Florida Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick Charged With Stealing $5M In FEMA Funds, Making Illegal Campaign Contributions

A sweeping federal indictment has sent shockwaves through Florida’s political landscape after U.S. Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) was indicted for allegedly stealing $5 million in FEMA funds, laundering the money through a network of accounts, and using illicit contributions to bolster her 2021 congressional campaign.

Last week, a Miami federal grand jury unsealed the indictment, accusing the second-term congresswoman, her brother, and two associates of orchestrating an elaborate financial scheme that siphoned disaster relief dollars intended for COVID-19 response efforts. 

Prosecutors allege that the group exploited a clerical error, which resulted in Cherfilus-McCormick’s family-owned company, Trinity Healthcare Services, receiving a $5 million FEMA overpayment rather than the $50,000 it was owed for staffing vaccination sites.

According to the indictment by the Department of Justice, in 2021, Trinity Healthcare Services, where Cherfilus-McCormick served as CEO before her election to Congress, held a contract funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide staffing for COVID-19 vaccination sites.

Prosecutors allege that in July 2021, a “clerical error” resulted in FEMA transferring approximately $5 million to the company instead of the intended $50,000 payment. 

Rather than reporting the massive overpayment, the indictment claims Cherfilus-McCormick and her co-conspirators “knowingly” processed the funds and immediately began moving the money through a complex web of bank accounts to disguise its origin, with a “substantial portion” of the funds allegedly funneled into her 2021 special election campaign.

Prosecutors allege that the congresswoman and her former Chief of Staff, Nadege LeBlanc, were able to funnel the funds by creating a network of straw donors who were provided with stolen disaster relief money and instructed to donate it to her campaign in their own names. The maneuver allowed Cherfilus-McCormick to evade contribution limits and hide the true source of her fundraising surge during the competitive special election she ultimately won.

The alleged scheme reportedly financed both political ambitions and personal luxury purchases, including a 3-carat yellow diamond ring valued at more than $100,000.

“Using disaster relief funds for self-enrichment is a particularly selfish, cynical crime,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement announcing the indictment. “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.”

The indictment also includes charges of filing false federal tax returns. Prosecutors say Cherfilus-McCormick and her tax preparer, David K. Spencer, conspired to inflate charitable deductions and improperly classify personal and political expenses as business write-offs.

Spencer, LeBlanc, and Edwin Cherfilus each appeared in federal court on Friday to face related charges. All three were released on bonds ranging from $500 to $1,500 and ordered to surrender their passports and limit travel while awaiting trial.

Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick responded to the claims, calling the charges “an unjust, baseless, sham indictment,” before declaring, “I am innocent.”

“The timing alone is curious and clearly meant to distract from far more pressing national issues,” Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick wrote. “From day one, I have fully cooperated with every lawful request, and I will continue to do so until this matter is resolved.”

Her legal team echoed that sentiment, describing her as “a committed public servant dedicated to her constituents.”

The investigation reportedly began during the Biden administration and expanded following a referral from the Office of Congressional Ethics (now the Office of Congressional Conduct). The House Ethics Committee publicly confirmed its own ongoing investigation earlier this year.

The political fallout was immediate. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries emphasized that the congresswoman is “innocent until proven guilty,” but his office confirmed she would take leave from her position as ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa “while this matter is ongoing.”

Republicans decided to move far more aggressively. Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) took to X to vow to introduce an expulsion resolution, writing: 

“Defrauding the federal government and disaster victims of $5 million is an automatic disqualifier from serving in elected office. Cherfilus-McCormick needs to be swiftly removed from the House before she can inflict any more harm on Congress, her district, and the State of Florida.”

A trial date for the indictment has not yet been set. If convicted on all counts, Cherfilus-McCormick faces up to 53 years in federal prison.

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