Washington, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Florida Democrat, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges that she stole $5 million in Covid-19 disaster relief funds and illegally funneled part of that money into her 2021 congressional campaign, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday.
According to the indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Miami, Cherfilus-McCormick and her brother, Edwin Cherfilus, allegedly laundered the funds through multiple bank accounts in an attempt to conceal their origin. The money came from a $5 million overpayment by FEMA to the family’s health-care company, which was contracted to provide staffing for Covid vaccination efforts in 2021.
Prosecutors also accused Cherfilus-McCormick and co-defendant Nadege Leblanc of running a “straw donor” scheme. Under this arrangement, money from the FEMA-funded contract was routed to friends and relatives, who then donated it back to the congresswoman’s campaign, disguising the true source of the contributions.
Cherfilus-McCormick, who joined Congress in 2022 after winning a special election to replace the late Rep. Alcee Hastings, is additionally charged with filing a false tax return. Prosecutors say she and her tax preparer, David Spencer, improperly deducted personal and political expenses as business costs and exaggerated charitable contributions.
If convicted on all charges, Cherfilus-McCormick faces a maximum possible sentence of 53 years in federal prison, though actual sentences typically fall below statutory maximums. Her brother faces up to 35 years, Spencer up to 33 years, and Leblanc up to 10 years.
Attorney General Pam Bondi condemned the alleged misuse of pandemic funding, calling it “a particularly selfish, cynical crime,” and emphasized that “no one is above the law.”
The congresswoman’s legal team — David Oscar Markus, Margot Moss, and Melissa Madrigal — released a joint statement defending her, saying she “is a committed public servant” and vowing to “fight to clear her good name.” A spokesperson for her office did not respond to requests for comment.
Cherfilus-McCormick has also been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee, which in May disclosed a referral outlining additional possible violations involving community project funding directed to a for-profit entity.
The case marks one of the most high-profile Covid relief fraud prosecutions to date, as federal authorities continue efforts to address widespread abuse of emergency funding programs.
