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Matt Gaetz Is Said to Be Investigated Over Possible Sexual Relationship With a Girl, 17

An inquiry into the Florida congressman was opened in the final months of the Trump administration, people briefed on it said.

Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida and a close ally of former President Donald J. Trump, is being investigated by the Justice Department over whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old and paid for her to travel with him, according to three people briefed on the matter.

Investigators are examining whether Mr. Gaetz violated federal sex trafficking laws, the people said. A variety of federal statutes make it illegal to induce someone under 18 to travel over state lines to engage in sex in exchange for money or something of value. The Justice Department regularly prosecutes such cases, and offenders often receive severe sentences.

It was not clear how Mr. Gaetz met the girl, believed to be 17 at the time of encounters about two years ago that investigators are scrutinizing, according to two of the people.

The investigation was opened in the final months of the Trump administration under Attorney General William P. Barr, the two people said. Given Mr. Gaetz’s national profile, senior Justice Department officials in Washington — including some appointed by Mr. Trump — were notified of the investigation, the people said.

The three people said that the examination of Mr. Gaetz, 38, is part of a broader investigation into a political ally of his, a local official in Florida named Joel Greenberg, who was indicted last summer on an array of charges, including sex trafficking of a child and financially supporting people in exchange for sex, at least one of whom was an underage girl.

Mr. Greenberg, who has since resigned his post as tax collector in Seminole County, north of Orlando, visited the White House with Mr. Gaetz in 2019, according to a photograph that Mr. Greenberg posted on Twitter.

No charges have been brought against Mr. Gaetz, and the extent of his criminal exposure is unclear.

Mr. Gaetz said in an interview that his lawyers had been in touch with the Justice Department and that they were told he was the subject, not the target, of an investigation. “I only know that it has to do with women,” Mr. Gaetz said. “I have a suspicion that someone is trying to recategorize my generosity to ex-girlfriends as something more untoward.”

A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment, as did a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Central Florida.

Mr. Greenberg pleaded not guilty last year and was sent to jail this month for violating the terms of his bail. He is scheduled to go on trial in June in Orlando.

A frequent presence on Fox News and other conservative media, Mr. Gaetz has recently mused with confidants about quitting elected politics and taking a full-time job with the conservative television channel Newsmax or another network, according to a person familiar with the conversations. Axios first reported on Tuesday that Mr. Gaetz was considering leaving Congress.

Mr. Greenberg maintained ties to controversial figures who have supported Mr. Trump, an examination of court records, social media posts and far-right websites showed. A website run by a member of the far-right group the Proud Boys and a network of fake social media accounts linked to Mr. Trump’s longtime political adviser Roger J. Stone Jr. have promoted false accusations about Mr. Greenberg’s rivals similar to rumors that prosecutors accused Mr. Greenberg of secretly trying to spread.

It was not clear how Mr. Greenberg knew either Mr. Gaetz or Mr. Stone. He posted a selfie with both in 2017, tweeting, “Great catching up.” The following year, Mr. Gaetz expressed support for Mr. Greenberg’s successful bid for local office, predicting he would someday make a great member of Congress.

On Capitol Hill, Mr. Gaetz has embraced the role of villain to the left as much as he has served as one of Mr. Trump’s staunchest defenders and enablers, often with theatrical flair. He wore a gas mask on the House floor last year in the early days of the pandemic, insisting he was demonstrating concern for public safety amid accusations he was mocking the seriousness of the spread of the coronavirus.

Mr. Gaetz was first elected to Congress in 2016. As a member of the Florida State Legislature and the scion of a Republican political family, he had initially backed former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida in the Republican presidential primary that year before hitching his political fortunes to Mr. Trump.

It paid off. He won a seat in Congress representing part of the Florida Panhandle, and as one of Mr. Trump’s most flamboyant supporters on Capitol Hill and on cable television, his profile skyrocketed.

