Joel Greenberg, a former Florida tax collector and associate of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), was sentenced to 11 years in prison Thursday for sex trafficking of a minor and five other federal charges, multiple outlets reported, in a case that extended to a reportedly stalled probe of the congressmans alleged interactions with a teenage girlan allegation Gaetz denied. to Greenbergs reelection campaign last year. The Times said its not clear how Greenberg, 35, got to know Gaetz, 38. One of my best friends is Muslim, and I have a Black brother, Greenberg told the Orlando Weekly. I know that I can never make up for what I have done," Greenberg reportedly said. Im Jewish, which is probably one of the most hated groups. Recently, prosecutors under the current district attorney. He denies all allegations. The accusations, which included defrauding the Small Business Administration out of more than $432,000 in Covid-19 relief loans, described wrongdoing that began days after Mr. Greenberg was first arrested and released on bond last summer, prosecutors said. Joel Greenberg broke curfew to look for wife in South Florida, police report says. The page has promoted among others the Proud Boys, a far-right group also associated with Stone. [26] A fourth delay was granted in May, with sentencing likely in August. What could go wrong?. Joel Greenberg, former tax collector for Seminole County, was accused of stalking a political opponent, public corruption, making fake licenses and scheming to submit false claims for a federal. They gathered at Mr. Dorworths home in January 2019 to celebrate that Gov. The vast majority of Jews in Central Florida appreciate our Muslim brothers and sisters and value our shared American experience.. The inquiry one of two casesinherited in November by the special counsel, Jack Smith could be completed by spring or early summer. That same year, the Republican Jewish Coalition called on Gaetz to acknowledge his gaffe in inviting a Holocaust denier to attend Trumps State of the Union address. His bond was revoked on March 3, 2021, and a federal judge denied Greenberg a new bail, ordering him into custody for the remainder of the case. Joel Greenberg, who is facing child sex trafficking charges, unsurprisingly, also has ties to Roger Stone. He now sits in jail, awaiting an expected plea deal and most likely a yearslong prison sentence. He tried to talk his way out of a traffic ticket, asking a police officer for professional courtesy. He played police officer himself, putting a flashing light on his car to pull over a woman and accuse her of speeding. Greenberg got support in both his campaigns from a Facebook page, Central Florida Post, founded by Jacob Engels, who has been named as an associate of Roger Stone. (Sample: Editorial: Good riddance to Joel Greenberg, Central Floridas worst politician.), Greenberg has posted at least three selfies on Twitter with Gaetz. Among an array of charges, Greenberg has been indicted for stalking a political rival, sex trafficking of a child, illegally obtaining information from Florida state databases and identity theft. He pulled over a woman in 2017 while wearing shorts, a backward baseball cap and his tax collectors badge around his neck. Just one. Greenberg's father is Jewish. Please email us at [emailprotected], subject line republish, with any questions or to let us know what stories youre picking up. Ron DeSantis, a Republican close to Mr. Gaetz, had overturned a ban on smokable medical marijuana. In a motion seeking authorization to sell the home, Abby Greenberg indicated that she desires to sell the property and move on with her life. In 2018, he posed with Gaetz and a Florida GOP political operative at the annual AIPAC conference. The government alleged that he used his access to Floridas database to recruit minors into a sugar daddy relationship, acquiring photos and driving license information. His wife left the house for at least some time after the arrest. Hes back in jail as a result. In the second half of 2017, the indictment charged that Greenberg did knowingly recruit, entice, obtain, maintain, patronize and solicit by any means the Minor Victim, with the knowledge that his victim was underage and that he was seeking a commercial sexual relationship. [25] On February 14, 2022, Presnell granted a third delay, this time to May 2022, saying it appeared to be "in the interest of justice". As an adult, Greenberg has identified himself as being Jewish. (Sample: Editorial: Good riddance to Joel Greenberg, Central Floridas worst politician.). He campaigned as a small-business owner, with an advertising company named DG3 Network registered to his name. Greenberg has posted at least two selfies on Twitter with Gaetz. If convicted on both counts, Greenberg faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison., According to the indictment, Greenberg, who was the elected Seminole County Tax Collector, engaged in a