Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL) and several co-defendants were indicted on Wednesday by a federal grand jury in Miami, Florida, for allegedly stealing $5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds.
According to a Department of Justice press release, Cherfilus-McCormick, 46, and her brother, Edwin Cherfilus, 45, both of Miramar, “worked through their family health-care company on a FEMA-funded COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract in 2021. In July 2021, the company received an overpayment of $5 million in FEMA funds.
The Washington Post reported that the overpayment was the result of a “clerical error” which the pair chose not to report.
Cherfilus-McCormick and her brother are accused of “laundering the proceeds” and using the money to fund her 2021 congressional campaign. The DOJ announcement says that if convicted, the South Florida congresswoman faces up to 53 years in prison and her brother, up to 35 years.
As per the DOJ news release:
The indictment alleges that the defendants conspired to steal that $5 million and routed it through multiple accounts to disguise its source. Prosecutors allege that a substantial portion of the misappropriated funds was used as candidate contributions to Cherfilus-McCormick’s 2021 congressional campaign and for the personal benefit of the defendants.The indictment further alleges that Cherfilus-McCormick and Nadege Leblanc, 46, of Miramar, arranged additional contributions using straw donors, funneling other monies from the FEMA-funded Covid-19 contract to friends and relatives who then donated to the campaign as if using their own money.The indictment also charges Cherfilus-McCormick and her 2021 tax preparer David K. Spencer, 41, of Davie, with conspiring to file a false federal tax return. According to the indictment, they falsely claimed political spending and other personal expenses as business deductions and inflated charitable contributions in order to reduce her tax obligations.
In a statement to Axios, Cherfilus-McCormick said, “This is an unjust, baseless, sham indictment — and I am innocent. The timing alone is curious and clearly meant to distract from far more pressing national issues.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries issued a statement on Cherfilus-McCormick via his spokesperson:
Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick has proudly represented the people of Palm Beach and Broward Counties since 2022. Consistent with the United States Constitution, she is entitled to her day in court and the presumption of innocence. Pursuant to the Rules of the House Democratic Caucus, Congresswoman Cherfilus-McCormick will take leave from her position as Ranking Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa while this matter is ongoing.
Attorney General Pam Bondi called the use of “disaster relief funds for self-enrichment … a particularly selfish, cynical crime.”
“No one is above the law, least of all powerful people who rob taxpayers for personal gain,” she added. “We will follow the facts in this case and deliver justice.”
U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida issued a statement which read in part:
Public money belongs to the American people. When FEMA funds are diverted for personal or political gain, it erodes trust and harms us all. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure that American taxpayer dollars are used as intended and that the public’s trust is safeguarded.
In a striking display of irony, the widely followed X account Libs of TikTok assembled a collection of Cherfilus-McCormick’s past posts in which she proclaimed, with no small measure of sanctimony, that “no one is above the law.” Each instance concerned what she saw as the Democrats’ righteous application of the law against then-candidate Donald Trump.
Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
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