A federal grand jury charged Democratic Florida Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick on Wednesday with allegedly stealing millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded disaster relief and directing the money into her 2021 congressional campaign, according to prosecutors.
The indictment follows a Federal Election Commission probe opened in September after complaints accused her campaign of concealing in-kind contributions tied to her family and consultant Mark Goodrich. Prosecutors say Cherfilus-McCormick, 46, and her brother, Edwin Cherfilus, 51, diverted a $5 million Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) overpayment through their family’s healthcare company during a COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract.
Authorities allege the siblings moved the money through multiple accounts to hide its origin, then used a significant portion to finance Cherfilus-McCormick’s special-election bid and cover personal expenses. The indictment also states that Cherfilus-McCormick and co-defendant Nadege Leblanc orchestrated a straw-donor scheme, routing FEMA-funded contract money to friends and relatives who then made campaign contributions in their own names.
Prosecutors further accuse Cherfilus-McCormick and tax preparer David K. Spencer of conspiring to file a fraudulent 2021 federal tax return by mischaracterizing political spending and personal purchases as business deductions and inflating charitable contributions.
Attorney General Pam Bondi condemned the alleged misuse of emergency funds, calling it “a particularly selfish, cynical crime,” and emphasized that “no one is above the law.”
U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones said the case underscores the government’s responsibility to protect disaster-relief money, noting that misuse of FEMA funding “erodes trust and harms us all.”
If convicted, Cherfilus-McCormick faces up to 53 years in prison. Her brother could face up to 35 years, Leblanc up to 10 years, and Spencer up to 33 years.
Corporate records show that Cherfilus-McCormick’s husband, Corlie McCormick Jr., and her sister-in-law, Chantrell McCormick, serve as registered agents for Progressive People Inc. (PPI), a Florida LLC that sent $725,000 to Truth and Justice Inc. (TJI) in 2022. TJI — a nonprofit tied to Gary Eugene Beasley — allegedly gave Goodrich access to its accounts, which he then used to route payments to campaign vendors, according to the Office of Congressional Ethics.
A separate complaint filed by the Coolidge-Reagan Foundation alleges that Trinity Health Care Services LLC embezzled $5 million in 2021 while Cherfilus-McCormick served as CEO. The home-health company is registered to her mother and stepfather, Marie and Gabriel Smith, and lists her brother as vice president of operations.
Cherfilus-McCormick now becomes the third House Democrat facing the possibility of federal prison time, joining New Jersey Rep. LaMonica McIver and Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar, whose charges range from obstruction of federal officers to foreign-influence bribery allegations.
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I don’t care which party they area from, this was a concentrated effored to hid and use for personal use, US. Tax Payers money to the tune of $5,000,000.00. The only answer is after all the evidence is in, that they be arrested, charged, and sent to trial, with jail pending when convicted. Congressional members who steal like that get absolutely no sympathy from me.
And even if she’s convicted, they will re-elect her.
Unfortunately, there are probably others doing the same things. Catch them also!!! We might actually get tax refunds if they would quit stealing the money and using for stupid things, and conducting fraud to steal it.