Matt Gaetz Sued Over Sex Trafficking Allegations; Denies Wrongdoing

Two women seek damages in Florida

Former US Representative Matt Gaetz faces a federal civil lawsuit brought by two women who accuse him and other defendants of participating in a sex trafficking operation during his time in Congress. Gaetz, President Donald Trump’s initial choice for attorney general in November 2024, has denied wrongdoing and says he looks forward to disproving the allegations.

According to RT, the lawsuit was filed in Florida on Thursday, October 15, 2026. The plaintiffs, identified as Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2, allege sexual exploitation between 2017 and 2019 and seek unspecified damages under the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act.

The defendants named in the account include Joel Greenberg, a former tax collector for Seminole County, Florida, and Christopher Dorworth, a former Florida legislator. The filing presents the women’s allegations; it does not establish that Gaetz or the other defendants committed the acts alleged. The supplied report contains no court ruling on their claims.

What the complaint alleges

The complaint alleges that Greenberg used the dating website SeekingArrangement.com to recruit financially vulnerable young women and introduce them to Gaetz. Both plaintiffs were in their early twenties when they met the then-congressman, according to the report.

Jane Doe 1 alleges that Gaetz had sex with her and a 17-year-old girl at a party in July 2017 where narcotics were distributed. The complaint says he paid the minor $400 in cash and transferred $500 to Jane Doe 1 three days later. These are allegations attributed to the lawsuit, not independently confirmed transactions in this account.

The filing further alleges that Gaetz and Greenberg subsequently made at least 19 payments to Jane Doe 1, with individual amounts ranging from $150 to $1,000. Jane Doe 2 alleges that she first had sex with Gaetz in exchange for money in October 2017.

The women also accuse the defendants of supplying drugs and paying for travel to Miami, Las Vegas, the Bahamas and other destinations in exchange for sex. Their central allegation is that the men exploited the plaintiffs’ financial vulnerability through their official positions, resources and influence.

Gaetz rejects the accusations

Gaetz responded on X on Thursday with a photograph showing three women in swimsuits looking out over the ocean in the Bahamas. His accompanying comments mocked the lawsuit and questioned the women’s account by referring sarcastically to their Instagram posts.

He subsequently told reporters that he looked forward to disproving the allegations. That response sits alongside his longstanding denial of wrongdoing in relation to similar accusations.

The supplied account does not include responses from Dorworth or Greenberg to this particular lawsuit. Their positions on the new filing therefore cannot be established from the available material. Nor does the report provide the defendants’ formal court responses or describe any judicial assessment of the plaintiffs’ evidence.

Earlier investigations reached different procedural outcomes

Greenberg pleaded guilty in 2021 to federal offences that included sex trafficking of a minor and was sentenced to 11 years in prison. His conviction is distinct from the allegations now being brought against Gaetz and the other defendants; it does not itself establish their liability.

A separate Justice Department investigation involving Gaetz ended in 2023 without charges. That outcome is important context for the new lawsuit, which seeks civil damages rather than announcing a criminal prosecution.

In December 2024, the House Ethics Committee reported that it had found substantial evidence that Gaetz paid women for sex, including a 17-year-old girl, and used illegal drugs while serving in Congress. Those were findings of a congressional ethics inquiry, not a criminal conviction.

Gaetz had withdrawn from consideration for attorney general in November 2024 after several Republican senators indicated opposition over the allegations. The new civil filing follows that earlier political fallout, but its claims must be distinguished from both the ethics committee’s findings and the closed Justice Department investigation.

What remains unresolved

The report gives no hearing date, timetable for a ruling or specified damages amount. It also does not reproduce the underlying payment records or provide the full complaint. Whether the women can establish their claims, and how the defendants will answer them in court, remain unresolved in the material available.

For Indian readers following US institutions, the relevant distinction is between an accusation, an ethics finding and a judicial determination. The supplied account identifies no Indian connection to the alleged conduct. Its international significance lies in the involvement of a former candidate to lead the US Justice Department, rather than any documented consequence for India.