Florida lawmaker Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick indicted on charges of stealing $5 million from disaster funds – Firstpost

U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilas-McCormick of Florida has been charged with stealing $5 million in federal disaster funds and using some of the money to aid her 2021 campaign, the Justice Department said Wednesday.

The Democrat is accused of stealing Federal Emergency Management Agency overpayments that her family health care company received through a federally funded COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract, federal prosecutors said. Prosecutors allege that a portion of the money was spent to support his campaign through candidate contributions.

“Using disaster relief funds for self-enrichment is a particularly selfish, reprehensible 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 pursue the facts in this case and seek justice.”

A phone message left at Cherfilas-McCormick’s Washington office was not immediately returned.

Cherfilas-McCormick was first elected to Congress in 2022 in the 20th District, representing parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties, in a special election following the death of Rep. Alcee Hastings in 2021.

In December 2024, a Florida state agency sued a company owned by Cherfilas-McCormick’s family, saying it overcharged the state by nearly $5.8 million for work done during the pandemic and would not pay the money back.

The Florida Division of Emergency Management said it overpaid several times after hiring Trinity Healthcare Services to register people for COVID-19 vaccinations in 2021. The agency says it discovered the problem after drawing attention to the $5 million overpayment.

Cherfilas-McCormick was Trinity’s CEO at the time.

Cherfilas-McCormick’s income in 2021 was $6 million more than in 2020, driven by about $5.75 million in consulting and profit-sharing fees she received from Trinity Healthcare Services, the Congressional Ethics Office said in a January report.

In July, the House Ethics Committee voted unanimously to re-authorize an investigative subcommittee to investigate allegations involving Cherfilas-McCormick.