Former Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz has been accused by two women of participating in an alleged sex trafficking scheme in a federal civil lawsuit filed in a U.S. district court.

“I look forward to taking the plaintiffs’ depositions because much of the conduct alleged against me is false,” Gaetz said in a statement, according 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,” he added.

More from the Miami Herald:

The 33-page complaint, filed Monday in the Middle District of Florida, details how the former Congressman used two of his friends, now-convicted ex-Seminole County tax collector Joel Greenberg, and former Florida GOP House member Christopher Dorworth, to coordinate the recruitment of young women whom they supplied with drugs in order to facilitate sexual encounters, according to the lawsuit. The incidents occurred from 2017 to January 2019.

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The Miami Herald was unsuccessful in reaching Dorworth, but did reach his former attorney who asked for a copy of the lawsuit.

Jane Doe 1 was 20, and Jane Doe 2 was 22 when they were introduced to Gaetz in the summer of 2017, according to the lawsuit. Both of the women said they had no stable income when they were recruited by Greenberg, who is now serving an 11-year federal prison sentence after pleading guilty in 2021 to sex trafficking of a minor, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, stalking and conspiracy.

The plaintiffs allege Gaetz, Greenberg and Dorworth s participated in or financially supported a system that exploited young, vulnerable women, including through paid sex encounters and the use of controlled substances.

The complaint contends that Greenberg recruited the women through the website SeekingArangement.com, then introduced them to a circle of men that included Gaetz and Dorworth. The drugs were supplied to the women at parties and private homes used for the sexual encounters.

Jane Doe 1 also alleges that she witnessed Gaetz having sex with a girl who was 17 at the time. The girl, identified in the suit as “Victim A,” is not one of the plaintiffs.

Jane Doe 1 alleges she received more than $6,000 and Jane Doe 2 received more than $4,000 from Gaetz, with payment descriptions such as “Being my friend,” and “car deductible” and “Love you.”

“The defendants collectively used their public office, power, and wealth to prey on the economic vulnerability of Plaintiffs to commit the acts,” the lawsuit read, according to The Guardian.

“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,” Gaetz said Thursday.

“I don’t know if this is Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2 or not. But if it is they seemed to portray their Bahamian trip differently on social media than in their lawsuit seeking money,” Gaetz added, according to the outlet.

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The Guardian shared further:

The congressional report Gaetz refers to was part of a bipartisan House ethics committee investigation into his alleged misconduct. That investigation was terminated when he resigned in November 2024 from his north Florida congressional seat shortly after being nominated by Donald Trump to become attorney general.

The investigation found evidence that he made payments of tens of thousands of dollars to women for sex and drugs on at least 20 occasions.

Gaetz subsequently withdrew from the controversial nomination amid intense scrutiny of the allegations sexual misconduct, saying they were “becoming a distraction to the critical work” of the then upcoming second Trump administration.

 

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