John Greenberg, the Florida tax collector who cooperated with the Justice Department in a sex-trafficking probe into Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida), was sentenced Thursday to 11 years in prison by a federal judge in Florida.
Greenberg faced up to 30 years in jail for several crimes, including trafficking a 17-year-old girl and stealing $400,000 in taxpayer money to buy cryptocurrencies and sports memorabilia.
His collaboration with the investigations into Gaetz, however, granted him a lesser sentence.
“He has provided substantial cooperation to the government — more than I’ve seen in 22 years,” Judge Gregory Presnell said.
Presnell added he was impressed by the number and diversity of crimes committed by Greenberg, who pleaded guilty to underage sex trafficking, wire fraud, stalking, identity theft, producing a fake ID card, and conspiring to defraud the U.S. government.
“I have never seen a defendant who has committed so many different types of crimes in such a relatively short period,” said Presnell.
Greenberg is in custody since early 2021 and will get credit for the time served. After the sentence, he tried to apologize for his actions.
“Nothing that I say today could justify my actions,” Greenberg said. “I feel such remorse for what I’ve done.”
