Joel Greenberg, who has pleaded guilty to sex trafficking in connection to the federal investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), has reportedly been providing the Justice Department with new information, according to CNN.
Roger Handberg, an assistant US attorney, reportedly said that Greenberg has made allegations to investigators that “take us to some places we did not anticipate” during a brief hearing in Orlando federal court on Monday.
“What investigators do is they follow up on that to try to corroborate the information that’s been provided,” Handberg said, according to CNN.
CNN reported that Greenberg’s lawyer said that his client has held a series of meeting with the Justice Department, following his plea agreement that required him to give “substantial assistance” to investigators as they build out related cases
Handberg did not indicate what investigations Greenberg was providing new information to authorities about. However, Greenberg has detailed sexual encounters that he and Gaetz allegedly had with women they gave cash or gifts to.
According to CNN, Handberg characterized Greenberg as a “prolific criminal.”
“Mr. Greenberg was not alone,” Handberg said, according to CNN.
Gaetz, who is currently under investigation, has not been charged and maintains that he has not had sex with an underage woman.
Monday’s hearing was held after Greenberg filed a motion in July to delay his sentencing hearing to give him more time to cooperate with prosecutors. Greenberg’s attorney argued that his client’s cooperation, which “could impact his ultimate sentence” in the case, “cannot be completed prior to the time of” his hearing, which was previously scheduled for August 19. The DOJ did not oppose the request.
Although Handberg reportedly called the need for a second delay “unusual,” he noted that the DOJ was in an “unusual situation given the number of different investigations and lines of investigation we are pursuing.”
Handberg stated that this would be the last extension the DOJ needed, and a judge agreed to proceed with a delay of the sentencing hearing until March.
According to CNN, Fritz Scheller, Greenberg’s lawyer, told the court that the sentencing delay was “critical” to his client in order for his client to give prosecutors all the relevant details he had. The DOJ could seek a more lenient prison sentence for Greenberg depending on the extent of his cooperation.