Mr. Gaetz invited a right-wing Holocaust skeptic to the State of the Union address in 2018, and attended an event last year where he said the Proud Boys had provided security, though he has distanced himself from the group on his podcast. When Democrats moved in 2019 to impeach Mr. Trump for the first time, Mr. Gaetz and a phalanx of Republicans following him barged past Capitol Police into the secure rooms of the House Intelligence Committee to briefly break up the investigation into the president.

After Mr. Trump’s defeat last year, Mr. Gaetz once again rallied to his side, defending the president’s baseless claims of widespread election fraud. Mr. Gaetz helped organize efforts among lawmakers to challenge President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory during Congress’s certification of it on Jan. 6 that was disrupted for hours by a pro-Trump mob that stormed the Capitol. Mr. Gaetz later traveled to Wyoming to hold a rally against Representative Liz Cheney, a Republican leader who had voted to impeach Mr. Trump for inciting the riot.

In 2017, Mr. Gaetz was the only member of Congress to vote against a law that gave the federal government more power and money to fight human trafficking.

“Voters in Northwest Florida did not send me to Washington to go and create more federal government,” Mr. Gaetz said in a local television interview at the time. “If anything, we should be abolishing a lot of the agencies at the federal level.”

Mr. Gaetz’s personal life has gained attention before. Last summer, he announced that he had a son, Nestor Galban, 19, though Mr. Gaetz said he was not Mr. Galban’s biological father, nor had he adopted him. Mr. Galban had been 12 when they met and had come to the United States from Cuba; Mr. Gaetz was at the time dating Mr. Galban’s sister.

“He is a part of my family story,” Mr. Gaetz told People magazine in June. “My work with Nestor, our family, no element of my public service could compare to the joy that our family has brought me.”

Mr. Gaetz proposed to his girlfriend, Ginger Luckey, at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club on Dec. 30.

It was unclear how investigators in the Greenberg case began examining Mr. Gaetz’s conduct. Last June, federal prosecutors secured an indictment against Mr. Greenberg, accusing him of stalking a political rival.



Around that time, federal authorities seized Mr. Greenberg’s phone and laptop, according to court records. They discovered evidence that Mr. Greenberg, whose job responsibilities included issuing licenses, was creating fake identification cards for himself and a teenage girl, and was experimenting with holograms used on permits for concealed firearms, according to court documents.

Two months later, he was indicted on the sex trafficking charge. From May to November 2017, prosecutors said, Mr. Greenberg targeted the girl, who was between 14 and 17, saying he “recruited” and “solicited” her for sex acts in exchange for unspecified perks or favors.

Mr. Greenberg worked in advertising before running successfully at the age of 31 in 2016 for tax collector in Seminole County.

Within days of taking office, he fired three employees who had supported his predecessor and began spending more than $1.5 million in taxpayer money on personal expenses, including guns, ammunition, body armor and a drone, as well as on computers for his own cryptocurrency venture, a county audit later revealed.

The following year, according to The Orlando Sentinel, Mr. Greenberg posted a photograph of himself on social media with Milo Yiannopoulos, a right-wing personality who has a history of making racist remarks. The newspaper also detailed Mr. Greenberg’s own misogynist and anti-Muslim comments on Facebook.

In his bid for re-election, Mr. Greenberg turned in late 2019 to clandestine tactics to undermine a possible rival, according to court papers. Prosecutors said he sent an anonymous letter to the school where one potential candidate worked that made unfounded accusations of sexual misconduct with a student and making similar claims on a fake Facebook account.

As the primary race intensified last summer, similar messaging began appearing on fake social media accounts that have been tied to Mr. Stone.

“Watch out Seminole county,” said someone named April Goad on Facebook, warning Floridians “don’t open your door” to the rival candidate, according to Graphika, a company that specializes in analyzing social media.

The post linked to an article about the rival published on Central Florida Post, a website controlled by Mr. Stone’s associates that had written favorable articles about Mr. Greenberg. The website was founded by a member of the Proud Boys who has been linked to security providers for Mr. Stone on Jan. 6 in Washington in the lead-up to the insurrection at the Capitol.

