Rep. Sheila Cherfilus‑McCormick Faces A Federal Grand Jury Indictment Alleging She Diverted An Overpaid Emergency Contract Into Her 2021 Campaign, Triggering Calls For Expulsion From The House
Saturday, November 22, 2025, 7:30 A.M. 6 Minute Read, By Jennifer Hodges & Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
MIRAMAR, FL.- In a stunning development, Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Miami for allegedly orchestrating the theft of approximately $5 million in disaster relief funds originally awarded to her family’s health-care firm through a contract with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
According to prosecutors, the overpayment, disbursed in July 2021, was routed through multiple accounts and partly funneled into her 2021 congressional campaign, including via so-called “straw donor” contributions and false tax filings.
According to U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quinones, on Wednesday, November 19, 2025, a Federal Grand Jury returned a 15-count indictment charging Sheila Cherfilus-McCormack, 46, of Miramar, Florida, with Theft and Misappropriation of Federal Funds; Making Illegal Campaign Donations; and Conspiring to File a False Tax Return.
Also named in the indictment were Edwin Cherfilus, 51, Nadege Leblanc, 46, both also of Miramar, Florida, and David K. Spencer, 41, of Davie, Florida.
According to the charging information unsealed in the indictment, Cherfilus-McCormick and her brother, Edwin Cherfilus, worked through their family healthcare company on a FEMA-funded COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract in 2021, awarded under the Biden administration. In July 2021, the company received an overpayment of $5 million in FEMA funds.
The indictment alleges that Cherfilus-McCormack and Cherfilus conspired to steal $5 million and routed the funds through multiple accounts to disguise their source. The indictment also alleges 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 indictment further alleges that Cherfilus-McCormick and Leblanc arranged additional contributions using straw donors, funneling other monies from the FEMA-funded Covid-19 contract to friends and relatives who then donated to the campaign as if they were using their own money.
The indictment also charges Cherfilus-McCormick and her 2021 tax preparer, Spencer, with conspiring with one another to file a false federal tax return. According to the charging information, they falsely claimed political spending and other personal expenses and business deductions and inflated charitable contributions in order to reduce her tax obligations.
In a twist underscoring the political peril of moral grandstanding, Cherfilus-McCormick repeatedly declared on the campaign trail in 2023, after then-candidate and former President Donald Trump was indicted by a Fulton County, Georgia, grand jury, that “no one is above the law.” Yet, according to federal prosecutors, she had already spent 2021 constructing the elaborate scheme that allegedly siphoned $5 million in FEMA funds into shell accounts and illegal campaign contributions. The contrast between her public rhetoric and the conduct detailed in the indictment is now fueling bipartisan criticism and raising more profound questions about trust, accountability, and integrity in Congress.
In the hours after the charges were unsealed, Cherfilus-McCormick dismissed the indictment as politically motivated and “rooted in race,” echoing a familiar refrain used by embattled officials facing federal scrutiny.
But critics note that her appeal to identity politics stands in stark contrast to her own past insistence that criminal accountability must apply equally to everyone, regardless of background or position. With prosecutors alleging a meticulously planned financial scheme involving overpaid FEMA funds, shell transfers, and illegal campaign donations, her attempt to frame the case through the lens of race is drawing sharp backlash from both parties, who argue that such claims ring hollow when stacked against the detailed financial trail laid out in the indictment.
Cherfilus‑McCormick, who currently sits on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. She previously held the ranking Democrat position on the Foreign Affairs subcommittee covering the Middle East and North Africa, but that leadership role has been stripped in the wake of the indictment.
Meanwhile, calls for her expulsion have gained traction in Congress. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) filed a resolution to remove her, stating: “Cherfilus-McCormick needs to be swiftly removed from the House before she can inflict any more harm on Congress, her district, and the State of Florida.” On the Democratic side, Hakeem Jeffries, Minority Leader, affirmed that while the allegations are serious, “she is entitled to her day in court and the presumption of innocence.”
Ethics Process And Path Toward Possible Expulsion;
With the indictment now public, the House Ethics Committee is expected to initiate a formal investigation into Cherfilus-McCormick’s conduct. This process typically begins once the Department of Justice confirms that criminal charges have been filed. Under House rules, members facing felony indictments are not automatically required to resign or forfeit their seats, but they often lose key assignments as a matter of precedent and party pressure.
Democratic leadership has already indicated that further disciplinary actions, including removal from all committees, remain “on the table” pending the outcome of internal review and additional evidence presented by federal prosecutors.
If the ethics investigation substantiates the allegations, the committee could recommend a range of penalties, from censure to suspension of privileges to full expulsion. Expulsion, however, requires a two-thirds vote of the House and is historically rare, reserved for only the most severe cases of corruption or criminal misconduct.
With Steube’s expulsion resolution already circulating and gathering Republican support, the process could accelerate quickly if additional financial records or cooperating testimony emerge from the Justice Department’s case. While Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has urged his caucus to withhold judgment until the legal process plays out, the bipartisan pressure forming around the charges, combined with mounting public scrutiny, suggests that Cherfilus-McCormick’s standing in Congress is growing increasingly untenable.
If convicted at trial, Cherfilus-McCormick faces up to 53 years in federal prison; her brother, Edwin, faces up to 35 years; Leblanc faces up to 10 years; and Spencer faces up to 33 years.
Editor’s Note:
This article was written by Jennifer Hodges, Political Editor, and Art Fletcher, Executive Editor. It is based on information contained in the federal indictment, statements released by the U.S. Department of Justice, and public remarks made by Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick and her legal team. Reporting for this piece adhered to Englebrook Independent News standards for verification, accuracy, and fairness.
“The rules of the federal court require us to include a statement that states: The charges outlined in this publication are merely accusations, and the defendant and or defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.”
