Headline Roundup • November 20th, 2025
Democratic Congresswoman Indicted for Stealing $5M in FEMA Funds, Using Some for Campaign
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) has been indicted for stealing FEMA funds and using some for her congressional campaign.
The Details: Cherfilus-McCormick, along with her brother Edwin Cherfilus, allegedly used 5 million in COVID-19 pandemic funds to bolster her campaign. Prosecutors claim the government overpaid her family company for a vaccination staffing contract and that she then "obfuscated its source" and funneled money to friends and family to donate to her campaign. According to the indictment, Cherfilus-McCormick then filed a federal tax return inflating her charitable contributions and claiming the political spending as a business deduction. She has previously denied any wrongdoing, but if convicted, she could face up to 53 years in prison.
Key Quote: "Using disaster relief funds for self-enrichment is a particularly selfish, cynical crime," said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. "No one is above the law, least of all powerful people who rob taxpayers for personal gain."
For Context: The congresswoman has been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee since 2023 over alleged "improper donations" to the special election campaign in 2020 when she was first elected to the seat of the late Representative Alcee Hastings.
How the Media Covered It: The story was widely and similarly covered by sources across the spectrum. Many sources also reported that Congressman Greg Steube (R-FL) is planning to force a vote on a resolution to censure Cherfilus-McCormick and strip her of her committee assignments.
Written by the AllSides staff (of humans). Learn more. Suggest an improvement to this summary.
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AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
The Justice Department announced an indictment Wednesday against Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Florida Democrat, accusing her of bilking the government of $5 million in pandemic funds and using the money to boost a previous congressional campaign.
Prosecutors said the government overpaid her family company $5 million for a COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract. She and her brother Edwin Cherfilus then “conspired to steal that $5 million” by obfuscating its source.
The prosecutors said she siphoned “a substantial portion” of the money into her campaign for Congress in 2021, when she was...
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.
A grand jury indicted Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) for allegedly stealing $5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds and using some of it to fund her campaign, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.
Prosecutors allege that Cherfilus-McCormick and her brother, Edwin, received an overpayment of $5 million in FEMA funds in July 2021, while their health care company was working on a FEMA-funded staffing contract tied to COVID-19 vaccinations. The congresswoman served as CEO.
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