Gaetz associate asks to delay sentencing, continues to cooperate with federal investigation

By CNN Newsource

Published October 5, 2021 10:52 AM

By Paula Reid

A lawyer for Joel Greenberg, the former Florida tax collector with close ties to Rep. Matt Gaetz, has asked a federal judge to delay his federal sentencing for the second time while he continues to cooperate with the federal government.

Greenberg is currently scheduled to be sentenced on November 18 after a judge granted a previous request to reschedule it from August 19. Now Greenburg’s attorney, Fritz Scheller, is asking to push the sentencing back five months to March 2022.

In May, Greenberg formally pleaded guilty to six federal charges, admitting to a federal judge that he had knowingly solicited and paid a minor for sex.

The guilty plea from Greenberg, a former tax commissioner for Seminole County, Florida, came after he struck a deal with federal prosecutors to avoid some of the other 33 federal charges he had faced, ranging from identity theft to fraud and bribery allegations.

As part of the plea agreement detailed in court filings, Greenberg has agreed to give “substantial assistance” to prosecutors as part of their sprawling investigation, including by testifying at trials or in federal grand juries if needed, and turning over all documents he might have that could help the federal inquiry.

In his latest motion to delay, Scheller writes that his client has been “cooperating with the Government and has participated in a series of proffers,” or meetings with prosecutors. He says his client expects to participate in additional sessions and that cooperation could impact his eventual sentence.

“Because Mr. Greenberg’s ongoing cooperation involves sensitive matters concerning ongoing investigations, he requests that the parties be allowed to provide additional information regarding Mr. Greenberg’s cooperation to the Court under seal, if deemed necessary,” Scheller writes.

In his motion, Scheller says the government does not oppose this delay.

Federal investigators are still examining whether Gaetz broke federal sex trafficking, prostitution, and public corruption laws and whether he had sex with a minor, according to sources familiar with the case. They are also looking at whether Gaetz or his associates engaged in obstruction of justice, sources say.

Gaetz has denied all allegations against him and has not been charged with any crimes.

Greenberg, a central figure in the ongoing investigation into Gaetz, has been providing investigators with information since last year, including information about encounters he and the Florida Republican had with women who were given cash or gifts in exchange for sex, a source familiar with the case confirms to CNN.

CNN’s Tierney Sneed contributed to this report.