course of conduct that caused and attempted to cause substantial emotional distress to a political opponent who worked at a school located in the Middle District of Florida. His Facebook page features an undated photo of himself at the Western Wall. The decision about whether to charge Mr. Trump will ultimately be made by the Fulton County district attorney, Fani T. Willis, who has been investigating the case for the last two years. For a time, Greenberg appeared to be a rising political star, thanks in part to his relationship with Gaetz, who dubbed him a future congressman, and dirty trickster Roger Stone. Ben Friedman, the director of community relations for Orlandos Jewish federation, said Greenbergs question was disgraceful and that Greenberg was, basically, a shanda. Greenberg, in turn, came to Gaetzs defense when the congressman was accused of inadvertently inviting a Holocaust denier to Trumps 2018 State of the Union address. Greenberg, a former Seminole County, Florida, tax collector . Burning down the house in order to save it is not working and total bullshit. Kitty Bennett contributed research. Four people, including a juvenile, were found dead in a Brevard County home, according to sheriffs office. (Orlando Sentinel) A day after a federal magistrate ordered Joel Greenberg to remain in . He is not involved with the Jewish community in any way, making his association with us even more embarrassing.. One is from 2017 with Roger Stone, the adviser to President Donald Trump who has his own history of legal imbroglios. (Mr. Greenberg hired Ballard in 2017 to lobby for the tax collectors office.) Read more: Matt Gaetz says hes part of a $25M extortion plot. Greenbergs attorney has indicated his client plans to pay additional restitution to victims above the governments request. Some of this money was funneled through a private company he created and ran from government buildings, called Government Blockchain Systems LLC. April 15, 2021. [6] On July 6, Greenberg requested, and prosecutors agreed to, a three-month delay in his sentencing so he could further cooperate with the government; presiding federal judge Gregory Presnell agreed to reschedule the sentencing date to November 18. Its tough consensus can be difficult to find but in this case, I can confidently say that Greenbergs hateful rhetoric does not represent the Jewish community. To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. Hush money. The second superseding indictment says that During the time when he was the Seminole County Tax Collector, Joel Micah Greenberg used his access to the Seminole County Tax Collectors Office to take surrendered driver licenses before they were shredded., He was accused in an indictment of improperly using a state drivers license database to obtain personal information on people with whom (he) was engaged in sugar daddy relationships.. Greenberg's wife told. (Sample: Editorial: Good riddance to Joel Greenberg, Central Floridas worst politician.). It involves Iran and a missing Jewish FBI agent. @mattgaetz and @ChrisDorworth duckface and all. Joel Greenberg's Natural History: Contact Joel or follow him on social media Home About Joel Books and other writings . #WhiteHouse pic.twitter.com/oIAzfXgkCh, Joel Greenberg (@JoelGreenbergTC) June 22, 2019. If he were to use his Jewish ethnicity and religion it would only be as a prop for a particular audience he wants to curry favor with., Mark I. Pinsky has covered Southern politics since 1972 and isthe author of A Jew Among the Evangelicals: A Guide for the Perplexed.. Several factors complicate sentencing", "Gaetz Paid Accused Sex Trafficker, Who Then Venmo'd Teen", "Matt Gaetz Associate Joel Greenberg Pleads Guilty to Six Federal Charges, Including Child Sex Trafficking", "Former Gaetz Confidant Agrees to Plead Guilty and Cooperate", "Matt Gaetz scandal deepens as associate admits paying 17-year-old for sex", "Prosecutors Agree to Delay Sentencing for Matt Gaetz Wingman Joel Greenberg: He's Been Busy 'Cooperating with the Government', "Judge grants sentence delay for cooperating Gaetz associate", "Gaetz associate asks to delay sentencing, continues to cooperate with federal investigation", "Gaetz ally Joel Greenberg is giving investigators new information, prosecutors say", "Gaetz 'wingman' granted another sentencing delay", "Sentencing for Gaetz 'wingman' delayed until August", "Gaetz 'wingman' gets new sentencing date", "Former Gaetz Confidant Is Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison", "Gaetz crony Joel Greenberg is only Jewish 'as a prop' say his critics", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joel_Greenberg_(politician)&oldid=1142109307, This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 15:18. When Mr. Greenberg was 15, he and his mother, Susan Greenberg, told a sports columnist for The Sentinel that he had benefited from the mentorship of an Orlando Magic basketball player, John. In 2016, then 31, Greenberg