Florida man accused of trying to defraud the family of Rep. Matt Gaetz for sex crime investigation

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Stephen Alford, 62, of Fort Walton Beach, faces charges that include cable fraud, according to the Justice Department. The congressman is not identified by his name in the indictment, but a source familiar with the matter says the case comes from a scheme aimed at the Gaetz family.

CNN has reported that federal investigators are examining whether Gaetz violated federal laws on sex trafficking, prostitution and public corruption and whether he had sex with a minor under the age of 17 at the time. CNN also reported that the Justice Department is investigating the possible obstruction of justice related to the ongoing investigation.

Gaetz has not been charged and denies any offense.

“Alford was allegedly involved in a plan to obtain money based on false promises or guarantees he made to the victim that Alford could deliver a presidential pardon for a relative of the victim,” the Justice Department said in a statement .

CNN is contacting Alford for comment. He has up to 25 years in prison.

Alford allegedly presented Gaetz’s father, Don Gaetz, with a proposal, according to court documents and the source familiar with the matter. Alford allegedly offered to help the congressman get a presidential pardon if his father contributed $ 25 million to a fund to help locate and secure the release of someone known as RL in court documents.

It has previously been reported that Don Gaetz was asked to fund an effort to locate Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent abducted in Iran.

“Five months ago today, Rep. Gaetz claimed – after unfounded allegations about him – that he was the victim of an attempted extortion,” Gaetz spokesman Harlan Hill said. “One of the men involved in this attempt, Stephen Alford, was charged today.”

When this investigation became public through media reports in March, Gaetz told Tucker Carlson on Fox News that he was the victim of an extortion plot.

“What’s happening is an extortion of me and my family,” he said, explaining that he received a text message “asking for a meeting in which a person asked for $ 25 million in exchange for horrific accusations disappearing of sex trafficking against me “.

The details of the allegations against Alford are based on how Gaetz has described the plot in public media appearances.

The indictment alleges that Alford helped orchestrate the spread of a person identified as “Person A” to a person named “DG,” who was offered an offer of assistance in obtaining a presidential pardon for a family member of the same DG Alford who finally engaged with DG, according to the indictment, in a face-to-face meeting and on texts. Alford is also supposed to have drawn up a letter entitled “Project Homecoming” presenting the outline. The letter, according to the indictment, called for the transfer of $ 25,000,000 to the account of an unidentified law firm. According to the indictment, the letter said the President of Alford’s team had been “assured by the President” that the President would “firmly consider” a “presidential pardon” or an instruction to the Department of Justice to end the research on the family member.

The indictment was handed down earlier this month by a grand jury in the North Florida district. “Alford is currently in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service,” the Justice Department said in a press release.

Gaetz’s federal investigation began in the last months of the Trump-era Justice Department under the rule of then-Attorney General William Barr and was initially part of a broader investigation into allegations of trafficking against another Florida politician. Joel Greenberg.

Greenberg is pending sentencing after admitting six federal charges, including the fact that he consciously asked for and paid for sex to the 17-year-old. He stays in jail.

Greenberg was never accused of obstructing justice, but in his statement agreement he admitted that he contacted the 17-year-old after learning in 2020 that his sexual relationship with her was being investigated and he asked for “help to make sure their stories were aligned.” because she knew that her commercial sexual acts with her were illegal. ”

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