Two women sue Matt Gaetz and Joel Greenberg in Orlando federal court, alleging sex trafficking

Two women have filed a federal civil lawsuit in Orlando accusing former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, former Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg and former state Rep. Christopher Dorworth of taking part in a sex trafficking venture in Central Florida from 2017 to early 2019. The complaint alleges the men used money, travel and drugs to obtain sex from young women who had no stable income. Gaetz, who has never been charged with a crime, called much of the conduct alleged against him false.

The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida and became public Thursday. The women are identified in court papers only as Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2. The allegations have not been tested in court.

What the lawsuit alleges

According to the 33-page complaint, as described by the Miami Herald in a report published by the Tampa Bay Times, Jane Doe 1 was 20 and Jane Doe 2 was 22 when they were introduced to Gaetz in the summer of 2017. Both say they had no stable income when Greenberg recruited them, the Herald reported. The complaint contends Greenberg found women through the website SeekingArrangement.com and introduced them to a circle of men that included Gaetz and Dorworth, with drugs supplied at parties and private homes used for sexual encounters.

The plaintiffs allege they were sexually exploited in violation of a federal anti-trafficking law, according to The Associated Press. The suit claims the defendants arranged and paid for travel for the women, other alleged victims and political figures to Miami, Las Vegas, the Florida Keys and New York City.

Jane Doe 1 alleges she received more than $6,000 from Gaetz and Jane Doe 2 more than $4,000, with payment descriptions such as "Being my friend," "car deductible" and "Love you," according to the Herald. The complaint also alleges that Greenberg ran more than 150 transactions totaling over $70,000 between December 2016 and December 2018 to pay women for commercial sex, some charged to the tax collector's office American Express card.

Jane Doe 1 further alleges she witnessed Gaetz having sex with a girl who was 17 at the time. That girl, identified in the suit as "Victim A," is not a plaintiff. WKMG News 6 reported that the women accuse Dorworth of knowingly hosting a gathering at his Heathrow home.

"Every part of this venture ran on an exploitative power imbalance," the women's attorney, Spencer Kuvin, wrote in the lawsuit, according to the AP. "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."

Who is named

Besides Gaetz, Greenberg and Dorworth, the suit seeks damages from Greenberg Dental Associates LLC and other businesses tied to Greenberg's family, according to the Herald. WKMG reported that the women allege businesses affiliated with Greenberg's parents, Andrew and Susan Greenberg, helped fund the operation.

Fritz Scheller, an attorney who previously represented Joel Greenberg, told WKMG he has not been retained in this case but represented Greenberg in an earlier civil case in the same federal district that involved similar allegations. "Having sat through the tedium of that litigation, I was surprised and troubled to see Susan and Andrew Greenberg, as well as their associated entities, brought into this matter," Scheller told the station.

The Herald said it was unable to reach Dorworth, though it did reach his former attorney, who asked for a copy of the lawsuit. WKMG said it contacted attorneys for the defendants and did not immediately receive responses.

Gaetz's response

"I look forward to taking the plaintiffs' depositions because much of the conduct alleged against me is false," Gaetz said in a statement to the Miami Herald. "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."

Later Thursday, Gaetz posted on X a 2018 social media photo showing the backs of three young women in swimwear looking at the ocean in the Bahamas, according to the AP. "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," he wrote. The Herald reported that the post included a woman's name, and that Gaetz acknowledged to a Herald reporter he was not sure the photo showed either plaintiff.

Kuvin told the Herald he looks forward to deposing Gaetz under oath and penalty of perjury, something he noted the House committee was unable to do.

The road from investigation to lawsuit

The suit is the latest chapter in a scandal that has followed Gaetz, a Panhandle Republican, for years. A federal criminal investigation ended in 2023 without charges against him. Greenberg, one of the two friends the complaint says Gaetz relied on, pleaded guilty in 2021 to federal charges including sex trafficking of a minor, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, stalking and conspiracy, and is serving an 11-year prison sentence, according to the Herald and WKMG.

Gaetz resigned from Congress in November 2024 on the same day President Donald Trump nominated him to be U.S. attorney general, WKMG reported. Days later he withdrew from consideration, saying his confirmation was "unfairly becoming a distraction" to the incoming administration. A bipartisan House Ethics Committee investigation was in its final stages when he left.

The committee's report, released after his departure, found "substantial evidence" that Gaetz violated House rules and the law by paying for sex, including once with a 17-year-old girl; using illegal drugs including cocaine and ecstasy; accepting gifts of transportation and lodging beyond permissible amounts; and obstructing the committee's investigation, according to the Herald and the AP. Gaetz denied wrongdoing. The Herald reported that Kuvin's complaint incorporates much of that report's findings.

Where Gaetz is now

Gaetz, 44, hosts a political talk show on One America News Network. He was appointed last year to the board of Triumph Gulf Coast, which oversees the distribution of a $1.5 billion settlement from BP over the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, according to the Herald and the AP. The lawsuit does not involve that board.

What's next

The defendants will have the opportunity to respond to the complaint in the Middle District of Florida. Both sides have signaled the case could move toward depositions if it survives early motions. Because it is a civil case, the plaintiffs would need to prove their claims by a preponderance of the evidence to win damages; the suit carries no criminal penalties.