Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick indicted for allegedly stealing FEMA disaster funds

A Miami grand jury indicted Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Democrat of Florida, for allegedly stealing millions of dollars in disaster relief funds to make illegal campaign contributions, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.

According to the indictment, the Florida Democrat allegedly conspired to steal $5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds alongside her brother Edwin Cherfilus and numerous co-defendants.

Prosecutors alleged that the defendants routed the funds through multiple accounts to conceal their source and that a significant portion of the misappropriated funds were used as candidate contributions to Cherfilus-McCormick’s 2021 Congressional campaign or for their personal benefit.

The Democrat faces up to 53 years in prison if convicted.

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Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormic was indicted by a Miami grand jury for allegedly stealing $5 million in FEMA funds on Wednesday, Nov. 18, according to the Justice Department. (Tom Williams/CQ-Appel via Getty Images)

“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.”

Cherfilus-McCormick and his brother both worked through their family health care business under a FEMA-funded COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract in 2021, according to the indictment. The company received an overpayment of $5 million in FEMA funds in July 2021, prosecutors alleged.

FBI Director Kash Patel immediately posted on

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Attorney General Pam Bondi called the alleged crimes “particularly selfish.” (Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

The indictment also says Cherfilus-McCormick and Nadège Leblanc allegedly fixed their contributions using straw donors and funneled funds from a FEMA-funded COVID-19 contract to their associates, who used them to make campaign donations.

Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., shared on X that he would file a motion to censure Cherfilus-McCormick and remove her from all committees.

“This is one of the most egregious breaches of public trust I have ever seen,” he said.

The Florida Republican Party, in an X-rated post, immediately called on Cherfilus-McCormick to resign, writing: “This is absolutely disgusting. She needs to resign NOW!”

Cherfilus-McCormick’s office did not immediately respond to Fox New News Digital’s request for comment.

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Rep. Steube, R-Fla., said he would file a motion to censure Cherfilus-McCormick and remove her from all committees. (Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

The Howard University graduate was initially targeted by a 2023 investigation by the House Ethics Committee, which investigated allegations of campaign finance violations related to her 2022 election.

Cherfilus-McCormi was re-elected to a third term in Congress in 2024. She currently serves on the House Committee on Veterans Affairs and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.