Matt Gaetz Reportedly Sent $900 on Venmo to Indicted Tax Collector Buddy, Who Then Paid Three Young Women for ‘Tuition’ and ‘School’

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Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has vociferously denied any involvement in the underage sex trafficking scandal swirling around former Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg, but it seems that there are receipts. Literally. On his public-until-very-recently Venmo account.

According to a report by The Daily Beast, Gaetz paid Greenberg $900 through the phone payment app Venmo late one evening in May 2018. The next morning, Greenberg then used Venmo to pay three young women separate sums of money that added up to exactly $900. In the field on the app to describe the purpose of the payments, Greenberg said that the funds were for “Tuition,” “School,” and “School.”

One of the women who received one of these payments from Greenberg was just over 18 years old at the time, and reportedly now works in the porn industry. The Daily Beast reviewed Gaetz’s Venmo payments while his account was still public, and a source provided them with records from Greenberg’s Venmo account.

Greenberg is facing indictment for 33 federal charges, and news broke earlier Thursday that he was reportedly close to a plea deal with prosecutors, implying that he may have flipped on Gaetz.

There was at least one other woman who was connected to both Gaetz and Greenberg on Venmo, and records showing that Greenberg had issued her payments from a government-issued credit card, using taxpayer funds. Among the troubles facing Greenberg are allegations that he misappropriated or misspent government funds and resources. An October 2020 financial audit of the Seminole County Tax Collector’s Office found more than $300,000 in unauthorized or questionable expenditures.

Earlier this month, The New York Times reported that Gaetz and Greenberg also allegedly used ApplePay and CashApp to pay women for sex.