- 4 women told The Daily Beast they felt pressured to have sex with
Joel Greenberg . - Greenberg came to prominence for his association with Rep.
Matt Gaetz . - Gaetz is being investigated over trafficking allegations.
Four women told The Daily Beast that they felt pressured to have sex with Joel Greenberg, a former Florida tax collector known for his association with Rep. Matt Gaetz.
The publication interviewed 12 women, on condition of anonymity, who discussed their experiences with Greenberg.
Of those interviewed, 10 told the outlet that they felt pressured to drink alcohol or take drugs before sex, and four said they felt pressured to have sex with Greenberg.
One woman said she had sex with Greenberg and another woman after being plied with drugs.
"I was under the influence of so many drugs," the woman told the outlet. "I would not have agreed to the other woman being there. I wasn't really in a position to say I didn't want to do this. I wasn't in my right mind. I was in over my head and it was kind of scary."
The publication notes that none of the women used the words "sexual assault" to describe the encounters, and says the encounters encompassed a "spectrum of experiences."
None of the women implicated Gaetz in their encounters with Greenberg.
Four of the women said Greenberg had offered to introduce them to a "congressman" they understood to be Gaetz. One of the women said she attended a 2017 party where Gaetz was among 10 guests present, and she left because she felt uncomfortable.
Many of the women described a pattern of meeting Greenberg online, being paid for sex, taking drugs and being invited to participate in group sex. Several also said he offered to introduce them to influential friends.
Insider has contacted Greenberg's attorney, Fritz Scheller, for comment on the report. Scheller declined to comment when contacted by The Daily Beast.
In a statement to the publication, a spokesman for Gaetz said: "Despite The Daily Beast's extensive review of Congressman Gaetz's life, the only allegations of impropriety seem to be about Mr. Greenberg, not Gaetz."
In March it was reported that Gaetz was under investigation over sex trafficking allegations.
He has adamantly denied any wrongdoing.
The investigation into Gaetz stems from a separate probe into Greenberg, who stepped down as tax collector for Florida's Seminole County after being charged with a slew of crimes, including financial crimes and seeking to smear a political rival.