Mr. Greenberg’s re-election efforts quickly evaporated when he was first indicted last June, and he resigned a day later.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/30/us/politics/matt-gaetz-sex-trafficking-investigation.html

Well of course he's a pedo and child sex trafficker... it had to come from somewhere for them to project it onto dems.

I don't care what anyone's political affiliation is.... anyone who is involved in sex trafficking (modern day slavery) should have the book thrown at them...

That is what you get charged with when you are a 30+ adult and take a minor across state lines.

The Florida age of consent is 18...

https://www.ageofconsent.net/states/florida

The Florida Age of Consent is 18 years old. In the United States, the age of consent is the minimum age at which an individual is considered legally old enough to consent to participation in sexual activity. Individuals aged 17 or younger in Florida are not legally able to consent to sexual activity, and such activity may result in prosecution for statutory rape.

Florida statutory rape law is violated when a person has consensual sexual intercourse with an individual under Age 18. Close in age exemptions exist, allowing minors aged 16 or 17 to engage in sexual intercourse with a partner no older than age 23.

He claims its extortion.

if I read it correctly he paid for a 17 year old to come across state lines... his buddy is also being charged with sex trafficking... if true both should be locked up for a long time...

He will have to pony up some evidence of that.

What about his "son" Nestor?!? That's a weird one.

This news also came about yesterday just before the story broke that AG Barr and now AG Garland are investigating Gaetz.

I agree that he does, and he put the onus on himself to do so as well. We'll see if he actually follows through, or goes with a conspiracy theory.

I actually watched his interview on Tucker Carlson last night. He pinpointed to David McGee, who he alleges is the extortioner. The guy is a partner at Beggs & Lane law firm in Pensacola, FL. I actually looked up the guy, and was surprised to see that he is I'm guessing around 70 years old. Used to work as a prosecutor for the DOJ, and received multiple awards.

Gaetz alleges that McGee is the one who has extorted his family, along with other former DOJ officials, to the point where Gaetz' dad collaborated with the DOJ and wore a wire in order to provide the DOJ with evidence of the extortion. Gaetz actually called on the DOJ to release those recordings. McGee has, of course, denied everything.

So - to me - this goes one of two ways. Either the tapes get produced and the extortion is present. Gaetz is absolved. Or, they don't get produced and Gaetz hides behind some conspiracy theory (which he has been known to do). The latter case would aso lend credence to the fact that Gaetz actually committed the act, because why would you develop some crazy lie about it?

I do have to say I'm no fan of Tucker Carlson because of his skewed usage of sensationalism, and his embracement of what I would consider to be the "villains of the Right," but even he distanced himself from Gaetz in the interview. He didn't come down on him, but he definitely kept him at arms' length and didn't buy into what Gaetz' was alleging.

I agree 100%

Gaetz hasn't been convicted yet.. so I'll reserve final judgement.. But if he did this, he needs to go to jail for a long long time.

The thing is, even if it is extortion, and if so whoever is extorting him should be prosecuted, but even if it is, that doesn't mean he wasn't also participating is the illegal act. Obviously we need more evidence either way. If they found out and then tried to extort him instead of turning him over to authorities, they are just as bad as he is.

Just saying, there is a 3rd possibility here that both the extortion, and the sex trafficking are true. We'll have to wait and see.

My thought exactly ... you can only extort someone who is guilty and hiding something!! Whatever the truth is - I hope it comes out. If he's guilty prosecute and convict, if he is innocent clear his name.

I think the (alleged) files creating fake id might be pretty damning at this point, assuming that report is true.

Wouldn't it be bribery, then? Not sure if the definition of extortion means that Gaetz is guilty/innocent.

Regardless, you guys are correct. Two different situations that should be investigated.