used his own money to run a successful Republican primary challenge that accused the 28-year incumbent, Ray Valdes, then 78, of being out of touch. Greenberg broke parole this month when he figured out his wife had decamped from their home to her mothers house 2 1/2 hours away. When Mr. Greenberg was 15, he and his mother, Susan Greenberg, told a sports columnist for The Sentinel that he had benefited from the mentorship of an Orlando Magic basketball player, John Amaechi, who sometimes shot hoops with wayward teenage boys. Greenberg drew fire in 2018 when he peddled Islamophobia on Facebook. Joel Greenberg in jail photo Courtesy of wftv.com, By Mark I. Pinsky Those contracts included $380,000 for body armor, weapons, and ammunition, as well as $15,000 for office sprinklers that could be aimed at people outside his office. He called him a disrupter who had taken the tax collectors office by storm.. April 1, 2021. Copyright 2023 The Forward Association, Inc. All rights reserved. Name just ONE society in the developed world that has benefited in ANY WAY from the introduction of more Muslims, Greenberg said. Image by Alex Wong/Getty Images. He resigned and dropped his bid for re-election. As part of a plea deal, he agreed to cooperate with the U.S. Department of Justice in an ongoing investigation, and will serve a 12-year sentence, the minimum sentence allowed by law. Defending himself in 2018 against the Islamophobia charge, Greenberg said that one of his brothers is Black. DOJ reviewing as Biden lawyer says classified docs found in his old . [3], Greenberg was once described as a Republican star in Central Florida politics. ORLANDO, Fla. Joel Greenberg and his estranged wife, Abby Greenberg, are now officially divorced after a circuit judge on Monday finalized the couple's break up, according to court documents . [29], Greenberg's father is Jewish. By the end of his tenure, his office in top-shelf space he leased was strewn with electronics, one person who saw it said. Greenbergs actions are an embarrassment to the office he holds, and his attitude reflects poorly on the people who elected him and pay his $150,000 per year salary, the Jewish leader said. Last edited on 28 February 2023, at 15:18, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Production of a false identification document, "Seminole, Orange tax collectors make changes to prevent ID theft in the wake of Joel Greenberg's arrest", "Gaetz associate pleads guilty to sex trafficking charges", "Joel Greenberg, Friend and Associate of Matt Gaetz, Expected to Plead Guilty", "READ: Plea agreement from former Gaetz associate Joel Greenberg", "Joel Greenberg cooperating with feds since last year in Matt Gaetz sex trafficking probe: report", "Judge Approves Plea Deal, Sets Sentencing Date for Matt Gaetz Associate in Child Sex Trafficking Case", "Joel Greenberg Timeline: From rising Republican star to federal charges", "Seminole Tax Collector Joel Greenberg resigns day after indictment", "Former Seminole County tax collector accused of stealing $400,000 in taxpayer money", "Ex-GOP official Joel Greenberg flaunted ties to Matt Gaetz. Greenberg allegedly set up a fake Facebook page making the same charge and set up a fake Twitter account in Beutes name promoting white supremacy. The newspaper reported that the investigation into whether Gaetz had a sexual relationship with the teen, emerged from Greenbergs prosecution. Did I leave something on?. Mr. Greenberg relished hobnobbing with the well-connected: He spoke at a Trump campaign rally in 2016 and was invited to the White House three years later. The stalking charge against Greenberg alleges that he used a pseudonym to send letters to the middle school where Beute is a teacher, falsely claiming that Beute had a sexual relationship with a student. Prosecutors recently recommended no charges against Gaetz, however, citing witness credibility issues, The Washington Post reported. That same year, the Republican Jewish Coalition called on Gaetz to acknowledge his gaffe in inviting a Holocaust denier to attend Trumps State of the Union address. Mr. Greenbergs lawyer, Fritz Scheller, declined to make his client, who has been in jail since March for violating terms of his bail, available for a jailhouse interview. Matt Gaetz, the Trump-boosting Florida congressman known for his firebomb rhetoric, is in big trouble in part because of the alleged foibles of a Jewish buddy, Joel Greenberg, who has earned criticism previously from his local Jewish community. That set off a cascade of criminal charges against Mr. Greenberg filed in four indictments, including that he used drivers licenses surrendered to his office to create fake IDs for women with whom he engaged in sugar daddy relationships. Prosecutors say he obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent loans from a Covid-19 relief program and embezzled more than $400,000 from the county. 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