Dem congresswoman charged with stealing $5M in FEMA funds: DOJ...

Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, of Florida, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of stealing $5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency funds, which she is accused of laundering to support her 2021 congressional campaign. The indictment was announced by the Justice Department on Wednesday. The indictment alleges Cherfilus-McCormick. 46, and her brother, Edwin Cherfilus, 51, received a $5 million overpayment in FEMA funds directed to their family health care company in connection with a contract for COVID-19 vaccination staffing in 2021. Afterward, Cherfilus-McCormick and other co-defendants allegedly conspired to use the overpaid funds to benefit her campaign by routing it through multiple accounts to disguise its source, according to the DOJ. They further are alleged to have arranged a series of straw donors that included their friends and relatives to funnel the COVID-19 contract money in the form of donations to her campaign. "Using disaster relief funds for self-enrichment is a particularly selfish, cynical crime," Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement announcing the indictment. "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." If convicted, Cherfilus-McCormick faces a maximum sentence of up to 53 years in prison. She did not immediately have an attorney listed representing her on her case docket as of Wednesday evening.