Yeah, that's true. What I left out - and shouldn't have - is that Gaetz says the story is fabricated, as well. Basically, that these were falsehoods perpetuated alongside the extortion. There definitely could be a scenario C, where both happened.

I don't know and I'm not going to venture a guess as to his guilt or innocence. But when your dad is wearing a wire, it sounds a lot more like he is helping in an investigation to gather evidence than an extortion scheme.

According to Gaetz, he was wearing the wire to try to gather evidence of the extortion (communicating with the extortioner, etc.).

It's hard for me to set aside my preconceived notions in this one, but I'll be interested to see where this goes.

My best guess at the moment is this is all leading up to Gaetz claiming the DOJ is part of the deep state and what is actually an investigation is what he will try to twist into claiming is extortion.

Haha, I definitely won’t argue with you, especially given how disjointed his interview was...but like I said, I will try to keep my preconceived notions out of it.

If I were to bet though...

Just as an interesting side note.

In 2017 Gaetz was the lone vote against a human trafficking bill.

Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz was literally the only person to vote against an anti-human trafficking bill

https://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/arch...rafficking-bill

Hmmm.....

If Gaetz had sex with a 17 year old, especially if he was paying her, giving her "favors", or coercing her then I agree 100%. The article is very light on facts surrounding his relationship with this girl.. and very long on political background. Reads like they have a lot more on this Greenberg guy and they are still working on the Gaetz part...

There is no place in this world for trafficking of people..

Speaking of 2017...this is less than ideal to have resurface...

Well...you know...you can't have too much Government!

j/c...

His name is David McGee and he works for Beggs & Lane law firm. Older gentleman. Their website reveals some of his history in the legal profession.

A plausible scenario is that Gaetz contacted the law firm and had some sort of interaction with McGee that became the subject of a dispute. He can call it extortion, but we do not know the details or circumstances.

It is a separate matter from the investigation that the DOJ has underway.

From what I understand after listening to his disjointed interview, Gaetz was saying that this guy was trying to extort him by making up the story about the 17 year old girl and reporting it to the DOJ. Additional stories have also come out that don't link McGee to it at all. Saying that the investigation of Gaetz springs from the previous investigation of Greenberg.

I think Gaetz himself is actually the only one who has linked McGee to the story about the 17 year old.

Well, perhaps I was off the mark after all. The interview was all over the place, and Gaetz kept calling on the DOJ to "release the tapes." I understood it that Gaetz was saying McGee fabricated the whole thing, but this article reports to say that Gaetz is alleging McGee offered to "make the whole thing go away" for healthy sum of cash ($25M if I'm correct).

--------------

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) did not deny Tuesday night that the Justice Department is investigating him for sex trafficking, related to his alleged sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl two years ago, but he did say in a bizarre Fox News interview that the 17-year-old girl does not exist, that he had no sexual relationships with minors, and, oddly, that there are no "pictures of me with child prostitutes."

Gaetz also elaborated on his allegation that a former Justice Department official was trying to extort him to make the "horrible sex trafficking allegations against me go away," naming the former official as David McGee, now a lawyer in private practice. McGee told The Daily Beast on Tuesday night that any reports of extortion involving him or his law firm are "completely, totally false," adding, "This is a blatant attempt to distract from the fact that Matt Gaetz is apparently about to be indicted for sex trafficking underage girls."

Katie Benner, one of the New York Times reporters who broke the story of the months-old DOJ sex trafficking investigation, told MSNBC Tuesday night that McGee — who she did not identify by name — is not involved in the investigation and suggested Gaetz is trying to deflect attention in a very odd, self-immolating way. "He is basically destroying and blowing up an FBI investigation" into alleged extortion against his family, she noted.


