(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., will remain in the House despite a DOJ indictment accusing her and co-defendants of stealing $5 million in FEMA funds and using it for illegal campaign contributions.
After the DOJ released the indictment, Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., threatened to file a motion to remove her but said he would give her time to resign voluntarily and wait for the House Ethics Committee to finish its probe.
Critics on X are demanding that she be removed before a guilty conviction, citing how House Democrats voted to oust now-former Rep. George Santos for similar accusations. Santos, now pardoned by President Donald Trump, was removed after the same panel released its report on him.
A 42-page indictment accuses Cherfilus-McCormick of unlawfully keeping the money mistakenly deposited into a company she controlled.
FEMA contracted with her healthcare company, Trinity Health Care Services, to assist Florida’s coronavirus vaccination campaign and reportedly received $5 million more than it was owed.
Prosecutors say Cherfilus-McCormick, along with her chief of staff, Nadege Leblanc, and her accountant, David Kofi Spencer, moved the money through multiple accounts before it landed on her congressional campaign.
The indictment says the congresswoman used straw donors to funnel the money. Additionally, prosecutors allege she inflated business expenses and charitable contributions in 2021 to reduce her tax liability.
Co-defendants reportedly falsified documents to hide the scheme when investigators approached them.
Attorney General Pam Bondi slammed Cherfilus-McCormick in a press release announcing the indictment: “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.”
For her part, Cherfilus-McCormick said she is being targeted because of her race.
JUST IN: Dem Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who was just indicted for allegedly stealing $5M in FEMA funds, suggests she is being targeted because she is black.
Reporter: Thoughts on the indictment?
Cherfilus-McCormick: "This is an unjust indictment … I look forward to my… pic.twitter.com/oCrHKFMPqU
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 20, 2025
