Former member of Congress Matthew Gaetz and others are named in a federal civil lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Filed in federal court on October 15, 2026, the suit brought by Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2 alleges that Gaetz, former Florida Republican State Rep. Christopher Dorworth, and ex-Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg operated a sex trafficking scheme that leveraged the defendants’ age, positions of power, and financial status against the plaintiffs from 2017 to 2019. The civil action, brought under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), names Gaetz and others for using illegal drugs like MDMA and payments disguised as gifts to recruit and coerce the Does, with reckless disregard, into commercial sex acts. It accuses the defendants, along with AWG Inc. and a trio of Greenberg Dental companies, of both perpetrator and beneficiary liability through sex trafficking.
Gaetz, who saw his nomination by President-elect Donald Trump to become Attorney General sink under a Congressional investigation of sexual misconduct, has denied wrongdoing. This includes allegations that he had sex with an underage 17-year-old girl identified as “Victim A” in the suit. Greenberg pleaded guilty in 2021 to six federal offenses, including sex trafficking of a minor. He is currently serving 11 years in federal prison.
The Federal Investigation and House Ethics Findings
Born into a family considered a Florida political dynasty, Gaetz rose through the state House before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2016, the first of five consecutive elections he’d win. Brash and confrontational, Gaetz quickly became known as a fierce and loyal ally of President Trump.
Gaetz was accused of child sex trafficking and statutory rape in 2020. The federal investigation became public in March 2021. The House Ethics Committee began its own investigation in April 2021 but deferred its review at the Justice Department’s request. It reauthorized the investigation and in June 2024, the committee announced a narrowing of its focus on Gaetz to sexual misconduct, illicit drug use, and acceptance of impermissible gifts. After winning re-election in November 2024, Gaetz was nominated to be the next U.S. Attorney General. Following the nomination announcement, he resigned from the House. Eight days later, he withdrew from consideration for the AG position amid scrutiny of sexual misconduct allegations and the Ethics Committee investigation.
The House Ethics Committee released its 2024 House Ethics Committee report. The committee found “substantial evidence” that Gaetz had “violated House Rules, state and federal laws, and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, acceptance of impermissible gifts, the provision of special favors and privileges, and obstruction of Congress.” This included allegedly engaging in sexual activity with a 17-year-old girl and paying for commercial sexual acts. The committee’s findings were not a court judgment and no charges were filed against Gaetz.
With his resignation from the House, the House lost jurisdiction to discipline or issue sanctions. The committee found insufficient evidence to conclude that Gaetz violated the federal child sex trafficking statute. Separately, it concluded that substantial evidence supported a violation of Florida’s statutory rape law.
Abusing a Position of Power
Jane Doe 1 was 20 and Jane Doe 2 was 22 when they were recruited through SeekingArrangement.com (now Seeking.com), an online dating platform that specializes in matching wealthy older adults with younger partners. The plaintiffs allege that Gaetz and Greenberg, who were significantly older and possessed political positions of power, recruited them with knowing coercion and fraud into commercial sex acts over their time together, plying them with drugs and alcohol while keeping them financially dependent. They claim that this caused emotional distress, humiliation, and loss of enjoyment of life. The Does seek a jury trial against the defendants to recover damages.
Gaetz, who refused to be interviewed by the House Ethics Committee during its investigation and defied a subpoena compelling his presence, has said he looks forward to taking the plaintiffs' depositions.
The plaintiffs look to Greenberg’s prior guilty pleas and the Congressional Committee Report as corroboration of their claims. However, this is not a substitute for proving the two adult plaintiffs' own trafficking claims and that each defendant caused their injuries.