Gaetz, 38, got engaged to girlfriend Ginger Luckey in December, but he told Axios earlier Tuesday that "I have definitely, in my single days, provided for women I've dated. You know, I've paid for flights, for hotel rooms. I've been, you know, generous as a partner. I think someone is trying to make that look criminal when it is not." He added that he is "absolutely" confident none of the women were underage.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/matt-gaetz-blew-fbi-extortion-042700202.html

Gaetz friendship with Greenberg (see above) was the implied linkage. Greenberg is in the same predicament.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/...xtortion-scheme



Documents detail wild alleged $25M Gaetz extortion scheme
by Emily Brooks, Political Reporter & Joseph Simonson, Political Reporter | | March 31, 2021 04:50 PM
Print this article


Rep. Matt Gaetz possesses text message screenshots, an email, and a typed document that purportedly support his claims that a federal investigation into his relationship with a 17-year-old is related to an extortion scheme against him.

On Tuesday, the New York Times reported that the Justice Department is investigating whether Gaetz had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old and paid her to travel with him. Gaetz has called the report "totally false." Gaetz told Axios that his lawyers told him that he "was not a target but a subject of an investigation regarding sexual conduct with women."

The Florida Republican countered the report on Twitter and in statements to Axios and Fox News with a claim that his family is being extorted for $25 million and that the people pushing stories about an investigation into his relationships with women are the people extorting him and the subjects of an FBI extortion investigation over the last few weeks.

The documents in Gaetz's possession detail an alleged scheme that revolves around attempts by former Air Force intelligence officer Bob Kent and Beggs & Lane attorney David McGee, a former federal prosecutor, to free ex-FBI agent-turned-private investigator Robert Levinson from imprisonment in Iran.

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Levinson went missing in Iran in March 2007. McGee is the attorney for the Levinson family. Kent in December 2018 had planned a secret mission to try to rescue Levinson, but he was reportedly thwarted by the federal government.

Screenshots provided to the Washington Examiner show a message that his father, Don Gaetz, a former Florida state Senate president, said he received from Kent on March 16. The message proposes “a plan that can make [Matt Gaetz’s] future legal and political problems go away.” Gaetz has denied any relationship with a minor.

READ: FULL DOCUMENTS MATT GAETZ SAYS BACKS UP EXTORTION CLAIM
Gaetz Kent message 1
Provided to the Washington Examiner

Despite the family members of Levinson saying in March 2020 that they presumed him to be dead based on information given by U.S. officials, the alleged message from Kent said he had located Levinson in Iran and has two “proof of life videos.” Kent also requested the Gaetz family’s help returning Levinson in exchange for giving Matt Gaetz credit for the operation and promising a presidential pardon for unnamed legal issues.

The next day, on March 17, Don Gaetz purportedly met with Kent, and Kent handed him a three-page document outlining “Project Homecoming.” That document detailed a plan to save Levinson at the cost of a $25 million loan.

In 1983, Don Gaetz co-founded VITAS Healthcare, and in 2004, he and his co-founders reportedly sold their stock in the company for $406 million.

In the Project Homecoming document, Kent then asked that the loan should be deposited in the trust account of Beggs & Land, naming David L. McGee, and deposited no later than March 19.

The Project Homecoming document states that Gaetz is “under investigation by the FBI for various public corruption and public integrity issues” and alleges that the FBI is aware of photos depicting Gaetz in a “sexual orgy with underage prostitutes.”

“In exchange for the funds being arranged, and upon the release of Mr. Levinson, the team that delivers Mr. Levinson to the President of The United States shall strongly advocate that President Biden issue a Presidential Pardon, or instruct the Department of Justice to terminate any and all investigations involving Congressman Gaetz," the document reads.
Project Homecoming document 1
Provided to the Washington Examiner

It also implied that the White House has some knowledge of the plan: "The team has been assured by the President that he will strongly consider such matters because he considers the release of Robert Levinson a matter of National Urgency." The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Stephen M. Alford, who has previously faced fraud and extortion charges, was also allegedly at the March 17 meeting and gave Don Gaetz his business card showing Captum Consultants. The April 2020 articles of incorporation for the company indicate they came from Beggs & Land, McGee’s firm.
Stephen M. Alford business card.png
Provided to the Washington Examiner

Kent, McGee, and Alford did not respond to requests for comment.

