Orange County

Former Seminole County tax collector Joel Greenberg to be sentenced Thursday

ORLANDO, Fla. — Former Seminole County tax collector Joel Greenberg was in court one last time on Wednesday before he’s sentenced on Thursday.

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Greenberg pleaded guilty to six charges, including sex trafficking of a minor.

Watch: Joel Greenberg: Former tax collector to pay Seminole County nearly $1.3M

It stems from an investigation into his spending habits at the tax collector’s office.

Watch: Ex-tax collector Joel Greenberg pleads guilty to 6 charges, including child sex trafficking

Last month, Greenberg agreed to wire the county more than a million dollars to make up for the money investigators said he misused while in office.

Guidelines show the charges he’s facing could carry up to 27 years in prison, but prosecutors are recommending a downward departure, which brings the recommended sentence to nine to 11 years.

Watch: Joel Greenberg talks ‘ghost candidate’ plan in jailhouse interview: Read the transcript

Greenberg’s defense believes his sentence should be even lighter because Greenberg helped federal investigators build criminal cases against others he was involved with.

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