POLITICS: BUSTED: Democrat Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick Indicted in $5M FEMA Fraud — Faces 53 Years

BREAKING: A Miami federal grand jury has indicted U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick for allegedly stealing $5 million in FEMA disaster funds and funneling the money into her 2021 congressional campaign, the Department of Justice announced.

The indictment alleges that Cherfilus-McCormick and co-conspirators obtained a FEMA-funded COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract in 2021 and that the contract produced a $5 million overpayment in July 2021 — money prosecutors say was deliberately taken and laundered. Local 10 News reported that a Miami federal grand jury indicted U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Florida, along with several others, for ‘stealing federal disaster funds, laundering the proceeds, and using the money to support her 2021 congressional campaign’.

Prosecutors say the money was routed through multiple accounts to disguise its source and that a “substantial portion of the misappropriated funds” was used to benefit her 2021 campaign. Specifically, they say Cherfilus-McCormick “conspired to steal that $5 million and routed it through multiple accounts to disguise its source,” then used the proceeds for campaign and personal benefit, Local 10 News reported.

The indictment names multiple co-defendants tied to the scheme: her brother Edwin Cherfilus, co-defendant Nadege Leblanc and her 2021 tax preparer, David K. Spencer. Court papers and reporting outline charges ranging from theft of federal funds and money laundering to illegal campaign contributions and false tax filings, WSVN documented.

The timeline the indictment sketches is stark: the FEMA contract was awarded in 2021, the $5 million overpayment arrived in July 2021, funds were moved into campaign and personal accounts later in 2021, Cherfilus-McCormick took office in 2022, and a federal grand jury returned the indictment on November 19, 2025 — a fact confirmed in the DOJ announcement and contemporary reporting, Axios reported and the Department of Justice announced.

Prosecutors also allege a wider criminal scheme: the defendants “falsely claimed political spending and other personal expenses as business deductions and inflated charitable contributions in order to reduce her tax obligations,” according to reporting on the indictment, Local 10 News reported. That alleged tax conduct, officials say, included help from her tax preparer to file false returns.

The indictment makes the political stakes clear: “Cherfilus-McCormick, who took office in 2022 to succeed longtime U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings after his death, faces up to 53 years in prison,” Local 10 News reported. The case is being prosecuted in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Miami, per the DOJ release, the Department of Justice announced.

For conservative readers, this looks like another example of Democratic malpractice with federal funds — an alleged theft of emergency relief dollars meant for pandemic response that instead fueled a campaign. The Las Vegas Sun noted the case’s implications for oversight and the integrity of federal disaster-relief programs.

The practical fallout is immediate: $5 million in FEMA money that taxpayers provided for COVID response is now at the center of a federal criminal case. That diversion, prosecutors say, meant funds never reached their intended purpose — and that reality raises urgent questions about how FEMA disbursed such large sums and how overpayments were allowed to persist, Local 10 News reported.

The Justice Department has returned an indictment, which moves the matter into federal court: arraignments, discovery and likely a lengthy process of motions and possible trial lie ahead. The DOJ release makes plain the federal prosecution will be handled out of Miami, the Department of Justice announced.

At the time of reporting, there is no public statement from Cherfilus-McCormick or her counsel in the accounts reviewed; news outlets say the congresswoman has not publicly addressed the charges, Local 10 News reported. What House Democratic leaders will do — calls for resignation, an Ethics Committee inquiry, or something else — remains an open question that conservatives should watch closely, WSVN documented.

What comes next: expect arraignment and possible bail hearings in the next 24–48 hours, initial court filings, and a scramble by media and investigators to map exactly which campaign expenditures trace back to the alleged scheme. Conservatives should demand transparency on how such an overpayment occurred and whether similar vulnerabilities exist elsewhere in FEMA programs, the Department of Justice announced.

The real question now: will congressional Democrats treat this as the crisis it is — and will federal prosecutors treat elected officials the same regardless of party? This indictment is the beginning of answers, not the end of questions. Stay tuned as The Scoop follows filings and developments from Miami’s federal courthouse, Axios reported.

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