Two women have sued former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz in federal court, accusing the Florida Republican of sexually exploiting them in violation of federal anti-trafficking law.
The lawsuit was filed Thursday in Orlando and names Gaetz, Joel Greenberg, another unnamed man, and businesses tied to Greenberg’s family as defendants. Gaetz, 43, served in Congress until late 2024 and briefly pursued nomination as attorney general in President Donald Trump’s second administration before withdrawing.
The women, who were in their early 20s in 2017, said they met Gaetz through Greenberg, then a tax official in Seminole County. Greenberg is currently serving a federal prison sentence for multiple crimes, including a sex crime. According to the lawsuit, Gaetz provided drugs to the women and paid them for sex, as well as covering out-of-state travel, lodging and other expenses.
“Every part of this venture ran on an exploitative power imbalance,” the women’s attorney, Spencer Kuvin, said in the lawsuit. “On one side stood a sitting congressman, an elected tax collector, and a former state legislator, men with public office, private homes, and money to spend. On the other stood young financially vulnerable women in their early twenties.”
Gaetz pushed back against the allegations in a statement issued Thursday. “Much of the conduct alleged against me is false,” he said. “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.”
He also took to the social platform X to mock the women, sharing a 2018 photograph showing the backs of three women in bathing suits looking at the ocean in the Bahamas. He captioned the post: “Jane Doe Strikes Again! Two adult women sued me today alleging they were sex trafficked to the Bahamas. I’m shocked nobody responded to their repeated cries for help, posted to instagram.”
“I’m shocked nobody responded to their repeated cries for help, posted to instagram,” Gaetz repeated in his statement Thursday.
The filing arrives nearly two years after the House Ethics Committee released findings that Gaetz had regularly paid for sex, including on one occasion with a 17-year-old girl, purchased and used illicit drugs, and violated state laws while serving in Congress. The report was published after Gaetz had already left office, but it contributed to the collapse of his bid to become attorney general.
Gaetz denied wrongdoing at the time of the report’s release and has maintained that position.
Since leaving Congress, Gaetz has hosted a political talk show on One America News Network. He was also recently appointed to the board of Triumph Gulf Coast, the organization that oversees how Florida spends money recovered from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement.
The lawsuit marks the first civil action brought against Gaetz by women directly alleging they were victims of his conduct, though federal prosecutors previously examined similar claims without filing charges against Gaetz himself. Greenberg cooperated with that investigation and pleaded guilty to multiple federal charges in 2021.
The women are seeking unspecified damages under the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act. The case has been assigned to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.