The Justice Department announced on Wednesday that Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) has been indicted for allegedly stealing $5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds and using the money to help fund her 2021 congressional campaign.
In a Wednesday press release, the Justice Department confirmed that Cerfilus-McCormick was indicted by a federal grand jury in Miami and charged alongside multiple co-defendants for “stealing federal disaster funds, laundering the proceeds, and using the money to support her 2021 congressional campaign.”
“Using disaster relief funds for self-enrichment is a particularly selfish, cynical crime,” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi stated. “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.”
The indictment accuses the Democrat congresswoman and her brother Edwin Cherfilus of working through their family health-care company to obtain a COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract in 2021. According to the indictment, the company’s contract, which was covered with FEMA funding, was overpaid by $5 million.
The Justice Department explained that the indictment accuses the Democrat congresswoman and her brother of conspiring to steal the $5 million in FEMA funds and to have it routed through different accounts to “disguise its source.” The Justice Department also noted that prosecutors claim a portion of the $5 million was ultimately used as contributions to Cherfilus-McCormick’s 2021 congressional campaign.
READ MORE: Democrat congresswoman indicted after breaching ICE facility in New Jersey
The grand jury’s indictment also accuses the Democrat congresswoman and Nadege Leblanc of arranging “additional contributions” by using straw donors and funneling funds from the FEMA contract to relatives and friends who then donated money to the congresswoman’s political campaign.
Additionally, Cherfilus-McCormick and David Spencer, who prepared the Democrat congresswoman’s taxes in 2021, were charged with conspiring to file a false federal tax return by falsely claiming that Cherfilus-McCormick’s personal expenses and political spending were “business deductions and inflated charitable contributions.”
According to Wednesday’s press release, Cherfilus-McCormick could face up to 53 years in prison, while her brother could face up to 35 years in prison if they are convicted.
Sharing a picture of Cherfilus-McCormick on X, formerly Twitter, FBI Director Kash Patel tweeted, “This individual and her family allegedly stole money from FEMA and then laundered it through friends toward her own personal benefits – including her campaign accounts. Today the FBI and partners at @TheJusticeDept took action. No one is above the law.”
