MIAMI (AP) — U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida has been indicted on fees accusing her of stealing $5 million in federal catastrophe funds and utilizing a number of the cash to assist her 2021 marketing campaign, the Justice Division mentioned Wednesday.
The Democrat is accused of stealing Federal Emergency Administration Company overpayments that her household well being care firm had obtained by a federally funded COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract, federal prosecutors mentioned. A portion of the cash was then funneled to assist her marketing campaign by candidate contributions, prosecutors allege.
“Using disaster relief funds for self-enrichment is a particularly selfish, cynical crime,” Legal professional Normal Pam Bondi mentioned in a press release. “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.”
A telephone message left at Cherfilus-McCormick’s Washington workplace was not instantly returned.
Cherfilus-McCormick was first elected to Congress in 2022 within the twentieth District, representing components of Broward and Palm Seashore counties, in a particular election after Rep. Alcee Hastings died in 2021.
In December 2024, a Florida state company sued an organization owned by Cherfilus-McCormick’s household, saying it overcharged the state by almost $5.8 million for work achieved in the course of the pandemic and wouldn’t give the cash again.
The Florida Division of Emergency Administration mentioned it made a sequence of overpayments to Trinity Healthcare Companies after hiring it in 2021 to register individuals for COVID-19 vaccinations. The company says it found the issue after a single $5 million overpayment drew consideration.
Cherfilus-McCormick was the CEO of Trinity on the time.
The Workplace of Congressional Ethics mentioned in a January report that Cherfilus-McCormick’s earnings in 2021 was greater than $6 million greater than in 2020, pushed by almost $5.75 million in consulting and profit-sharing charges obtained from Trinity Healthcare Companies.
In July, the Home Ethics Committee unanimously voted to reauthorize an investigative subcommittee to look at allegations involving Cherfilus-McCormick.
