About two weeks before former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fl.) was accused in a civil lawsuit of participating in the sex trafficking of two young women, Gaetz donated $5,000 to US Rep. Eli Crane (R-Flagstaff), who represents Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District.
In the lawsuit, filed Oct. 15 in federal court in Florida, the women, identified as Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2, claim that Gaetz and two others, including former Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg and former Florida state Rep. Christopher Dorworth, “coordinated the recruitment, payments, drugs, and travel to obtain commercial sexual acts” between 2017 through January 2019.
Per the lawsuit, the women were 20 and 22 when they were introduced to the ex-congressman in summer 2017. Jane Doe 1 also alleges she saw Gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old girl that same year.
Gaetz denied the allegations in a statement to the Guardian and to Politico.
“I look forward to taking the plaintiffs’ depositions because much of the conduct alleged against me is false,” Gaetz said in a text message to Politico. “The lawsuit relies almost exclusively on a Congressional committee report that didn’t allow me to confront my accusers. Now I will finally have that chance.”
It’s not Gaetz’s first time facing such accusations.
In 2024, the House Ethics Committee released its report on Gaetz, finding “substantial evidence” Gaetz violated House rules, along with state and federal laws. The report said Gaetz violated “House Rules and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors or privileges, and obstruction of Congress.”
However, the committee said it did not find enough evidence that Gaetz violated federal sex trafficking law. The Justice Department also investigated him, but did not bring criminal charges.
Gaetz allegedly had sex with an underage girl who was working at McDonald’s and living in and out of a homeless shelter. The high-school junior falsely advertised herself in 2017 as 18 years old—hoping to save enough money to afford braces—on a website that matches men looking for “companionship,” according to the New York Times. Gaetz has denied having sex with her.
“The vulnerable circumstances most crime victims face are rarely known to the public,” the girl’s lawyer, Laura B. Wolf, said in 2025. “Although my client’s circumstances were revealed outside of her control, I hope it helps for the public to see a fuller and more human picture of her than the press has reported on to date.”
Crane returned $1,500 to Gaetz on Sept. 30, the same day Gaetz donated, leaving the campaign with $3,500, the maximum an individual can give per election. It’s unclear whether the campaign plans to return the remainder after the lawsuit was filed. Crane did not respond to multiple requests for comment by the time of publication.
The two were closely linked during their time in Congress. In 2023, Crane, then a freshman member, was a key ally in Gaetz’s efforts to oust then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The duo also worked closely together on policy.
Gaetz resigned from Congress after being tapped by President Donald Trump in November 2024 to be attorney general, a move Crane celebrated. But the Trump team worried the allegations would hinder his nomination process, and he withdrew. Since then, Gaetz has hosted “The Matt Gaetz Show,” which Crane has appeared on multiple times.
“I trust Eli Crane,” Gaetz wrote in an Oct. 29 post on X.
Crane is running against former Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez to represent Arizona’s largest district. The district represents Flagstaff, Casa Grande, Maricopa, Page, and more. Crane has faced previous criticism for living outside the district, in Oro Valley, which is located in Arizona’s 6th Congressional District. Crane has held the seat since 2023.
Election Day is Nov. 3
