In an indictment from the Miami federal grand jury, Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) was accused of having “received an overpayment of $5 million in FEMA funds” in July 2021, and reportedly “routed it through multiple accounts to disguise its source,” according to a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. Part of the money was then reportedly “used as candidate contributions” to Cherfilus-McCormick’s 2021 congressional campaign.
Per the press release, at the time, the congresswoman and her brother, Edwin Cherfilus, 51, “worked through their family health-care company on a FEMA-funded COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract,” and their company received the overpayment:
According to the indictment, Cherfilus-McCormick, 46, and her brother Edwin Cherfilus, 51, 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 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.
“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.”
According to the indictment, Cherfilus-McCormick and another person, Nadege Leblanc, 46, allegedly “arranged additional contributions using straw donors” and funneled the money “from the FEMA-funded Covid-19 contract to friends and relatives.”
The funds were allegedly then donated to Cherfilus-McCormick’s campaign under the guise that it was these people’s “own money,” according to the press release.
Cherfilus-McCormick and “her 2021 tax preparer David K. Spencer, 41,” were also allegedly charged with “conspiring to file a false federal tax return,” according to the indictment.
According to the press release, the indictment accused them of falsely claiming “political spending and other personal expenses as business deductions and inflated charitable contributions in order to reduce her tax obligations.”
If convicted, the congresswoman “faces up to 53 years in prison,” while her brother faces up to 35 years, according to the press release. Leblanc would face up to ten years if convicted, while Spencer would face up to 33 years in prison if convicted.
The indictment comes as Cherfilus-McCormick has been “under investigation by the House Ethics Committee since December 2023,” according to the New York Post.
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