BREAKING: Home Democrat Indicted On Fraud Expenses
U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) has been indicted on charges accusing her of stealing $5 million in federal disaster funds, some of which was used to fund her congressional campaign in 2021, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.
The Florida Democrat is accused of stealing Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) overpayments that her family healthcare company had received through a federally-funded COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract, federal prosecutors announced. A portion of those funds were then used to support her campaign through candidate contributions, according to the indictment.
“Using disaster relief funds for self-enrichment is a particularly selfish, cynical crime,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “No one is above the law, least of all powerful people who rob taxpayers for personal gain. We will follow the facts in this case and deliver justice.”
Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) was first elected in 2022
Cherfilus-McCormick was first elected to represent Florida’s 20th Congressional District in a special election in 2021 following the death of longtime congressman Alcee Hastings. She had previously launched two unsuccessful primary bids against Hastings before winning an expensive upset against Broward County Commissioner Dale Holness in what was one of the closest races in Florida history.
Reports surfaced earlier this year that Cherfilus-McCormick was under investigation for alleged campaign finance violations.
Investigators with the Office of Congressional Ethics found “substantial reason to believe” the congresswoman she sought money for a community project and directed it to a private business. The findings were revealed after an investigation that has been ongoing for the better part of a year.
The inquiry focused on $5 million she obtained from Congress’ 2023 budget, which was supposed to be routed to the Figgers Foundation, a Florida telemedicine non-profit. Instead, the funds were routed to a for-profit entity.
The OCC filed a referral into the potential misuse of Congressional funds about a year ago. Because the matter was still not resolved within the allotted timeframe, the House Ethics Committee had to release the OCC report, according to a report from Punchbowl News.
Investigators alleged that Cherfilus-McCormick’s Congressional office could have “made payments to an entity in violation of House committee rules and standards of conduct.” In addition, the body found probable cause to suggest the Democrat lawmaker’s campaign may have “accepted and failed to report in-kind contributions that may have exceeded applicable limits.”
The report further claims Cherfilus-McCormick “may have dispensed special favors or privileges to friends in connection with her congressional office’s requests for community project funding,” in addition to allegations that she “misreported the source of a campaign contribution or accepted a campaign contribution made by one person in the name of another.”
In December 2024, a Florida state agency sued a company owned by Cherfilus-McCormick’s family, saying it overcharged the state by nearly $5.8 million for work done during the pandemic and wouldn’t give the money back, according to a report from the Associated Press.
The Florida Division of Emergency Management confirmed that it made a series of overpayments to Trinity Healthcare Services after hiring it in 2021 to register residents for COVID-19 vaccinations. The agency says it discovered the problem after a single $5 million overpayment drew attention, the AP reported.
Cherfilus-McCormick was serving as CEO of Trinity Healthcare Services at the time.
The indictment makes the Florida lawmaker the third actively-serving House Democrat to be hit with a federal indictment. Longtime Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) is currently under indictment over campaign finance allegations, while Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) was indicted earlier this year for allegedly assaulting federal agents at an immigration facility in Newark.