Former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz is now reportedly pushing back after being accused of sex trafficking in a new federal lawsuit, saying he looks forward to finally confronting his accusers.
The civil suit, filed Monday in the Middle District of Florida, names Gaetz as a defendant along with former Seminole County tax collector Joel Greenberg and former Florida Republican state House member Christopher Dorworth.
Gaetz denied much of what the lawsuit alleges in a statement to the Miami Herald.
“I look forward to taking the plaintiffs’ depositions because much of the conduct alleged against me is false,” Gaetz said.
“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,” he added.
Greenberg previously pleaded guilty to multiple federal offenses, including sex trafficking of a child.
The allegations in the lawsuit come from two women identified as Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2 and center on incidents that allegedly took place between 2017 and 2019.
The women were allegedly 20 and 22 years old when they were introduced to Gaetz.
Jane Doe 1 claims she witnessed Gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old girl. Both women allege they were paid thousands of dollars by Gaetz, with the lawsuit claiming he described the payments with labels such as “Being my friend” and “car deductible.”
The women also claim they were supplied with drugs to “facilitate sexual encounters.”
According to the lawsuit, the women were found by Greenberg on the website SeekingArangement.com, where they were allegedly recruited and then introduced to men, including Gaetz.
The suit further alleges that Gaetz used the other defendants to conceal his direct involvement in funding travel for the girls who were recruited.
Attorney Spencer Kuvin, who represents the plaintiffs, said his team has obtained text messages that they believe will prove their case. Kuvin accused Gaetz and the other men of having “coordinated recruitment, payments, drugs, and travel to obtain commercial sexual acts.”
“The text messages we have we believe are incredibly damaging to Mr. Gaetz and Mr. Greenberg,” Kuvin told WPTV.
The lawsuit is tied to accusations that were already made public through the House Ethics Committee’s investigation into Gaetz. That probe found “substantial evidence” that Gaetz used illegal drugs and paid for sex with a minor, allegations Gaetz has long denied.
The Department of Justice previously declined to bring charges against Gaetz.
Gaetz resigned from Congress in November 2024 amid the ethics investigation. At the time, he had been nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as attorney general.
The former congressman has repeatedly maintained his innocence, and his latest statement makes clear he intends to challenge the allegations head-on as the case moves forward.
The lawsuit marks the latest chapter in a long-running saga surrounding the Florida Republican, who has consistently disputed the claims against him.
Now, with the case heading into civil court, Gaetz says he will get the opportunity he argues was denied to him during the congressional investigation: the chance to question the women making the accusations against him.
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