A federal grand jury in Miami has indicted Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick and several co-defendants, accusing them of stealing about $5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster-relief funds and channeling a large share of that money into her 2021 congressional campaign, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Prosecutors allege that Cherfilus-McCormick, who represents Florida’s 20th District in parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties, worked with her brother, Edwin Cherfilus, to divert a major overpayment connected to a COVID-19 vaccination-staffing contract awarded to their family home-health-care business. The indictment says the defendants moved the funds through multiple bank accounts to conceal their origin, then routed substantial amounts into campaign contributions. It also alleges the congresswoman conspired with her tax preparer to file a false federal return.
Cherfilus-McCormick’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday evening.
Background and stakes
The indictment arrives amid ongoing scrutiny of Trinity Healthcare Services—the Miramar-based company Cherfilus-McCormick led before entering Congress. In late 2024, Florida’s Division of Emergency Management sued Trinity, claiming the firm overcharged the state by nearly $5.8 million for COVID-era vaccination-registration work and failed to return the excess funds. State officials said the controversy surfaced after a single roughly $5 million overpayment triggered internal alarms about the company’s billing practices during the pandemic.
Those state allegations also helped drive a parallel congressional ethics investigation. In January, the Office of Congressional Ethics reported that Cherfilus-McCormick’s 2021 income jumped by more than $6 million compared with the prior year, largely due to about $5.75 million in consulting and profit-sharing fees from Trinity. In July, the House Ethics Committee unanimously voted to extend its inquiry into whether she improperly benefited from the company’s government contracts, placing her under bipartisan scrutiny even before this federal case.
What prosecutors allege
According to the indictment, Trinity received a FEMA-funded COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract in 2021 and later received an overpayment of roughly $5 million. Prosecutors say Cherfilus-McCormick, her brother, and others agreed to keep that money rather than return it, then set up straw-donor arrangements to move the funds into political contributions. The indictment claims friends and relatives were recruited to make “donations” to the campaign that were, in reality, financed by the FEMA money.
The charging document also accuses Cherfilus-McCormick and tax preparer David K. Spencer of conspiring to file a false tax return. Prosecutors allege they misclassified campaign and personal expenses as business deductions and inflated charitable donations to reduce tax liability.
Who Cherfilus-McCormick is
Cherfilus-McCormick was born in Brooklyn, earned a B.A. from Howard University, and received her J.D. from St. Thomas University School of Law. She previously served as CEO of Trinity Healthcare Services. She won a 2022 special election for Congress after the death of longtime Rep. Alcee Hastings, becoming the only Haitian-American Democrat elected to Congress.
What comes next
Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement that using disaster-relief funds for personal gain is an especially serious offense and promised continued pursuit of accountability.
The criminal case and ethics investigation are both ongoing. If convicted, Cherfilus-McCormick faces a potential sentence of up to 53 years in prison, while her brother faces up to 35 years, prosecutors said.
