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Joel Greenberg (politician)

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Joel Greenberg
Tax collector of Seminole County, Florida
In office
January 2017 – June 24, 2020
Preceded byRay Valdes
Succeeded byJ.R. Kroll
Personal details
Born (1984-02-04) February 4, 1984 (age 40)
Altamonte Springs, Florida, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Abby Greenberg
​
​
(m. 2016; div. 2022)​
Children2
EducationRollins College (did not graduate)[1]
Criminal information
Criminal statusIncarcerated[2]
Conviction(s)
Criminal penalty11 years in prison
Date apprehended
June 23, 2020
Imprisoned atFederal Correctional Institution, Miami

Joel Micah Greenberg (born February 4, 1984) is an American politician and former tax collector of Seminole County, Florida. In 2020, Greenberg was arrested and charged with multiple federal offenses. He was indicted on 33 criminal counts: theft, stalking, sex trafficking, cryptocurrency fraud, and Small Business Administration loan fraud.[3] On May 17, 2021, he pleaded guilty to six federal charges, including sex trafficking of a minor, as part of a plea deal.[4][2]

Greenberg was formerly seen together with Republican congressman Matt Gaetz;[5] after being arrested in 2020, Greenberg began to cooperate with federal investigators probing Gaetz and negotiated a plea agreement.[5][6]

Early life

[edit]

Joel Greenberg is the son of Andrew Greenberg, a dentist and founder of Greenberg Dental, a chain of over 90 dental clinics throughout Florida. Greenberg's father is Jewish. Greenberg was raised in a Christian family and attended a Christian church. As an adult, Greenberg has identified himself as being Jewish.[7] Greenberg married his wife, Abby, in 2016 and has a son and a daughter.[8] He suffered early academic and behavioral difficulties (including attention deficit disorder and Tourette's syndrome), and as a result of these challenges was enrolled at Florida Air Academy (now Florida Preparatory Academy), a military-themed boarding school in Melbourne, Florida.[9] He also participated in a mentorship program run by then-Orlando Magic basketball player John Amaechi.

Greenberg attended Rollins College, a liberal arts college in Florida, but did not graduate. He subsequently wrote several freelance sports pieces for the Orlando Sentinel and later hosted a sports talk show, The Joel Greenberg Show, on Yahoo Sports Radio Orlando.[9] He eventually formed an advertising agency, DG3 Media Group, which specialized in outdoor, radio, and digital ads. The venture was a success; by the time Greenberg sold DG3 in 2015 it had the biggest growth of any company in Central Florida, according to an annual list published by Inc., having reported $8 million in revenue during the previous year. He also formed DG3 Network, which was inactive until Greenberg filed paperwork with the state to revive it just days after his arrest in June 2020. Federal authorities later alleged the company had been used to obtain fraudulent loans through a program put in place to help small businesses hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic; this eventually led to additional criminal charges against Greenberg, including bribery of a public official.

Political career

[edit]

In 2016, Greenberg was elected tax collector of Seminole County, Florida, after running a reportedly self-funded campaign. He defeated incumbent Ray Valdes, who had held the office for 30 years.[10] He took office in January 2017.[3]

Greenberg was once described as a Republican star in Central Florida politics.[3][10]

Greenberg resigned from his office on June 24, 2020.[11]

Criminal charges

[edit]

Greenberg is accused of stealing $400,000 of public funds[12] and sex trafficking.[13] The government alleges that since 2017 he has used the state's driver license system to obtain names of minors for "commercial sex acts", and also created fake IDs to facilitate sex trafficking. Some of this money was funneled through a private company he created and ran from government buildings, called Government Blockchain Systems LLC.[14] At one point the $90,000 server room running the cryptocurrency operation overloaded the electricity supply, causing $6,700 in uninsured fire damage.[13] He also bought memorabilia and other items.[10]

Over the course of Greenberg's employment as a tax collector, he was reported to have spent over $1 million on contracts and other purchases. 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.[15]

