A Democrat congresswoman is facing a stunning federal indictment after a grand jury charged her with stealing millions in federal disaster aid and funneling the money into her 2021 campaign for Congress.
Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL), 46, was indicted alongside three co-defendants on Nov. 19 in Miami.
Prosecutors say the group pocketed $5 million in FEMA disaster funds, laundered the money, and used “a substantial portion” of the stolen cash to fuel Cherfilus-McCormick’s special election bid to replace the late Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL).
The Justice Department made the charges public on Wednesday.
In a statement, Attorney General Pamela Bondi said:
“Using disaster relief funds for self-enrichment is a particularly selfish, cynical crime.
“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.”
DOJ: FEMA Accidentally Sent Her Company $5 Million — She Kept It
At the center of the scandal is Trinity Healthcare Services, the family-run business that Cherfilus-McCormick was running in 2021.
During the pandemic, Trinity was reimbursed through a FEMA-funded vaccination staffing contract.
However, FEMA mistakenly overpaid by $5 million.
When authorities asked for the money back, Trinity refused, triggering a lawsuit from the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
Instead of returning taxpayer funds, prosecutors say Cherfilus-McCormick:
• Moved the money through multiple accounts to hide its origin
• Sent funds to friends and family, who in turn made campaign donations
• Used the laundered money to bankroll her 2021 special election
The Office of Congressional Ethics later found that the Democrat’s income mysteriously jumped more than $6 million in 2021 compared to the previous year.
The spike is now explained by the DOJ’s allegations.
Federal Prosecutors: A Web of Money Laundering and Straw Donors
Alongside the congresswoman, prosecutors charged:
• Her brother, who faces up to 35 years
• Nadege Leblanc, accused of helping orchestrate the straw-donor scheme, is facing up to 10 years
• Her tax preparer, David K. Spencer, was charged with conspiring to file a false tax return
Cherfilus-McCormick herself faces up to 53 years in federal prison if convicted on all counts.
“Public money belongs to the American people,” U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones said.
“When FEMA funds are diverted for personal or political gain, it erodes trust and harms us all.”
Rising Democrat Now Facing Ruin
Cherfilus-McCormick is the first Haitian American Democrat in Congress and a member of both the Foreign Affairs and Veterans’ Affairs Committees.
She won her 2021 special election by positioning herself as a progressive outsider.
However, it now appears that American taxpayers funded Cherfilus-McCormick’s rise.
Federal prosecutors say her victory was financed in part by stolen disaster aid that was meant to help Florida recover from the pandemic.
The DOJ’s indictment paints a devastating portrait, revealing that a sitting U.S. lawmaker allegedly siphoned taxpayer money intended for emergency relief and used it to buy political power.
If convicted, Cherfilus-McCormick could spend the rest of her life behind bars.
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