Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., has been indicted for allegedly stealing $5 million in FEMA disaster relief funds for illegal campaign contributions, according to the Department of Justice. The indictment, which was unsealed on Wednesday, accuses the Florida Democrat of conspiring with her brother Edwin Cherfilus and other co-defendants to misappropriate millions of dollars in federal disaster relief funds.
Prosecutors allege that the defendants used a complex scheme to disguise the source of the misappropriated funds, routing them through multiple accounts to conceal their origin. A significant portion of the funds, according to the indictment, was used as candidate contributions for Cherfilus-McCormick’s 2021 congressional campaign or for their personal benefit. The federal case has drawn sharp criticism from officials, who described the alleged misuse of taxpayer money as a particularly selfish and cynical crime.
Attorney General Pam Bondi, in a statement, condemned the case, stating that