During the reelection campaign in 2019, he is also alleged to have created fake Facebook accounts and sent falsified letters making claims of sexual misconduct against an opponent,[10] and impersonated a law enforcement officer on two separate occasions, to stop a woman while driving, and to try to evade a speeding ticket himself.[13]

Federal agents arrested Greenberg at his home on June 23, 2020; he resigned the following day after being released on bail.[13][16] The original June 2020 indictment charged Greenberg with identity theft and stalking. In August 2020, one count of sex trafficking a 17-year-old girl in 2017 was added to the indictment.[17] On February 28, 2021, Greenberg violated his bond conditions by traveling during his curfew hours, reportedly to look for his wife. 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.[18] By the end of that March, the Justice Department added an additional 21 criminal charges to Greenberg's indictment, including cryptocurrency fraud, SBA loan fraud (allegedly receiving fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loans for two defunct corporations), wire fraud, conspiracy to bribe a public official and theft of government property.[16] Greenberg faces a minimum of 12 years imprisonment and a maximum term of life imprisonment.[19]

Plea deal and cooperation

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After being arrested in 2020, Greenberg began to cooperate with federal investigators probing Gaetz,[5] who was also implicated in the sex trafficking scandal, although he has not been charged with a crime.[20] In April 2021, Greenberg's attorney announced that his client planned to plead guilty as part of a plea agreement with the government to avoid a possible life sentence.[21] On May 17, 2021, Greenberg pleaded guilty to six federal charges: sex trafficking of a child, production of a false identification document, aggravated identity theft, wire fraud, stalking, and conspiracy. 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. In exchange for his cooperation, prosecutors agreed to drop the remaining charges from the original indictment. The plea agreement documents state that Greenberg paid a minor to have sex with him and other men. He engaged in sex acts with a minor at least seven times while she was underage. In court papers for his plea deal, Greenberg did not implicate others by name but admitted that he "introduced the minor to other adult men, who engaged in commercial sex acts".[22][23] As part of the plea agreement, Greenberg must register as a sex offender.[4]

Federal judge Gregory Presnell accepted Greenberg's plea agreement on June 3, 2021, and scheduled a sentencing hearing for August 19.[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.[24][25] By early October, a lawyer for Greenberg had asked for another delay, this time to March 2022.[26] On October 18, prosecutors also asked Presnell for the extension, stating that Greenberg was a "prolific criminal" who had made allegations that "take us to some places we did not anticipate." Presnell approved the extension.[27] On February 14, 2022, Presnell granted a third delay, this time to May 2022, saying it appeared to be "in the interest of justice".[28] A fourth delay was granted in May, with sentencing likely in August.[29] Subsequently, a December sentencing date was set.[30]

Greenberg was sentenced on Thursday, December 1, 2022, by a federal judge to 11 years in prison.[31]

