The former Seminole County Tax Collector, Joel Greenberg is facing a slew of charges this month over accusations that he used his position of authority to engage in child sex trafficking.
by Matt Agorist
He also faces stalking charges for allegedly using his position to go after political opponents.
Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg
Greenberg has been under fire since June when he was arrested on federal stalking charges. He allegedly stalked opponents, and made fake social media accounts in order to start rumors about his political opponent and paint the victim as a white supremacist.
The new allegations, however, are for crimes against children. According to the new federal indictment, Greenberg used fake IDs for individuals he was involved in “sugar daddy relationships” with and to engage in “commercial sex acts.”
This month he was indicted on six new charges for the alleged sex trafficking of an underage girl.
According to the indictment Greenberg illegally used a state database to look up information about the girl and other people with whom he was engaged in “sugar daddy” relationships.
At the time of the alleged crimes, ranging from March to November 2017, Greenberg knowingly recruited and solicited a minor to engage in sex acts, according to the indictment. The victim was between 14 and 17 years old, according to the federal indictment.
“We absolutely deny the allegations,” Vincent Citro, Greenberg’s defense attorney said. “The government will not be able to prove its case. We look forward to prevailing at trial.”
However, the evidence against him is pretty damning.
As the Orlando Sentinel reports:
During a search of the home, agents confiscated electronic equipment from the home, including Greenberg’s and his wife’s cell phones and computers, according to court documents.
Inside a backpack that was on a seat in Greenberg’s vehicle belonging to the Tax Collector’s Office, agents found several fake IDs, according to court records.
Agents also found materials used to create fake IDs at Greenberg’s office at the Tax Collector’s administrative office in Lake Mary.
Not only is Greenberg accused of using his position of authority to prey on children, he’s also accused of using his position for personal financial gain.
An investigation by the Orlando Sentinel discovered that Greenberg doled out $1.9 million in contracts and salaries to close friends, business partners and others to work in the Tax Collector’s Office, including half-a-dozen individuals who were part of his wedding party in mid-2016.
Greenberg also used his office to form a private company, charging taxpayers $65,860 to buy “computer servers.” When it was discovered, he had to pay the money back last year. However, he faced no consequences for it.
He even engaged in falsely representing himself as a cop using his tax collector badge to pull over a woman in 2017.
A month after that, he was stopped for speeding by Lake Mary Police and attempting to use his position to escape accountability. It didn’t work.
In total, Greenberg faces up to 12 federal charges including child sex trafficking, identity theft and stalking, producing false identification, and unlawful use of means of identification of another person.
He is due in court in an Aug. 27 arraignment.
What this case illustrates is the fact that child predators exist in every level of government, from the Prime Minister to the police officer, these predators often seek out position of authority as it grants them access to tools others do not have to carry out their sick desires.