Joel Greenberg, the former confidant of Representative Matt Gaetz, has formally pleaded guilty to six federal charges, including sex trafficking a minor girl, in a court hearing in Orlando on Monday.

During the 45-minute, Greenberg spoke seldomly, only responding with “yes”, “I do” while the judge read the details of the plea agreement. 

The guilty plea from Greenberg, a former Florida tax commissioner, comes following a deal with federal prosecutors to avoid some of the other 33 federal charges he had faced that ranged from identity theft to fraud and bribery allegations.

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The plea deal will require him to give “substantial assistance” in other Justice Department investigations.

The deal was an ominous development for Gaetz, who is under investigation into whether he violated sex trafficking laws by paying the same 17-year-old girl for sex.

Although Gaetz’s name was not mentioned in court, Greenberg told investigators that he witnessed Gaetz have sex with the minor girl and that she was paid.

Meanwhile, Gaetz has denied ever paying anyone for sex.

Greenberg was elected as the tax collector in Seminole County, Fla., in 2016, casting himself as a Trump supporter who would root out corruption.

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But almost as soon as he took office, he began using taxpayer money to pay for sex and sought to ingratiate himself with up and coming Republicans in Florida state politics, like Gaetz, by providing them with drugs and access to women and girls, according to court documents.

In the plea agreement, Greenberg also admitted to falsely accusing a Florida teacher of having sex with a student in 2019. Greenberg allegedly targeted the teacher after he filed paperwork to oppose Greenberg for the county tax collector.