‘Uniquely Located:’ Ex-Seminole Tax Collector Joel Greenberg Will Likely To Speak Up, Says Attorney

ORLANDO, Fla. – The case against Joel Greenberg went to a federal judge on Thursday for a status hearing on the 33 charges he is facing. Greenberg was not present in court.

Greenberg’s attorney, Fritz Scheller, announced at the hearing that the former Seminole County Tax Collector would likely be pleading the trial sometime, but added that the deal is not yet finalized.

BREAKING – Former Seminole County tax collector Joel Greenberg’s attorney says he expects his client to file a plea in advance of his scheduled trial in June, but the plea deal has not yet been finalized. # News6 pic.twitter.com/4vmQVOTx94

– Mike DeForest (@ DeForestNews6) April 8, 2021

The defense also said they hope to have an agreement on May 15, but if no agreement is reached by then, they will appear in court.

The trial was also delayed to July, rather than the original June date, to account for the possibility that no deal could be reached. Scheller did not provide details of what a possible agreement might look like.

“If I get a plea deal in this case, I’m not going to sign it right away, I have to discuss it with my client and there is always some backlash in the negotiations,” he said, after the hearing outside the courthouse. .

The Greenberg investigation was recently linked to another Florida Republican, Rep. Matt Gaetz. The New York Times reported that the investigation into Greenberg led to another investigation into Gaetz surrounding allegations that he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old.

Gaetz has denied the charges, saying it is all part of a plot to extort money from his family and taint his name.

Scheller was asked whether Gaetz’s possible involvement in the investigation gave his client an advantage in plea negotiations.

“(If) Mr. Greenberg accepts a plea, or plea deal, that we want… it will show his sense of remorse – which he does have – a sense of acceptance of responsibility. No. 2, I think it’s uniquely situated, ”said Scheller.

When asked if the congressman should be concerned about the following news about this possible plea deal, Scheller said, “I’m sure Matt Gaetz isn’t very comfortable today.”

He later added, “When I said, ‘Matt Gaetz would be concerned,’ I mean … let me tell you what I’m basing that on. I’m not disclosing attorney-client privilege – I want to clarify that – but we’ve seen the number of stories, and the focus in recent days has been on the relationship between Matt Gaetz and Joel Greenberg, right? So I mean, (it) wouldn’t be obvious to assume he’d be concerned, you know, some. “

Greenberg resigned as a tax collector in June 2020, following his first arrest on federal stalking charges after investigators said he posted false messages online in an attempt to infect a political opponent.

The Seminole County Republican was later faced with more charges, including unlawful use of means to identify another person, submission of identification and false identification documents, aggravated identity theft, sex trafficking of a child and violation of the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act.

Recently, Greenberg received a third charge accusing him of embezzling more than $ 400,000 from the tax collectors’ office – using some of the money from his cryptocurrency side business – and filing fraudulent economic damage disaster relief loans, EIDLs, through the administration of the Small Business Administration. show. Those loans were created to help troubled businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Prior to his most recent indictment, an independent tax office audit led by Greenberg also found gross misuses of tax money, including the purchase of a sprinkler system to remotely spray petitioners, as well as tactical equipment and weapons.

Greenberg has been in prison since he was arrested in Jupiter in March for a bond violation. He pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.

Greenberg was to be charged in court on Friday, but documents filed Wednesday show that he has refrained from his appearance.

His attorney said Greenberg currently has no statement on the charges against him to the people who elected him in 2016.

Not because he doesn’t want to comment or make a statement. It’s because I told him not to. Okay, that could be, that could happen at a later date, ”said Scheller.

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