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Folks, you can’t make this stuff up. A sitting Democratic congresswoman from the Sunshine State is now staring down the barrel of more than half a century in federal prison after prosecutors say she and her crew looted millions in FEMA disaster-relief money… and funneled it straight into her own campaign war chest.
On Wednesday, the Justice Department dropped the hammer on Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL), charging her with masterminding a jaw-dropping scheme to swipe a $5 million overpayment that FEMA accidentally sent to her family’s health-care company during the COVID vaccine push. Instead of sending it back, prosecutors say she and her brother Edwin Cherfilus treated it like their personal piggy bank—laundering the cash through multiple accounts and dumping it into her 2021 congressional race.
"Using disaster relief funds for self-enrichment is a particularly selfish, cynical crime," Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a blistering statement. "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."
FBI Director Kash Patel didn’t hold back either: “This individual and her family allegedly stole money from FEMA and then laundered it through friends toward her own personal benefits – including her campaign accounts,” Patel said. “Today the FBI and partners at [the Justice Department] took action. No one is above the law.”
Prosecutors say Cherfilus-McCormick’s district chief of staff, Nadege Leblanc, helped funnel stolen cash to straw donors who then “donated” it right back to the campaign. And if that wasn’t enough, a tax preparer named David Spencer is accused of helping the congresswoman cook the books—claiming political spending and personal expenses as business deductions while inflating charitable contributions.
If convicted on all counts, Cherfilus-McCormick could get up to 53 years behind bars. Her brother faces 35, Leblanc up to 10, and Spencer up to 33.
Her legal team trotted out the usual line, calling her “a committed public servant” and vowing to “fight to clear her good name.” Sure.
Meanwhile, Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) is already preparing to drop the gavel. He plans to file a motion Thursday to censure Cherfilus-McCormick and boot her off every committee, Foreign Affairs and Veterans’ Affairs included.
“This is one of the most egregious abuses of public trust I have ever seen. Stealing $5 million in taxpayer disaster funds from FEMA of all places is beyond indefensible,” Steube told me. “Millions of Floridians have relied on FEMA after devastating hurricanes, and that money was supposed to help real disaster victims.”
Oh, and the House Ethics Committee is already investigating her separately.
Look, when actual hurricane victims are still waiting on FEMA trailers and tarps, and this crew is allegedly treating disaster money like campaign slush-fund bingo, the word “brazen” doesn’t even cover it.
Stay tuned, this one’s going to get ugly.
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"Using disaster relief funds for self-enrichment is a particularly selfish, cynical crime," Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a blistering statement. "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."
FBI Director Kash Patel didn’t hold back either: “This individual and her family allegedly stole money from FEMA and then laundered it through friends toward her own personal benefits – including her campaign accounts,” Patel said. “Today the FBI and partners at [the Justice Department] took action. No one is above the law.”
Prosecutors say Cherfilus-McCormick’s district chief of staff, Nadege Leblanc, helped funnel stolen cash to straw donors who then “donated” it right back to the campaign. And if that wasn’t enough, a tax preparer named David Spencer is accused of helping the congresswoman cook the books—claiming political spending and personal expenses as business deductions while inflating charitable contributions.
If convicted on all counts, Cherfilus-McCormick could get up to 53 years behind bars. Her brother faces 35, Leblanc up to 10, and Spencer up to 33.
Her legal team trotted out the usual line, calling her “a committed public servant” and vowing to “fight to clear her good name.” Sure.
Meanwhile, Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) is already preparing to drop the gavel. He plans to file a motion Thursday to censure Cherfilus-McCormick and boot her off every committee, Foreign Affairs and Veterans’ Affairs included.
“This is one of the most egregious abuses of public trust I have ever seen. Stealing $5 million in taxpayer disaster funds from FEMA of all places is beyond indefensible,” Steube told me. “Millions of Floridians have relied on FEMA after devastating hurricanes, and that money was supposed to help real disaster victims.”
Oh, and the House Ethics Committee is already investigating her separately.
Look, when actual hurricane victims are still waiting on FEMA trailers and tarps, and this crew is allegedly treating disaster money like campaign slush-fund bingo, the word “brazen” doesn’t even cover it.
Stay tuned, this one’s going to get ugly.
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