McGee told the Daily Beast on Tuesday night, following Gaetz naming him on national television, that any claims that he or his law firm were involved in extortion are "completely, totally false," adding, “This is a blatant attempt to distract from the fact that Matt Gaetz is apparently about to be indicted for sex trafficking underage girls.”

Another email chain appears to confirm the existence of the FBI investigating extortion claims.

“My client, Don Gaetz, was approached by two individuals to make a sizable payment in what I would call a scheme to defraud,” Jeffrey Neiman said in a March 25 email to the Department of Justice. “The FBI is not asking Don to voluntarily and proactively assist in their investigation, which Don is willing to do. Please confirm that your Office and the FBI would like Don’s assistance in this matter and that he will be working at the Government’s request.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Goldberg responded: “I can confirm that your client is working with my office as well as the FBI at the government’s request in order to determine if a federal crime has been committed. This has been discussed with, and approved by, the FBI as well as the leadership of my office and components of Main Justice.”

The Department of Justice and the FBI declined to comment on the email or the existence of an extortion investigation. Neiman also declined to comment.
Gaetz email 2.png
Provided to the Washington Examiner

Gaetz on Fox News Tuesday night said his father wore a wire in order to assist with the case, and he demanded that the “Department of Justice and the FBI release the audio recordings that were made under their supervision and at their direction, which will prove my innocence.”

He suspects that a leak to the New York Times story about the investigation into whether he had a relationship with a 17-year-old was timed to thwart the FBI investigation into the extortion.


“This former Department of Justice official tomorrow was supposed to be contacted by my father so that specific instructions could be given regarding the wiring of $4.5 million as a down payment on this bribe,” Gaetz said. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that tonight, somehow, the New York Times is leaking this information, smearing me, and ruining the investigation that would likely result in one of the former colleagues of the current DOJ being brought to justice for trying to extort me and my family.”

The 17-year-old in question "doesn't exist," Gaetz said, adding that he has "not had a relationship with a 17-year-old. That is totally false.”

If he wasn't so creepy and disgusting, you could almost give him the benefit of the doubt... But nope, pretty sure he's guilty as charged.

If he's done anything at all wrong, especially have sex or trafficking a minor, I hope he goes to jail a long long time..



Just like all of those celebrities, politicians, and big shots that they rounded up who were so close to Jeffrey Epstein... <rolleyes>

They could round em all up if you ask me. That's a crime that is indefensible in my book. I don't like it when they use the laws to go after a kid that's 18 or 19 having a consensual relationship with a minor close to their age, but if you rape a kid, no matter who you are you should do hard time and a bunch of it.

Just be careful with that.... there may be an element of consent involved, legally that does not fly but when facing charges, things get complex real fast.

If nothing else, just let the justice system play out. Multiple investigations into multiple scumbags will draw out so many related and unrelated skeletons from these sleezebags' closets it'll make your head spin.

Well, that's really interesting and all...but it doesn't really do anything to thwart the fact that he could have been involved with a 17 year old. If anything, I think it exacerbates that issue because they seem to be leveraging the fact that Gaetz had been involved with a minor in order to facilitate the alleged extortion.

Yep, both could be true, or one or the other could be true, and possibly neither are true... for now, all we need to know is if he slept with the 17 year old or paid to take her out of state. But according to Gaetz, she doesn't exist. We'll see. But if I had to place a bet today on rather he's guilty, I would say yes all day.

I would agree. Gaetz didn't do himself any favors with that interview. Instead of outright denying the whole issue with the 17 y/o, he focused on the extortion element.

It's like how when I ask my kid if he broke something and instead of saying "no" he points to how his sister broke his stuff.

Receipts have literally been delivered.

Full article...

Justice Dept. Inquiry Into Matt Gaetz Said to Be Focused on Cash Paid to Women

The congressman and a former official in Florida sent money to the women using cash apps, receipts showed.

