The lawsuit was filed Thursday in federal court in Orlando. The women say they were in their early 20s when they met Gaetz through Joel Greenberg, a former Seminole County tax collector now serving time in prison for multiple crimes, including a sex offense.

According to the complaint, Gaetz provided the women with drugs and paid for sex, travel outside Florida, lodging and other expenses. The suit also names Greenberg, another man and businesses connected to Greenberg’s family. The allegations have not been proven in court.

Gaetz said most of the accusations against him were false. In a statement, he argued that the case relies largely on a House Ethics Committee report and said the lawsuit would give him an opportunity to confront his accusers.

He also posted a 2018 photograph on X showing three women from behind at a beach in the Bahamas, accompanying it with a sarcastic remark about their past social media posts.

The lawsuit comes nearly two years after the House Ethics Committee released a report accusing Gaetz of regularly paying for sex, including an encounter with a 17-year-old, using illegal drugs and violating state laws while in Congress. Gaetz had left office before the report became public and denied wrongdoing. Its release helped end his prospects of becoming attorney general in President Donald Trump’s second administration.

The women’s attorney, Spencer Kuvin, described the alleged relationships as shaped by a sharp imbalance of power and resources, pointing to the defendants’ public positions and the women’s financial vulnerability.

Gaetz, a Florida Republican, now hosts a political talk show on One America News Network. He was also recently appointed to the board of Triumph Gulf Coast, which oversees Florida’s use of money recovered for damage from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.