U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick was indicted this week by a grand jury in Miami for allegedly stealing $5 million in federal disaster funds and laundering them toward her 2021 congressional campaign.
Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Miramar, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice, laundered funds from an overpayment from a contract between her family’s health care company and FEMA for COVID-19 vaccination staffing.
According to the indictment, Cherflius-McCormick and other defendants routed the money through several accounts, as well as to friends and relatives, who then donated to her campaign.
“Using disaster relief funds for self-enrichment is a particularly selfish, cynical crime,” said U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi in the news release. “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 DOJ says the representative could face up to 53 years in prison if convicted.
The case is being investigated by the FBI Miami office and the IRS-Criminal Investigation Florida Field Office.
She also, and her tax preparer, were charged with conspiring to file a false federal tax return.
Among the defendants is the representative’s brother, Edwin Cherfilus.
In a social media post, Cherfilus-McCormick called it “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.”
Cherfilus-McCormick stepped down from leadership on the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee Thursday.
U.S. Rep. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota, called the alleged behavior “one of the most egregious abuses of public trust I have ever seen.”
“Stealing $5 million in taxpayer disaster funds from FEMA of all places is beyond indefensible. Millions of Floridians have relied on FEMA after devastating hurricanes, and that money was supposed to help real disaster victims,” Steube wrote on social media.
–Florida Phoenix
Leave a Reply