By Katie Benner and Michael S. Schmidt
April 1, 2021 Updated 10:19 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON — A Justice Department investigation into Representative Matt Gaetz and an indicted Florida politician is focusing on their involvement with multiple women who were recruited online for sex and received cash payments, according to people close to the investigation and text messages and payment receipts reviewed by The New York Times.

Investigators believe Joel Greenberg, the former tax collector in Seminole County, Fla., who was indicted last year on a federal sex trafficking charge and other crimes, initially met the women through websites that connect people who go on dates in exchange for gifts, fine dining, travel and allowances, according to three people with knowledge of the encounters. Mr. Greenberg introduced the women to Mr. Gaetz, who also had sex with them, the people said.

One of the women who had sex with both men also agreed to have sex with an unidentified associate of theirs in Florida Republican politics, according to a person familiar with the arrangement. Mr. Greenberg had initially contacted her online and introduced her to Mr. Gaetz, the person said.

Mr. Gaetz denied ever paying a woman for sex.

The Justice Department inquiry is also examining whether Mr. Gaetz had sex with a 17-year-old girl and whether she received anything of material value, according to four people familiar with the investigation. The sex trafficking count against Mr. Greenberg involved the same girl, according to two people briefed on the investigation.

The authorities have also investigated whether other men connected to Mr. Gaetz and Mr. Greenberg had sex with the 17-year-old, two of the people said.

Mr. Gaetz, 38, was elected to Congress in 2016 and became one of President Donald J. Trump’s most outspoken advocates.

The Times has reviewed receipts from Cash App, a mobile payments app, and Apple Pay that show payments from Mr. Gaetz and Mr. Greenberg to one of the women, and a payment from Mr. Greenberg to a second woman. The women told their friends that the payments were for sex with the two men, according to two people familiar with the conversations.

In encounters during 2019 and 2020, Mr. Gaetz and Mr. Greenberg instructed the women to meet at certain times and places, often at hotels around Florida, and would tell them the amount of money they were willing to pay, according to the messages and interviews.

One person said that the men also paid in cash, sometimes withdrawn from a hotel ATM.

Some of the men and women took ecstasy, an illegal mood-alerting drug, before having sex, including Mr. Gaetz, two people familiar with the encounters said.

In some cases, Mr. Gaetz asked women to help find others who might be interested in having sex with him and his friends, according to two people familiar with those conversations. Should anyone inquire about their relationships, one person said, Mr. Gaetz told the women to say that he had paid for hotel rooms and dinners as part of their dates.

The F.B.I. has questioned multiple women involved in the encounters, including as recently as January, to establish details of their relationships with Mr. Gaetz and his friends, according to text messages and two people familiar with the interviews.

No charges have been brought against Mr. Gaetz, and the extent of his criminal exposure is unclear. Mr. Gaetz’s office issued a statement on Thursday night in a response to a request for comment.

“Matt Gaetz has never paid for sex,” the statement said. “Matt Gaetz refutes all the disgusting allegations completely. Matt Gaetz has never ever been on any such websites whatsoever. Matt Gaetz cherishes the relationships in his past and looks forward to marrying the love of his life.”

A lawyer for Mr. Greenberg, Fritz Scheller, declined to comment, as did a Justice Department spokesman.

It is not illegal to provide adults with free hotel stays, meals and other gifts, but if prosecutors think they can prove that the payments to the women were for sex, they could accuse Mr. Gaetz of trafficking the women under “force, fraud or coercion.” For example, prosecutors have filed trafficking charges against people suspected of providing drugs in exchange for sex because feeding another person’s drug habit could be seen as a form of coercion.

It is also a violation of federal child sex trafficking law to provide someone under 18 with anything of value in exchange for sex, which can include meals, hotels, drugs, alcohol or cigarettes. A conviction carries a 10-year mandatory minimum prison sentence.

