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A Miami grand jury indicted Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., on charges of allegedly stealing millions of dollars in disaster relief funds to make illegal campaign contributions, the Department of Justice said Wednesday.
According to the indictment, the Florida Democrat allegedly conspired to steal $5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds alongside her brother Edwin Cherfilus and numerous co-defendants.
Prosecutors alleged that the defendants routed the funds through multiple accounts to disguise their source and that a significant portion of the misappropriated funds were used as candidate contributions to Cherfilus-McCormick’s 2021 congressional campaign or for their personal benefit.
The Democrat could face up to 53 years in prison if convicted.
Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormic was indicted by a Miami grand jury for allegedly stealing $5M in FEMA funds on Wed, Nov. 18, according to the Department of Justice. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images)
“Using disaster relief funds for self-enrichment is a particularly selfish, cynical crime,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “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.”
Both Cherfilus-McCormick and her brother worked through their family healthcare company on a FEMA-funded COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract in 2021, according to the indictment. The company received an overpayment of $5 million in FEMA funds in July 2021, prosecutors alleged.
FBI Director Kash Patel immediately posted on X that Cherfilus-McCormick and her family “allegedly stole money from FEMA and then laundered it through friends toward her own personal benefits – including her campaign accounts.”
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Attorney General Pam Bondi referred to the alleged crimes as ‘particularly selfish.’ (Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
The indictment also states that Cherfilus-McCormick and Nadege Leblanc allegedly fixed contributions using straw donors and channeled funds from a FEMA-funded COVID-19 contract to their associates, who used it to make campaign donations.
Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., shared on X that he will be filing a motion to censure Cherfilus-McCormick and remove her from all committees.
“This is one of the most egregious abuses of public trust I have ever seen,” he asserted.
The Republican Party of Florida in an X post immediately called on Cherfilus-McCormick to resign writing, “This is absolutely disgusting. She must step down NOW!”
Cherfilus-McCormick’s office did not immediately respond to Fox New News Digital’s request for comment.
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Rep. Steube, R-Fla., said he will be filing a motion to censure Cherfilus-McCormick and remove her from all committees. (Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
The Howard University graduate was initially hit by a probe in 2023 by the House Ethics Committee, who investigated allegations of campaign finance violations tied to her 2022 elections.
Cherfilus-McCormi was re-elected to a third term in Congress in 2024. She currently serves on the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.