US Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida charged with stealing disaster funds
A federal indictment charges U S Rep Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida with stealing million in federal catastrophe funds laundering certain of the money through straw donors to her congressional campaign and then conspiring to file a false tax return the Justice Department disclosed Federal prosecutors accused the Democrat of stealing Federal Crisis Management Agency overpayments that her family robustness care company received through a COVID- vaccination staffing contract Cherfilus-McCormick has denied the charges and has no plans to resign according to a declaration shared by her chief of staff This is an unjust baseless sham indictment and I am innocent The timing alone is curious and clearly meant to distract from far more pressing national issues Cherfilus-McCormick s report reads in part I look forward to my day in court Until then I will continue fighting for my constituents Here s what to know What s in the indictment The indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Miami on Wednesday accuses Cherfilus-McCormick and several co-defendants of conspiring to steal million in overpayments to her family s soundness care company Trinity Healthcare Services under a contract to register people for COVID- vaccinations Prosecutors allege the funds were distributed to various accounts including to friends and relatives who in turn donated to the campaign that got her elected to Congress A substantial portion of the misappropriated funds were used for the campaign or for the personal benefit of Cherfilus-McCormick and others accused prosecutors claim How has she responded Cherfilus-McCormick maintains her innocence She also declared she s cooperated with every lawful request and will continue to do so until this matter is resolved according to a report provided by her chief of staff Congresswoman Cherfilus-McCormick is a committed inhabitants servant who is dedicated to her constituents We will fight to clear her good name wrote her attorneys David Oscar Markus Margot Moss and Melissa Madrigal Cherfilus-McCormick won a special vote in January to represent Florida s th District in parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties after Rep Alcee Hastings died in What about her seat in Congress While Cherfilus-McCormick intends to continue representing her South Florida district she is stepping down from her position as ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee s Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries stated Thursday Consistent with the United States Constitution she is entitled to her day in court and the presumption of innocence Jeffries noted in a report adding that the move to step down is in line with the rules of the House Democratic Caucus U S Rep Greg Steube a Republican who represents parts of Sarasota and Charlotte Counties in southwest Florida called Thursday for her resignation If the congresswoman doesn t resign Steube noted he d bring a resolution to the floor to expel her Defrauding the federal regime and catastrophe casualties of million is an automatic disqualifier from serving in elected office Steube posted on X The last member of Congress to be expelled was scandal-plagued Rep George Santos of New York Santos had not yet been convicted of federal charges and House Speaker Mike Johnson voted against it at the time expressing concern about setting a precedent of expelling members based on untried accusations What did previous investigations find In December a Florida state agency sued Trinity Healthcare Services saying the company owned by Cherfilus-McCormick s family had overcharged the state by nearly million for work done during the pandemic and wouldn t give the money back The Florida Division of Urgency Management noted it discovered the difficulty after a single million overpayment drew attention Cherfilus-McCormick was the CEO of Trinity at the time The House Ethics Committee unanimously voted in July to reauthorize an investigative subcommittee to examine the charges involving the congresswoman The Office of Congressional Ethics revealed in a January statement that Cherfilus-McCormick s income in was more than million higher than in driven by nearly million in consulting and profit-sharing fees received from Trinity Healthcare Services The indictment charges Cherfilus-McCormick and her tax preparer with conspiring to file a false federal tax return by falsely claiming political spending and other personal expenses as business deductions and inflated charitable contributions
