Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida was indicted Wednesday on federal charges alleging she stole $5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency funds and used a portion of the money to support her 2021 congressional campaign.

The indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in Miami, follows a House Ethics Committee investigation that began in December 2023. She faces up to 53 years in prison if convicted.

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Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement, “Using disaster relief funds for self-enrichment is a particularly selfish, cynical crime. No one is above the law, least of all powerful people who rob taxpayers for personal gain. We will follow the facts in this case and deliver justice.”

According to the Justice Department, Cherfilus-McCormick, 46, and several co-defendants are accused of conspiring to steal an overpayment of $5 million in FEMA funds her family health-care company received in July 2021.

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Prosecutors state the payment stemmed from a COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract.

The indictment alleges that the defendants routed the funds “through multiple accounts to disguise its source” and used “a substantial portion of the misappropriated funds … as candidate contributions” to Cherfilus-McCormick’s 2021 campaign.

Among the co-defendants named is her brother, Edwin Cherfilus, 51.

Prosecutors also allege that Cherfilus-McCormick and another co-defendant, Nadege Leblanc, 46, schemed to use “straw donors” to direct the stolen funds into the campaign.

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The indictment claims these actions were intended to conceal the true origin of the contributions.

Cherfilus-McCormick and her tax preparer, David K. Spencer, 41, are additionally charged with conspiring to file a false federal tax return.

According to the Justice Department, the filing allegedly misrepresented political spending and other personal expenses as business deductions.

Prosecutors also allege that charitable contributions were inflated on the return to reduce tax liability.

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US Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones of the Southern District of Florida said in a statement, “Today’s indictment shows no one is above the law. This indictment reflects our Office’s commitment to follow the facts, apply the law, and protect the American taxpayer. Public money belongs to the American people. When FEMA funds are diverted for personal or political gain, it erodes trust and harms us all.”

Cherfilus-McCormick was first elected to Congress in 2022 to represent Florida’s 20th District, replacing former Rep. Alcee Hastings, who died in 2021.

During the 2022 campaign, she drew attention for personally loaning her campaign more than $6 million.

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Federal Election Commission filings show she later repaid herself approximately $2.5 million using campaign funds.

The Florida Division of Emergency Management filed a lawsuit in December 2024 involving Trinity Healthcare Services, the family-owned company that received the FEMA overpayment.

The lawsuit alleges Trinity overcharged the state by nearly $5.8 million for work performed during the pandemic and refused to return the funds.

Cherfilus-McCormick served as CEO of Trinity at the time of the overpayment.

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