Florida Democrat Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick has been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly stealing $5 million in FEMA disaster relief funds and diverting the money to finance her 2021 congressional campaign. The charges include conspiracy to commit wire fraud, theft of government funds, and money laundering.
According to the Department of Justice, the funds were issued as part of a COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract between FEMA and a healthcare company owned by Cherfilus-McCormick’s family. Rather than returning an alleged $5 million overpayment, the company, with direction from Cherfilus-McCormick and her brother Edwin Cherfilus, used the funds to support her political campaign through straw donations and other illegal means. Investigators allege the money was laundered through multiple entities to conceal its origins.
The indictment outlines that a substantial portion of the diverted federal money was funneled into her special election run in 2021, which she won in January 2022. She later won re-election to a full term representing Florida’s 20th Congressional District. If convicted on all counts, she faces a maximum sentence of up to 53 years in federal prison.
The congresswoman has also been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee since 2023 for unrelated campaign finance violations. The Department of Justice described the alleged actions as a gross misuse of taxpayer funds intended for public health emergencies. Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi called the crime “particularly selfish,” noting the funds were meant to help communities recover from the COVID-19 crisis.
Cherfilus-McCormick’s office has not issued a statement on the indictment. The case is expected to proceed to trial in federal court in the coming months.
