Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) is facing a federal lawsuit from two unidentified women who claim he and two other men sexually exploited them when they were in their early 20s. The complaint, filed Thursday in the Middle District of Florida, also names former Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg and former Florida state Rep. Chris Dorworth (R) as participants in what the plaintiffs describe as a sex-trafficking operation targeting "financially vulnerable" young women. Three dental practices tied to Greenberg are also listed as defendants. The Miami Herald first reported the filing.
The women, identified only as Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2, were 20 and 22 years old, respectively, when they met Gaetz, who was then a sitting congressman. The lawsuit alleges that between summer 2017 and December 2019, Gaetz and Greenberg "coordinated the recruitment, payments, drugs, and travel to obtain commercial sexual acts" from the accusers and others. It details trips to Venice Beach, Miami, Las Vegas, the Florida Keys, the Bahamas, and New York City.
"These trips took Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2 to places they had never been and into rooms with men they would never otherwise have met, and every part of that access, from the flights to the hotel rooms, was paid for by men, including the Defendants, who expected sex in return," the complaint states.
One woman claims she attended a July 2017 party at Dorworth's home in a gated Florida community, where drugs were circulating freely and Gaetz had sex with her in an upstairs guest bedroom. The other woman describes a similar experience. The lawsuit also alleges that Gaetz and Greenberg promised financial help—covering rent or college tuition—but often withheld full payments. "When the venture recruited Jane Doe 1, she had no meaningful savings and no stable income," the complaint says. "The venture used that need. They led her to believe they could solve her financial problems as long as she kept performing sexual acts for them and their associates."
Gaetz resigned from the House in 2024 after President Trump tapped him for attorney general, but he withdrew his nomination amid scrutiny over a House Ethics Committee probe into separate allegations that he paid a 17-year-old high school student for sex and used cocaine and ecstasy. The committee ultimately found "substantial evidence" of wrongdoing, including obstruction of its investigation. The Justice Department declined to charge Gaetz in its sex-trafficking investigation in 2023. Gaetz has consistently denied having sexual contact with a minor.
In a post on X Thursday, Gaetz dismissed the lawsuit: "Jane Doe Strikes Again!" he wrote. "Two adult women sued me today alleging they were sex trafficked to the Bahamas." He included an Instagram photo purportedly showing the accusers and another woman on the Caribbean island, adding, "I'm shocked nobody responded to their repeated cries for help, posted to instagram." The associated username appeared inactive by Thursday afternoon. Gaetz's representatives did not respond to a request for comment.
Greenberg, a central figure in the allegations, is serving an 11-year prison sentence after pleading guilty in 2021 to six federal counts, including sex trafficking of a minor. The lawsuit adds to Gaetz's mounting legal and political troubles. As lawsuits often force real accountability, this case could expose further details about the alleged operation. The filing also comes amid broader national attention on trafficking, such as the recent global crackdown that freed 117 trafficking victims from West African scam compounds.
