Lawyer Claims Gaetz Used 'Adopted' Son Nestor Galban's PayPal Account to Pay Women for Sexual Favors

The ongoing saga about ex-congressman Matt Gaetz and his "adopted" son Nestor Galban, 23, took another twist yesterday when reports emerged that "Gaetz used his unofficial son's PayPal account to pay women for 'sexual favors,'" reports the Daily Mail.

Gaetz is one of the controversial – by far the most controversial – of President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet position picks, slated to be the next Attorney General. But he is immersed in an ongoing issues concerning his extra-curricular activities while in Congress. Gaetz resigned last week, the day after Trump named him for the post and a day before an Ethics committee report was set to be released that looked into allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. The report was set to be released last Friday, but "House Republicans have been reluctant to make the report public," reports the New York Times on Wednesday afternoon. Despite senators (who will confirm his appointment) demanding to see the report, the House Ethics Committee deadlocked on Wednesday on whether to release a report, writes the Times.

"Since the spring of 2021, the ethics panel had been investigating Mr. Gaetz over an array of allegations, including that he had engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use and accepted gifts that violated House rules," adds The Times.

Earlier today the Washington Post writes that the Ethic Committee's investigators obtained records showing that Gaetz "paid more than $10,000 to two women who testified before the committee, according to a person familiar with the investigation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive material."

"The records that were exhibited during closed-door testimony displayed 27 PayPal and Venmo payments disbursed between July 2017 and January 2019 totaling over $10,000 paid to the two witnesses, that person said. Some of the payments were for sex, the witnesses testified to the committee. ABC News first reported on the exhibits."

On Monday, the Post reported the lawyer for the two women "testified that they were paid by Gaetz to have sex with him and other individuals who attended these 'sex parties.' They were paid through Venmo or other conduits – including the PayPal of Nestor Galban, whom Gaetz has referred to as his 'adopted son.'"

Nestor first made headlines in 2020 during a congressional hearing when Gaetz was embroiled in a heated discussion with Cedric Richmond, a Democratic congressman from Louisiana, over parenting. EDGE wrote at the time that Gaetz became infuriated because Richmond suggested that Republicans in the room did not parent "children of color." He then announced the identity of Nestor, a teenage immigrant who was living with Gaetz, whom he called his "son." But, as the Daily Mail points out, "he never formally adopted the boy that he took in as a 12-year-old when he arrived in the U.S. in 2014 after the death of his mother, but said their relationship was defined 'by love, not paperwork.'"

Galban is currently an Air Force 1st Class Airman now based at Ramstein Air Force base in Germany. "It's unclear if Nestor knows Gaetz allegedly used his account to pay women to attend 'sex parties,'" the British tabloid writes.

"Nestor was only 12 when he arrived in the U.S. from Cuba in 2014. At the time, Gaetz, a state legislator, was dating Nestor's sister May Mendez and Nestor's mother had died of breast cancer. Gaetz said the trio moved into together and formed a small family. They lived at Fort Walton Beach, a small city in the Florida Panhandle known for fine white-sand beaches," adds the DM. "Gaetz spoke of how he helped Nestor ease into his new life, which including learning English and adjusting to school in a different country."

But much of their story remains a question mark, including how long Gaetz dated May Mendez, and what Nestor's relationship is with his biological family. He became a U.S. citizen in 2020. That Gaetz never mentioned the young man before his Congressional outburst and had not listed him as his son in his official bio at the time led to rampant speculation about their relationship.