Florida Democrat Indicted Over $5 Million FEMA Fraud Faces House Ethics Trial

Prosecutors accuse Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of conspiring to steal $5 million in federal disaster funds mistakenly overpaid to the health care company owned by her family through a federally funded COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract. On Thursday, she faced the political consequences: the adjudicatory subcommittee in the matter of Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick held a public hearing, beginning at 2:00 p.m. in 1310 Longworth House Office Building.

The committee's work rarely takes place in the open. It had been more than 15 years since a sitting member of the House faced a public hearing, dating to the 2010 ethics trial of Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., on charges related to his personal finances.

The Florida Division of Emergency Management had hired Trinity Healthcare Services in 2021 to register people for COVID-19 vaccinations and made a series of overpayments to the company, discovering the problem after a single $5 million overpayment drew attention. Cherfilus-McCormick was the CEO of Trinity at the time. Rather than return the money, Cherfilus-McCormick allegedly moved the money to different accounts "to disguise its source," the Justice Department said. Within two months of receiving the money, prosecutors allege, more than $100,000 had been spent to buy the congresswoman a 3-carat yellow diamond ring.

Cherfilus-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," according to the indictment. Cherfilus-McCormick and her 2021 tax preparer David K. Spencer, 41, of Davie, are also indicted on charges of conspiring to file a false federal tax return. Investigators said that at least $3.6 million of the FEMA-linked funds made its way to Cherfilus-McCormick's campaign "for at least some period of time."

Cherfilus-McCormick is charged with 15 counts, including theft of government funds, money laundering, making and receiving straw donor contributions, and aiding and assisting the preparation of a false and fraudulent statement on a tax return. If convicted, Cherfilus-McCormick faces a maximum penalty of 53 years in prison; Edwin Cherfilus faces a maximum penalty of 35 years; Nadege Leblanc faces a maximum penalty of 10 years; and David K. Spencer faces a maximum penalty of 33 years.

Committee investigators have laid out their findings in a 242-page report that concludes Cherfilus-McCormick committed 27 counts of ethics violations. The panel came to its determination after reviewing the case since 2023, meeting a dozen times, reviewing over 33,000 documents, and issuing dozens of subpoenas. The report also found that Cherfilus-McCormick's campaign illegally accepted more than $800,000 from a Haitian oil company in 2022 and funded her reelection campaign largely through outside groups run by her friends and family, including the company that was mostly funded by the Haitian government.

Her lawyer, William R. Barzee, appealed for the subcommittee to reconsider its decision to go ahead with the public hearing, telling the committee that if she wants to preserve her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in the upcoming federal trial, "she must remain silent before the committee." Jeffries and his leadership team have signaled they will continue to defend Cherfilus-McCormick until the resolution of her federal criminal trial, which starts on April 20.

Attorney General Pam Bondi did not mince words when announcing the indictment in November. "Using disaster relief funds for self-enrichment is a particularly selfish, cynical crime," Bondi said. "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."

Cherfilus-McCormick, who represents a heavily Democratic district in southeastern Florida, has pleaded not guilty to the federal charges and called the indictment "an unjust, baseless, sham indictment." Some Democrats are prepared to call for Cherfilus-McCormick to resign or be expelled as soon as the Ethics Committee makes its determination. It takes a two-thirds vote to expel a member from the House.

After Cherfilus-McCormick was indicted in November, Rep. Greg Steube initially said he would seek to reprimand her through a censure resolution, which is largely symbolic. Steube quickly changed course and said he would pursue expulsion, arguing she should be "swiftly removed from the House before she can inflict any more harm on Congress, her district, and the State of Florida." He threatened to force a vote on her expulsion if Cherfilus-McCormick refused to resign, but held off as the Ethics Committee process played out.

Cherfilus-McCormick has stepped down from her position as ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee's Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa. She has said she had no plans to resign.