She took $5 million in FEMA funds.
Routed them through her family company.
Then used them to buy a seat in Congress.
On November 19, 2025, a federal grand jury in Miami indicted Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL-20) on federal charges of theft of government funds, money laundering conspiracy, and illegal campaign finance violations. According to the indictment, she and her co-conspirators diverted a $5 million FEMA COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract overpayment through Trinity Health Care Services — her family’s company — and then laundered the stolen funds into her 2021 congressional campaign through straw donors.
She faces up to 53 years in federal prison if convicted on all counts. She has pleaded not guilty. All allegations are those of the government; she is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
- $5MFEMA COVID-19 overpayment allegedly diverted through Trinity Health Care Services — DOJ OPA Press Release · November 19, 2025
- 53 yrsmaximum prison exposure if convicted on all counts — DOJ OPA · S.D. Fla. Indictment
- $109Kdiamond ring purchased by cashier’s check — September 1, 2021 — alleged to be FEMA funds — DOJ Indictment · Miami New Times
- 5 votesmargin of her 2021 FL-20 Democratic primary win — campaign allegedly funded by stolen disaster relief — Florida Division of Elections
A family company. A COVID contract. A $5 million overpayment that never came back.
Trinity Health Care Services is a South Florida home health care company co-founded by Cherfilus-McCormick’s stepfather, Gabriel Smith, and operated by her as CEO. In 2021, the Florida Division of Emergency Management contracted Trinity to staff COVID-19 vaccination registration operations under a FEMA-funded emergency agreement.
According to the November 2025 federal indictment, a Florida state agency mistakenly deposited approximately $5 million in excess FEMA funds into Trinity’s bank account — far above what the contract called for. Federal prosecutors allege that Cherfilus-McCormick, her brother Edwin Cherfilus, and co-conspirators Nadege LeBlanc and David K. Spencer did not notify the agency of the error or return the funds. Instead, they moved the money through multiple accounts to conceal its origin.
Within weeks, the indictment alleges, the funds began flowing in two directions: toward personal luxury purchases — including a $109,000 diamond ring, a Tesla, Tiffany & Co. jewelry, and designer clothing — and toward her 2021 Democratic primary campaign for Florida’s 20th congressional district.
According to the indictment, the scheme operated in three stages: (1) Theft — FEMA overpayment received by Trinity Health Care Services; funds not returned to the contracting agency. (2) Laundering — money moved through multiple accounts to obscure its origin; co-conspirators involved. (3) Straw donations — at least $3.6 million routed into her 2021 FL-20 Democratic primary campaign through friends and relatives who donated as if using their own money, in violation of 52 U.S.C. § 30122 (prohibition on contributions in the name of another).
She won that primary by 5 votes. She then won the January 2022 special election with approximately 79% of the general election vote.
“The defendant is accused of stealing federal money intended to protect the public from COVID-19, then using that money to enrich herself and illegally fund her political campaign.”
DOJ Office of Public Affairs — United States v. Cherfilus-McCormick · November 19, 2025
Theft. Money laundering. Straw donors. Up to 53 years.
The November 19, 2025 indictment out of the Southern District of Florida names Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL-20) and three co-defendants on overlapping federal charges arising from the alleged diversion of the FEMA contract overpayment. She is presumed innocent. All charges remain allegations of the government.
- →Theft of government funds — 18 U.S.C. § 666 (misappropriation of FEMA disaster relief funds received under federal contract)
- →Money laundering conspiracy — 18 U.S.C. § 1956 (concealing the proceeds of the theft through multiple account transfers)
- →Making illegal campaign contributions in the name of another (straw donors) — 52 U.S.C. § 30122
- →Accepting illegal campaign contributions made in the name of another — 52 U.S.C. § 30122
- →Maximum exposure: up to 53 years in federal prison if convicted on all counts
- →Plea: Not guilty · Trial scheduled February 2027 · Southern District of Florida
- →Edwin Cherfilus — her brother; charged with theft of government funds and money laundering conspiracy; up to 35 years maximum exposure
- →Nadege LeBlanc — co-conspirator; charged with money laundering conspiracy; up to 10 years maximum exposure
- →David K. Spencer — co-conspirator; charged with theft of government funds and money laundering conspiracy; up to 33 years maximum exposure
She replaced Alcee Hastings. She won by 5 votes. The seat. The indictment.
Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick is a Democrat from South Florida who represented Florida’s 20th Congressional District — a majority-Black district in Broward County, encompassing communities including Fort Lauderdale, Miramar, Pembroke Pines, and parts of Palm Beach County. The district had been represented for more than two decades by Rep. Alcee Hastings (D), a legendary Florida Democrat and former federal judge who was impeached and removed from the federal bench for bribery and perjury in 1989 before winning election to Congress in 1992. Hastings died in April 2021 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
The special election to fill his seat drew multiple Democratic candidates. Cherfilus-McCormick won the January 11, 2022 special election, becoming the second Haitian-American ever elected to Congress and the first Haitian-American Democrat. She won her 2021 Democratic primary — the decisive race in this heavily Democratic district — by exactly 5 votes over Broward County Commissioner Dale Holness. Federal prosecutors now allege that campaign was funded in significant part by stolen FEMA disaster relief money laundered through straw donors.
Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL-20) — Sworn in January 2022. Served on the House Foreign Affairs and Veterans’ Affairs committees. Resigned from Congress April 21, 2026 — minutes before the House Ethics Committee was set to convene to recommend sanctions including expulsion. Seat is now vacant pending a special election.
District profile: Broward County, FL. Majority-Black. FL-20 is one of the most heavily Democratic congressional districts in Florida, consistently electing Democrats by 70–80% margins. Winning the Democratic primary is effectively winning the seat.
FEMA disaster relief is not a campaign fund. COVID dollars. Straw donors. A 5-vote margin.
FEMA’s COVID-19 vaccination staffing contracts were emergency appropriations authorized by Congress to accelerate the nation’s pandemic response. They were funded with taxpayer money, administered through state emergency management agencies, and intended for a specific public health purpose: getting vaccines into arms across affected communities. The money was not discretionary. It was not a grant with loose oversight. It was a contract for specific services.
According to federal prosecutors, when a state agency mistakenly deposited $5 million more than was owed, the correct response — legally and ethically — was to notify the agency and return the funds. The indictment alleges that did not happen. Instead, the money flowed toward personal enrichment and political advancement, with at least $3.6 million allegedly routed to her congressional campaign through a straw donor network.
The straw donor structure matters beyond the dollar amounts. Federal campaign finance law prohibits contributions made in the name of another person — not because of the source of the money, but because such arrangements corrupt the disclosure regime that lets voters know who is financing their representatives. When a sitting congresswoman’s seat was allegedly purchased in part through a straw donor network funded by stolen disaster relief money, the voters of FL-20 were denied accurate information about how their representative won office.
Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick has pleaded not guilty to all charges. The allegations described on this page are those of the federal government, as set out in the November 19, 2025 indictment returned by a grand jury in the Southern District of Florida. An indictment is a charging document, not a verdict. She is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Her trial is currently scheduled for February 2027.
What is not in dispute: the indictment exists, it is a public document, the DOJ press release is real, and the House Ethics Committee — in a separate proceeding — found 25 of 27 alleged violations proven by clear and convincing evidence in March 2026. Those are facts. Whether the underlying criminal conduct occurred is for a jury to decide.
From COVID contract to indictment. 2021 to 2026. Documented.
A federal grand jury said she stole COVID money to win a congressional seat. She resigned before she could be expelled.
According to the November 2025 federal indictment, Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL-20) and her co-conspirators diverted $5 million in FEMA COVID-19 relief funds through her family’s healthcare company, spent a portion on personal luxuries including a $109,000 diamond ring, and routed at least $3.6 million into her congressional campaign through a straw donor network — a scheme the DOJ alleges was designed to obscure the source of the contributions and circumvent federal campaign finance law.
She won her primary by 5 votes. She won the seat. She served in Congress on the House Foreign Affairs and Veterans’ Affairs committees while the investigation unfolded. The House Ethics Committee found 25 of 27 violations proven by clear and convincing evidence in March 2026. On April 21, 2026, minutes before the Ethics Committee was scheduled to convene and recommend her punishment — potentially including expulsion — she resigned.
The resignation ended her congressional career. It did not end the criminal case. Her federal trial is currently scheduled for February 2027 in the Southern District of Florida. She has pleaded not guilty. She is presumed innocent unless and until a jury finds otherwise. The FEMA money — $5 million in disaster relief funds authorized by Congress for COVID-19 pandemic response — has not been publicly reported as recovered.
The DOJ indictment — United States v. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick et al., Southern District of Florida — remains active. Trial is scheduled February 2027. Her three co-defendants face trial on overlapping charges. The House Ethics Committee adjudicatory record — 25 of 27 violations proven, running past midnight, by clear and convincing evidence — is a permanent public document regardless of the outcome of the criminal case.
The primary source for this page is the DOJ Office of Public Affairs press release dated November 19, 2025, available at justice.gov. All criminal allegations are those of the government; all defendants are presumed innocent.