A storm of legal trouble has landed on Democratic Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick. On Wednesday, a federal grand jury in Miami indicted her and several co-defendants, alleging they stole roughly $5 million in FEMA disaster-relief funds—a stunning accusation that could lead to decades behind bars.
Cherfilus-McCormick, who represents Florida’s 20th District across Broward and Palm Beach counties, is accused of using her family’s home-health-care company, Trinity Healthcare Services, as a vehicle for the alleged fraud. Prosecutors claim that an overpayment tied to a COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract was funneled through multiple accounts, obscuring its origins, with much of the money eventually redirected into political contributions.
