Matt Gaetz is sued for sex trafficking two women in Florida alongside two co-defendants, as plaintiffs claim drugs and payments were used

Former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz, 44, has been named in a federal civil lawsuit filed in the Middle District of Florida, which alleges he coordinated sex trafficking of two young women between 2017 and 2019. The 38-page complaint, brought by two women identified as Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2, claims Gaetz and two co-defendants arranged "recruitment, payments, drugs, and travel to obtain commercial sexual acts" from recently graduated high school students. Gaetz has denied the allegations, calling the conduct described in the complaint false.

Jane Doe 1 alleges she witnessed Gaetz engaging in sexual intercourse with a 17-year-old girl, and both plaintiffs say they received thousands of dollars, which Gaetz described as "being my friend" or a "car deductible."

Co-defendant Joel Greenberg, a former Seminole County tax collector, is currently 11 years into a federal prison sentence handed down after he pleaded guilty to sex trafficking of a child and other offences.

Plaintiffs' attorney Spencer Kuvin says they have obtained text messages he believes are "incredibly damaging" to Gaetz and Greenberg and will prove their case.