References

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  1. ^ Comas, Martin E. (July 24, 2020). "Seminole, Orange tax collectors make changes to prevent ID theft in the wake of Joel Greenberg's arrest". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved May 3, 2021. Greenberg, who studied at Rollins College but did not earn a degree, had little administrative experience before he became tax collector.
  2. ^ a b Balsamo, Michael; Schneider, Mike (May 17, 2021). "Gaetz associate pleads guilty to sex trafficking charges". Associated Press. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Philo, Kaila (April 8, 2021). "Joel Greenberg, Friend and Associate of Matt Gaetz, Expected to Plead Guilty". Courthouse News Service. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  4. ^ a b Chavez, Paola (May 17, 2021). "READ: Plea agreement from former Gaetz associate Joel Greenberg". CNN. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c Weiner, Jeff (April 13, 2021). "Joel Greenberg cooperating with feds since last year in Matt Gaetz sex trafficking probe: report". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  6. ^ a b Lambe, Jerry (June 3, 2021). "Judge Approves Plea Deal, Sets Sentencing Date for Matt Gaetz Associate in Child Sex Trafficking Case". Law & Crime. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  7. ^ Pinsky, Mark I. (April 1, 2021). "Gaetz crony Joel Greenberg is only Jewish 'as a prop' say his critics". Forward. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
  8. ^ "Meet Joel M. Greenberg". Seminole County Tax Collector. June 26, 2020. Archived from the original on June 26, 2020. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  9. ^ a b Orlando Sentinel (April 29, 2021). "Joel Greenberg podcast: Episode 3". YouTube. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  10. ^ a b c d DeForest, Mike; Badcock, Merris (April 8, 2021). "Joel Greenberg Timeline: From rising Republican star to federal charges". WKMG. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  11. ^ Comas, Martin E. (June 24, 2020). "Seminole Tax Collector Joel Greenberg resigns day after indictment". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  12. ^ Mates, Thomas; Badcock, Merris (March 31, 2021). "Former Seminole County tax collector accused of stealing $400,000 in taxpayer money". Click Orlando. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  13. ^ a b c d Shepherd, Katie (March 31, 2021). "Ex-GOP official Joel Greenberg flaunted ties to Matt Gaetz. Then he was charged with child sex trafficking". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  14. ^ O'Connell, Oliver (April 8, 2021). "The bizarre story behind how Matt Gaetz's tax collector friend fits into sex trafficking investigation". The Independent. New York. Archived from the original on June 9, 2022. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  15. ^ Schneider, Mike (April 16, 2021). "Matt Gaetz pal Joel Greenberg was a lightning rod for controversy even before arrest". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  16. ^ a b Weiner, Jeff; Comas, Martin E. (March 31, 2021). "New indictment: Joel Greenberg used tax collector funds to buy himself cryptocurrency, Michael Jordan merch". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  17. ^ Caputo, Mark; Dixon, Matt (April 13, 2021). "New details shed light on Gaetz's Bahamas trip". Politico. Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  18. ^ "Ex-Seminole County tax collector Joel Greenberg has bond revoked, to remain in custody". WESH. March 3, 2021.
  19. ^ Comas, Martin E. (June 4, 2021). "How long will Joel Greenberg spend in prison? Several factors complicate sentencing". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  20. ^ Sollenberger, Roger; Pagliery, Jose (April 8, 2021). "Gaetz Paid Accused Sex Trafficker, Who Then Venmo'd Teen". The Daily Beast. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  21. ^ "Matt Gaetz Associate Joel Greenberg Pleads Guilty to Six Federal Charges, Including Child Sex Trafficking". Daily Newsbrief. May 18, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  22. ^ Schmidt, Michael S. (May 14, 2021). "Former Gaetz Confidant Agrees to Plead Guilty and Cooperate". The New York Times. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
  23. ^ Smith, David; Pengelly, Martin (May 14, 2021). "Matt Gaetz scandal deepens as associate admits paying 17-year-old for sex". The Guardian. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
  24. ^ Sarnoff, Marisa (July 6, 2021). "Prosecutors Agree to Delay Sentencing for Matt Gaetz Wingman Joel Greenberg: He's Been Busy 'Cooperating with the Government'". Law & Crime. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  25. ^ Anderson, Curt (July 7, 2021). "Judge grants sentence delay for cooperating Gaetz associate". Associated Press. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  26. ^ Reid, Paula (October 5, 2021). "Gaetz associate asks to delay sentencing, continues to cooperate with federal investigation". CNN. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  27. ^ Shortell, David (October 18, 2021). "Gaetz ally Joel Greenberg is giving investigators new information, prosecutors say". CNN. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  28. ^ Kihara, David (February 14, 2022). "Gaetz 'wingman' granted another sentencing delay". Politico. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  29. ^ Dixon, Matt (May 16, 2022). "Sentencing for Gaetz 'wingman' delayed until August". Politico. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  30. ^ Dixon, Matt (July 8, 2022). "Gaetz 'wingman' gets new sentencing date". Politico. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  31. ^ Adelson, Eric; Schmidt, Michael S. (December 1, 2022). "Former Gaetz Confidant Is Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
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