ORLANDO, Fla. — Developer and former lobbyist Chris Dorworth claims in a lawsuit he filed Friday that disgraced Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg, along with his wealthy family and ex-wife, coordinated “a massive effort” to ruin his life after he refused to work with U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz in obtaining a pardon from then-President Donald Trump.
Dorworth calls the defendants in his suit the “Greenberg Racketeering Enterprise,” which are Joel Greenberg; parents, Andrew and Sue Greenberg; his ex-wife, Abby Greenberg, and businesses AWG, Greenberg Dental Associates, Greenberg Dental & Orthodontics and Greenberg Dental Specialty Group.
“As a result of the Enterprise’s actions, Dorworth lost his job, reputation and more,” according to the suit.
The suit also said Greenberg angrily confronted Chris Dorworth and his wife, Rebekah Dorworth, in the weeks after the former tax collector was first arrested in June 2020. It alleges Joel and Abby Greenberg became increasingly frustrated that Chris Dorworth would not work with his friend Gaetz in Washington, D.C. in seeking a presidential pardon.
Joel Greenberg’s parents, Andrew and Susan Greenberg, could not be reached for comment. Abby Greenberg did not return messages asking if she wanted to comment. Joel and Abby Greenberg finalized their divorce in April 2022.
Dorworth admitted that at one time he was casual friends with Greenberg. Dorworth’s firm also represented the tax collector’s office when Greenberg held the public office.
Dorworth and Greenberg visited the White House in 2019 with Gaetz during the annual Easter egg roll with their spouses and young children. And Greenberg often bragged about his connections with people of wealth and influence, including Gaetz and Dorworth.
But Dorworth said the relationship took a downturn in 2020 when the Greenbergs began a defamation campaign against him by falsely accusing him of being involved in child sex trafficking, coordinating an illegal ghost candidate scandal, and other schemes, according to the lawsuit.
Joel Greenberg eventually faced 34 federal charges after he was first arrested in June 2020. He was sentenced last December to 11 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to several charges, including sex trafficking of a minor, stalking a political rival, stealing identities using equipment from the tax collector’s office, and spending public money for sex and on investing in cryptocurrency. Greenberg is currently incarcerated at a minimum security federal prison in Miami.
The lawsuit said in the summer of 2020, Greenberg “cornered” his wife Rebekah Dorworth, at a JW Marriott luxury hotel pool and demanded that she convince Gaetz and Chris Dorworth “to pursue and obtain a preemptive pardon for Joel Greenberg for his crimes.”
“It would be better for everyone if I (Joel Greenberg) got a pardon,” he told the Dorworths, according to the suit. Joel Greenberg, the court document states, also told Dorworth that his family was “willing to pay any amount of money” to obtain a pardon.
“Joel Greenberg grew very angry that Gaetz and Dorworth were unwilling to participate in his pursuit of a pardon,” according to the lawsuit.
The Greenbergs, according to Dorworth’s suit, also sought to have then-Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg fired from his federal job in 2020. Handberg, who is now the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida, was the lead prosecutor in the Greenberg case at the time.
“After Dorworth refused to acquiesce to such threats, the Greenberg Racketeering Enterprise conspired to defame Dorworth and falsely accuse Dorworth of crimes,” according to the lawsuit.
Dorworth was forced to resign in April 2021 from a top managerial position at Ballard Partners, a Tallahassee lobbying firm, because of the “false allegations from Greenberg” that he was involved in the former tax collector’s schemes in the trafficking of minors for sex.
According to the lawsuit, Greenberg also falsely told federal investigators in jailhouse interviews that Dorworth helped coordinate “third party candidates” during the 2020 election cycle, paid $25,000 to former Seminole GOP Chair Ben Paris to run for office, and that Dorworth and others acted as a well-organized “mafia.”
“While Joel Greenberg was rotting in prison, his lawyers and his family enterprise were actively trying to smear people who they thought would lower Joel’s sentence if they lied extensively and comprehensively,” Dorworth said Monday. “It is inexcusably reckless and has caused damage to many of us.”
Dorworth also noted that the Greenberg family and his ex-wife knew that Joel Greenberg suffered from addiction problems and mental health issues when he decided to run for the countywide office in 2016. Still, they used their wealth to help fund his campaign, according to the lawsuit.
“They gave him a government agency, and he created chaos,” Dorworth said by phone.
Greenberg’s allegation that Dorworth helped coordinate the third-party candidate and “ghost” candidate scandal, is a “lie” and “garbage,” Dorworth said.
“I had nothing to do with it,” he said.
Political consultant Eric Foglesong and state Senate candidate Jestine Iannotti are facing felony charges after being accused of falsifying campaign contribution reports during the 2020 election. Iannotti, who had no political experience and did not campaign, entered the Florida Senate District 9 race as a third party candidate.
Dorworth noted that he voluntarily took polygraph tests last year to refute the allegations. The tests, conducted by a former FBI agent, found no indication of deception.
Dorworth said he first met Greenberg in October 2016, less than a month before the 31-year-old won the general election against a write-in opponent.
Greenberg hired Dorworth and Ballard in March 2017 to represent the public office as a lobbyist in hopes of advocating for favorable legislation. In all, Greenberg paid Dorworth’s firm $75,000. At the time, Dorworth also represented the Orange County Tax Collector’s Office.
Dorworth said he stopped representing Greenberg’s office in spring 2019.
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