The investigation stems from the Justice Department’s continuing inquiry into Mr. Greenberg, who potentially faces decades in prison on three dozen charges. The U.S. attorney’s office in Central Florida initially secured an indictment against Mr. Greenberg in June, alleging that he had stalked a political rival and had used his elected office to create fake identification cards.

During the investigation, the authorities discovered evidence that prompted them to broaden it, and Mr. Greenberg was indicted in August on the sex trafficking charge.

One of the sites the men met women through was called Seeking Arrangement, which describes itself as a place where wealthy people find attractive companions and pamper them “with fine dinners, exotic trips and allowances.” The site’s founder has said it has 20 million members worldwide. The F.B.I. mentioned the website in a conversation with at least one potential witness, according to a person familiar with the conversation.

Mr. Greenberg was indicted this week on additional charges, accusing him of submitting false claims to receive pandemic relief aid from the government and trying to bribe a government official. The authorities said Mr. Greenberg undertook those efforts after he was initially indicted last summer.

Mr. Greenberg, who has pleaded not guilty to the earlier charges, is scheduled to go on trial in June. He was sent to jail in March for violating the terms of his bail.

Mr. Gaetz said this week that his lawyers had been in touch with the Justice Department and that he was the subject, not the target, of an investigation. Subjects of investigations are often witnesses or people who might have information that could help the government pursue its targets. But it is common for that designation to shift over the course of an investigation.

“I only know that it has to do with women,” Mr. Gaetz said. “I have a suspicion that someone is trying to recategorize my generosity to ex-girlfriends as something more untoward.”

Mr. Gaetz, a lawyer, was first elected to the House representing the Florida Panhandle at age 34. The son of a former president of the Florida State Senate, Mr. Gaetz attended Florida State University and William & Mary Law School before serving in the Florida State Legislature.

Mr. Gaetz has sought to divert attention from the Justice Department investigation by claiming that he and his father were the targets of an extortion plot by two men trying to secure funding for a separate venture.

The men — Robert Kent, a former Air Force intelligence officer who runs a consulting business, and Stephen Alford, a real estate developer who has been convicted of fraud — approached Mr. Gaetz’s father, Don Gaetz, about funding their efforts to locate Robert A. Levinson, an American hostage held in Iran. They suggested to Don Gaetz that Mr. Levinson’s successful return could somehow be used to secure a pardon for Matt Gaetz if he were charged with federal crimes, according to a copy of their proposal provided to The Times.

Soon after, Don Gaetz hired a lawyer and contacted the F.B.I. Matt Gaetz said his father wore a wire and taped a meeting and a telephone conversation with Mr. Alford. An email exchange between Don Gaetz’s lawyer and the Justice Department provided to The Times appears to confirm he was generally cooperating with the F.B.I. as it looked into his claims.

Mr. Kent denied the Gaetzes’ assertions. He said he had heard rumors that Matt Gaetz might be under investigation and mentioned them only to sweeten his proposal. “I told him I’m not trying to extort, but if this were true, he might be interested in doing something good,” Mr. Kent said in an interview.

Last year, the Trump administration notified the family of Mr. Levinson, a former F.B.I. agent, that he had died while in captivity in Iran, where he disappeared in 2007 while on an unauthorized mission for the C.I.A.

But some people involved with the Levinson case continued to believe that he might still be alive, including Mr. Kent.

He was stunned when he heard that Matt Gaetz had sought to tie the Justice Department investigation to an extortion plot related to the Levinson case.

“He threw Levinson and the entire Levinson family under the bus,” Mr. Kent said. “I can’t imagine what these poor people have been through. This guy, to divert attention from himself, has raked up the attention to the family.”

Don Gaetz also taped a phone call and a meeting with David McGee, a Levinson family lawyer, where they discussed the rescue proposal. In an interview, Mr. McGee denied any involvement and suggested Matt Gaetz was conflating the matter inappropriately with his own potential criminal liability.

“He’s trying to distract attention from a pending tidal wave that is about to sink his ship,” Mr. McGee said.

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