Florida’s No. 20 U.S. Rep. Sheila Charfils McCormick hosts a press conference on the ongoing crisis in Haiti on March 11, 2024 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
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A federal grand jury has indicted Florida Rep. Sheila Chafferas McCormick on charges of stealing $5 million in COVID-19 disaster funds, some of which was then illegally donated to her 2021 congressional campaign, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.
Citing an indictment issued in U.S. District Court in Miami, the Department of Justice said Cherfilus McCormick and his brother Edwin Cherfils attempted to launder the funds through multiple accounts to conceal their origins.
The Justice Department said the brothers obtained the funds in July 2021 after the family-owned health care company they worked for received a $5 million overpayment from FEMA, which was funding the company’s COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract.
Charfilas McCormick and another defendant, Nadège LeBlanc, are also accused of orchestrating a “straw donor” scheme in which funds from FEMA contracts were sent to friends and relatives, who then donated them to congressional campaigns.
Charfilas McCormick entered the House of Representatives in 2022 after winning a special election in January of that year to fill the seat held by the late Representative Alcee Hastings, representing Florida’s 20th Congressional District.
The congressman and 2021 Tax Preparer David Spencer have also been charged with conspiring to file false tax returns, according to the Department of Justice. The indictment alleges they claimed personal and political expenses as business deductions and “inflated charitable contributions to reduce their tax liability.”
If convicted, Charfilas McCormick could be sentenced to up to 53 years in prison, the Justice Department said in a press release. Due to judge discretion and federal sentencing guidelines, actual sentences are often significantly lower than the cap.
“Using disaster relief funds for personal gain is a particularly selfish and cynical crime,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement.
“No one is above the law, especially those in power who rob taxpayers for personal gain,” Bondi said. “We will follow the facts of this case and pursue justice.”
A spokesperson for Charfilas McCormick did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
Her lawyers, David Oscar Marx, Margot Moss and Melissa Madrigal, said in a joint statement that she is a “dedicated public servant who is dedicated to serving her constituents. We will fight to clear her name.”
Charfilas McCormick is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee, the committee announced in late May.
The Parliamentary Conduct Authority sent a reference letter to the committee in May 2024, listing a number of potential violations. Charfilas McCormick “may have requested funding for community projects that would otherwise be directed to commercial entities,” the firm said in a referral.
If convicted of the charges announced Wednesday, Edwin Charfilas could face up to 35 years in prison, Spencer could face up to 33 years in prison and LeBlanc could face up to 10 years in prison.
