In a not-so-surprising but still infuriating case out of Florida, Democrat Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) has been charged with stealing emergency relief funds from FEMA and then laundering the money to support her own political aspirations. According to the DOJ, the scale of the theft was massive, totalling around $5 million,
Such is what the DOJ announced in a wild press release, noting that Rep. Cherfilus McCormick had, alongside her slightly older brother, pilfered millions of dollars through their family health care company, stealing millions from FEMA. She then went on to also engage in other types of campaign fraud.
Beginning, the press release said, “A federal grand jury in Miami has returned an indictment charging Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick and several co-defendants with stealing federal disaster funds, laundering the proceeds, and using the money to support her 2021 congressional campaign.”
Continuing, the press release described how they used the company to steal the money, saying, “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.”
Connecting that stolen cash to her campaign, the press release went on to note how the money was “routed” through different bank accounts to hide its origin as stolen money, saying, “The indictment alleges that the defendants conspired to steal that $5 million and routed it through multiple accounts to disguise its source. Prosecutors allege that a substantial portion of the misappropriated funds was used as candidate contributions to Cherfilus-McCormick’s 2021 congressional campaign and for the personal benefit of the defendants.”
That’s not all. As part of its investigation, the DOJ also caught Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick using straw donors to funnel the stolen cash into her campaign, which added a new level of illegality atop the enterprise. It said, “The indictment further alleges 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.”
The press release then noted that, in addition to stealing millions and using it to illegally fund her campaign, the Democrat congresswoman had committed tax fraud in multiple ways, saying, “The indictment also charges Cherfilus-McCormick and her 2021 tax preparer David K. Spencer, 41, of Davie, with conspiring to file a false federal tax return. According to the indictment, they falsely claimed political spending and other personal expenses as business deductions and inflated charitable contributions in order to reduce her tax obligations.” Overall, Cherfilus-McCormick faces up to 53 years in prison for her crimes.
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AG Pam Bondi, commenting on the case, said that stealing disaster funds is particularly noxious and selfish, saying, “Using disaster relief funds for self-enrichment is a particularly selfish, cynical crime. 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.”
Watch the corrupt congresswoman get called out by a constituent for her lawlessness during a town hall meeting: