U.S. Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick indicted on charges of stealing $5M : NPR
Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Democrat of Florida, condemns hate speech and misinformation about Haitian immigrants during a press conference at the Capitol in Washington, September 20, 2024.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
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J. Scott Applewhite/AP
MIAMI — U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida has been indicted on charges accusing her of stealing $5 million in federal disaster funds and using some of that money to help her 2021 campaign, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.
The Democrat is accused of stealing Federal Emergency Management Agency overpayments that her family health care business received under a federally funded COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract, federal prosecutors said. Some of the money was then used to support his campaign through candidate contributions, prosecutors allege.
“Using disaster relief funds for self-enrichment is a particularly selfish and cynical crime,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “No one is above the law, least of all powerful people who steal from taxpayers for personal gain. We will follow the facts in this case and bring justice.”
A telephone message left at Cherfilus-McCormick’s Washington office was not immediately returned.
Cherfilus-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 Cherfilus-McCormick’s family, claiming it overbilled the state by nearly $5.8 million for work done during the pandemic and would not return the money.
The Florida Division of Emergency Management said it made a series of overpayments to Trinity Healthcare Services after hiring it in 2021 to register people for COVID-19 vaccinations. The agency says it discovered the problem after a single $5 million overpayment drew attention.
Cherfilus-McCormick was CEO of Trinity at the time.
The Office of Congressional Ethics said in a January report that Cherfilus-McCormick’s 2021 revenue was more than $6 million higher than 2020, thanks to nearly $5.75 million in consulting and profit-sharing fees received from Trinity Healthcare Services.
In July, the House Ethics Committee unanimously voted to reauthorize an investigative subcommittee to examine allegations involving Cherfilus-McCormick.
