Former U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz, the Florida Republican who left Congress in late 2024, has been accused of sex trafficking in a newly filed civil lawsuit, according to reports circulating widely on Thursday, October 15, 2026. The filing revives allegations that federal prosecutors examined for roughly two years before declining to bring criminal charges in 2023.
Gaetz has not been charged with any crime in connection with the underlying allegations, and he has denied wrongdoing consistently and emphatically since the matter first became public in 2021. A civil complaint is an allegation, not a finding, and the defendant has the opportunity to respond in court.
What the lawsuit alleges
The complaint was brought by a woman seeking damages over conduct she says occurred years ago, when Gaetz was serving in the House of Representatives. Civil claims of this type are typically filed under the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA), which allows alleged victims to sue people they accuse of benefiting from or participating in a commercial sex venture, as well as under state tort law.
Because the filing is new and portions of such complaints are often filed under a pseudonym or temporarily sealed, specific details — including the exact court, the full list of defendants and the damages sought — were still being confirmed by news organizations at the time of publication. Readers should treat early summaries of any complaint with caution until the document itself is reviewed and the defense response is on the record.
Gaetz’s representatives have previously characterized recycled allegations as the product of extortion attempts and partisan hostility. He has described the federal investigation and the subsequent congressional inquiry as a “witch hunt” and has repeatedly noted that no prosecutor brought a case against him.
The record so far: a federal probe that ended without charges
The U.S. Justice Department opened an investigation in the final weeks of the Trump administration in 2020 and continued it under the Biden administration. Investigators examined whether Gaetz had paid for sex and whether a 17-year-old had been transported across state lines, which would implicate federal trafficking statutes.
In February 2023, career prosecutors recommended against charges, citing concerns about the credibility of central witnesses and the likelihood of securing a conviction. The department closed the matter without filing charges. No indictment was ever returned against Gaetz.
A central figure in that investigation was Joel Greenberg, a former Seminole County, Florida, tax collector. Greenberg pleaded guilty in 2021 to six federal counts, including sex trafficking of a minor, cooperated with prosecutors and was sentenced in December 2022 to 11 years in prison. Gaetz has said Greenberg’s cooperation produced nothing actionable against him.
The House Ethics Committee report
Separately, the bipartisan House Committee on Ethics conducted its own multi-year review. Gaetz resigned his seat in November 2024, days after then-President-elect Donald Trump named him as his pick for attorney general. Gaetz withdrew from consideration roughly a week later amid resistance from Senate Republicans, and the attorney general post ultimately went to Pam Bondi.
Despite his resignation, the committee voted to release its findings. In a report published on December 23, 2024, the panel said it found “substantial evidence” that Gaetz had paid women for sex and drugs on multiple occasions and that he had engaged in sexual activity with a 17-year-old in 2017. The committee said it found no evidence that Gaetz violated federal sex trafficking law, and it referred no criminal charges.
Gaetz rejected the findings outright, writing at the time that the committee had recycled “false allegations” and that he had never been charged with a crime. The full report remains available through the committee’s public record at ethics.house.gov.
Why a civil case is different
The distinction between the criminal and civil tracks matters here, and it is the reason a case that prosecutors passed on can still proceed in a courtroom:
- Burden of proof. Criminal convictions require proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Civil plaintiffs generally need only a preponderance of the evidence — more likely than not.
- Who controls the case. A prosecutor decides whether to charge; a private plaintiff decides whether to sue. Declination by the Justice Department does not bar a civil claim.
- Remedies. Civil suits seek money damages and sometimes injunctive relief, not incarceration.
- Discovery. If the case survives a motion to dismiss, both sides can seek documents and depositions — a process that often generates more public disclosure than a closed criminal file.
Statutes of limitation will likely be an early battleground. The TVPRA provides a comparatively long window for civil claims, but defendants routinely argue that the clock has run or that a plaintiff has not pleaded enough specific facts to proceed.
Where Gaetz is now
Since leaving Congress, Gaetz has worked in conservative media, hosting a program on One America News Network. He has remained a visible commentator on Republican politics and has not ruled out a return to elected office in Florida.
The filing lands during a stretch in which allegations against current and former officials have drawn sustained attention. In recent months, prosecutors in South Carolina brought sex crime charges against the former fiancé of Rep. Nancy Mace and two other men, and the prediction market Kalshi imposed a lifetime ban on former Rep. George Santos over alleged insider trading. In Texas, a district attorney is weighing felony charges against a federal immigration agent.
What happens next
The immediate steps are procedural. Gaetz must be served and will have a set period — typically 21 days in federal court, subject to extension — to answer or move to dismiss. Judges frequently rule on dismissal motions in high-profile civil cases months after filing, and any trial would be years away.
NarwhalTV has not independently verified the allegations in the complaint. This article will be updated as the filing is reviewed and as Gaetz and his attorneys respond.
