Haitian-American congresswoman charged for allegedly stealing millions in emergency funds
MIAMI, United States (CMC) – Haitian-American Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick was indicted on Wednesday on federal charges accusing her of stealing US$5 million in disaster relief funds, laundering the money, and funnelling a substantial portion of it into her 2021 congressional campaign.
A federal grand jury in Miami returned the indictment against Cherfilus-McCormick, 46, along with her brother Edwin Cherfilus, 51, and several associates.
Prosecutors say the case stems from a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)-funded COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract awarded in 2021 to the family health-care company operated by the Cherfilus siblings in Miramar.
That July, the company received an overpayment of US$5 million in FEMA funds — money prosecutors allege the group then conspired to steal.
According to the indictment, the defendants moved the funds through multiple accounts to disguise their origin. Investigators say a sizable share of the misappropriated money ended up as contributions to Cherfilus-McCormick’s 2021 campaign, while the rest benefited the defendants personally.
Cherfilus-McCormick and her 2021 tax preparer, David K Spencer, 41, of Davie, are separately charged with conspiring to file a false federal tax return. Prosecutors say they falsely claimed political spending and other personal expenses as business deductions and inflated charitable contributions in an effort to lower her tax bill.
“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. We will follow the facts in this case and deliver justice.”
US Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida echoed that message, saying: “If convicted, Cherfilus-McCormick faces up to 53 years in federal prison. Her brother faces up to 35 years, Leblanc up to 10 years, and Spencer up to 33 years.”
Born in Brooklyn to Haitian parents and raised in Queens, Cherfilus-McCormick moved to Florida at age 13 to attend high school.
