U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz‘s friend and ally, Joel Greenburg, an accused sex trafficker who now sits in jail facing 33 federal felony charges, made “more than 150 Venmo payments to dozens of young women,” one of whom was 17 years old at the time, The Daily Beast reports Wednesday night.
The Florida Republican Congressman also made a payment, to Greenburg directly, for $300, with a unique emoji: “🏩” which The Daily Beast reports stands for “love hotel.”
The payment “to the 17-year-old took place in June 2017. It was for $300 and, according to the memo field, was for ‘Food.'”
“Nearly a year after Greenberg’s June 2017 payment” to the 17-year old, “Gaetz Venmo’d Greenberg to ‘Hit up ___,’ using a nickname for the teen. She was 18 years old by then, and as The Daily Beast reported, Greenberg described the payment as being for ‘School.'”
“Greenberg paid multiple young women (and at least one girl) hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of dollars on Venmo in one transaction after another,” according to the Beast, which reviewed years of transactions and calls it “an alleged sex ring.”
“In the Venmo transactions reviewed by The Daily Beast, however, there are at least 16 payments in 2017 totaling nearly $5,000 to a woman who would later go on to date Matt Gaetz. Additionally, Greenberg paid her $1,500 over the course of two days in April 2017 using Cash App. That woman—who came to Washington, D.C. as an intern in January 2018—has said she dated Gaetz during and after her senior year in college.”
Daily Beast reporter Matt Fuller (who is not bylined on the article) tweeted out some of the details from the piece:
Gaetz, while denying any wrongdoing, has confirmed he is under investigation by the Dept. of Justice, reportedly for sex trafficking of a minor, having a sexual relationship with a 17-year old girl, and illegal drug use. He is also accused of showing naked photos of women he slept with to members of Congress on the House floor.
Read the entire Daily Beast report here.
Related: Women Describe Parties They Attended With Matt Gaetz Fueled by Sex, Cocaine, and Cash Apps: Report