift over the course of an investigation.
“I only
know that it has to do with women,” Mr. Gaetz said. “I have a suspicion that
someone is trying to recategorize my generosity to ex-girlfriends as something
more untoward.”
Mr. Gaetz,
a lawyer, was first elected to the House representing the Florida Panhandle at
age 34. The son of a former president of the Florida State Senate, Mr. Gaetz
attended Florida State University and William & Mary Law School before
serving in the Florida State Legislature.
Mr. Gaetz
has sought to divert attention from the Justice Department investigation by
claiming that he and his father were the targets of an extortion plot by two
men trying to secure funding for a separate venture.
The men —
Robert Kent, a former Air Force intelligence officer who runs a consulting
business, and Stephen Alford, a real estate developer who has been convicted of
fraud — approached Mr. Gaetz’s father, Don Gaetz, about funding their efforts
to locate Robert A. Levinson, an American hostage held in Iran. They suggested
to Don Gaetz that Mr. Levinson’s successful return could somehow be used to
secure a pardon for Matt Gaetz if he were charged with federal crimes,
according to a copy of their proposal provided to The Times.
Soon after,
Don Gaetz hired a lawyer and contacted the F.B.I. Matt Gaetz said his father
wore a wire and taped a meeting and a telephone conversation with Mr. Alford.
An email exchange between Don Gaetz’s lawyer and the Justice Department
provided to The Times appears to confirm he was generally cooperating with the
F.B.I. as it looked into his claims.
Mr. Kent
denied the Gaetzes’ assertions. He said he had heard rumors that Matt Gaetz
might be under investigation and mentioned them only to sweeten his proposal.
“I told him I’m not trying to extort, but if this were true, he might be
interested in doing something good,” Mr. Kent said in an interview.
Last year,
the Trump administration notified the family of Mr. Levinson, a former F.B.I.
agent, that he had died while in captivity in Iran, where he disappeared in
2007 while on an unauthorized mission for the C.I.A.
But some
people involved with the Levinson case continued to believe that he might still
be alive, including Mr. Kent.
He was
stunned when he heard that Matt Gaetz had sought to tie the Justice Department
investigation to an extortion plot related to the Levinson case.
“He threw
Levinson and the entire Levinson family under the bus,” Mr. Kent said. “I can’t
imagine what these poor people have been through. This guy, to divert attention
from himself, has raked up the attention to the family.”
Don Gaetz
also taped a phone call and a meeting with David McGee, a Levinson family
lawyer, where they discussed the rescue proposal. In an interview, Mr. McGee
denied any involvement and suggested Matt Gaetz was conflating the matter
inappropriately with his own potential criminal liability.
“He’s
trying to distract attention from a pending tidal wave that is about to sink
his ship,” Mr. McGee said.
Adam
Goldman, Nicholas Fandos and Barry Meier contributed reporting.
Katie
Benner covers the Justice Department. She was part of a team that won a
Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for public service for reporting on workplace sexual
harassment issues. @ktbenner
Michael S.
Schmidt is a Washington correspondent covering national security and federal
investigations. He was part of two teams that won Pulitzer Prizes in 2018 — one
for reporting on workplace sexual harassment and the other for coverage of
President Trump and his campaign’s ties to Russia. @NYTMike
A version
of this article appears in print on April 2, 2021, Section A, Page 1 of the New
York edition with the headline: Gaetz Inquiry Is Said to Focus On Payments Sent
to Women. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe
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