Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who represents a large portion of western Palm Beach County in the U.S. House of Representatives, has been indicted on charges of stealing $5 million in federal disaster funds, laundering the proceeds and making illegal campaign contributions, according to the Department of Justice.
Cherfilus-McCormick, a Democrat, was elected in a January 2022 special election following the death of Alcee Hastings on April 6, 2021.
According to the indictment, Cherfilus-McCormick, 46, and her brother Edwin Cherfilus, 51, both of Miramar, worked through their family health-care company on a FEMA-funded COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract in 2021. In July 2021, the company received an overpayment of $5 million in FEMA funds, the indictment reads.
The indictment alleges that the defendants conspired to steal $5 million and routed it through multiple accounts in an effort to disguise its origin. Prosecutors say a large amount of the money was used as candidate contributions to Cherfilus-McCormick’s 2021 congressional campaign and for other personal uses.
In a statement released on her official website, Cherfilus-McCormick proclaimed her innocence.
“This is an unjust, baseless, sham indictment — and I am innocent,” she wrote. “The timing alone is curious and clearly meant to distract from far more pressing national issues. From day one, I have fully cooperated with every lawful request, and I will continue to do so until this matter is resolved.
“I am deeply grateful for the support of my district, and I remain confident that the truth will prevail. I look forward to my day in court. Until then, I will continue fighting for my constituents. “
The indictment added that 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.
Cherfilus-McCormick also faces charges of conspiring to file a false federal tax return with her 2021 tax preparer, David K. Spencer.
She has long been under scrutiny for the alleged theft and campaign violations.
The House Ethics committee began an investigation nearly two years ago concerning the congresswoman’s campaign finances along with other potential violations. In 2024, the U.S. House Committee on Ethics referred questions about whether Cherfilus-McCormick broke campaign finance laws to an investigative subcommittee, extending the review.
According to the Nov. 19 indictment, those accused falsely claimed political spending and other personal expenses as business deductions and inflated charitable contributions in order to reduce her tax obligations.
How many years in prison could Cherfilus-McCormick face if convicted?
“Using disaster relief funds for self-enrichment is a particularly selfish, cynical crime,” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a justice department 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.”
If convicted, Cherfilus-McCormick faces up to 53 years in prison. Edwin Cherfilus faces up to 35 years, Leblanc up to 10 years and Spencer up to 33 years.
The district is the only majority-Black district in Florida and Cherfilus-McCormick is the first Haitian-American woman elected to Congress from Florida.
In 2022, Cherfilus-McCormick defeated a Hastings protege, then-Broward County Commissioner Dale Holness, in the Democratic primary of a special election before cruising past Republican Jason Mariner in the general election. She then defeated Holness again in the Democratic primary of the regular election before easily beating a Republican opponent in the heavily-Democratic district.
The district includes Palm Beach International Airport, Belle Glade, Canal Point, Haverhill, Pahokee, Riviera Beach, Royal Palm Beach and Magonia Park, among areas in Palm Beach County. It also includes most of the majority-Black precincts in and around western and central Broward County.
The district has been in the state’s Republican crosshairs as one for potential redistricting.
During remarks on Aug. 20 at Palm Beach State College near Lake Worth Beach, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis mocked the shape of the district, which was crafted after the 1990 Census to increase the chances that a Black candidate could win there.
“It’s the most irregularly shaped district on Florida’s map,” DeSantis said of District 20, whose boundaries bow out and squiggle to include the Glades, Mangonia Park and Riviera Beach before dipping down to encompass heavily Black portions of Broward County.
DeSantis could ask state legislators to change their boundaries, a boundary battle kicked off when President Donald Trump asked Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for a redistricting plan in that state to produce five additional GOP-friendly districts.
James Coleman is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @JimColeman11. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
