The Justice Department on Wednesday accused Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of using FEMA overpayment funds to support her 2021 congressional campaign. The department in a news release said a federal grand jury in Miami returned an indictment against the Florida Democrat and several others. The indictment was not immediately available. “This is an unjust, baseless, sham indictment — and I am innocent. The timing alone is curious and clearly meant to distract from far more pressing national issues. From day one, I have cooperated with every lawful request, and I will continue to do so until this matter is resolved,” Cherfilus-McCormick said in a statement. A health care company associated with Cherfilus-McCormick, which had a FEMA-funded COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract, received an overpayment of $5 million in FEMA funds in July 2021, according to the release. The indictment alleges that the defendants conspired to steal that $5 million and routed it through accounts to disguise the source, the Justice Department said. “Prosecutors allege that a substantial portion of the misappropriated funds was used as candidate contributions to Cherfilus-McCormick’s 2021 congressional campaign and for the personal benefit of the defendants,” the press release stated. The indictment accuses Cherfilus-McCormick and another individual of arranging “additional contributions using straw donors, funneling other monies from the FEMA-funded Covid-19 contract to friends and relatives,” according to the DOJ press release. Those individuals then donated to her campaign as if it were their own money, the release said. The indictment also charges Cherfilus-McCormick and her 2021 tax preparer with conspiring to file a false federal tax return, the Justice Department said. The indictment states they falsely claimed political spending and other personal expenses as business deductions and inflated charitable contributions in order to reduce her tax obligations, the DOJ release said. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in the news release that “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," Bondi said.
