Overview
- A Miami grand jury charged the Florida Democrat with stealing and laundering roughly $5 million in FEMA disaster funds and channeling part of it into her 2021 campaign, the Justice Department said.
- Prosecutors say the money came from a 2021 overpayment to her family’s Trinity Healthcare Services and was routed through multiple accounts and straw donors, with a related count alleging a false 2021 tax return.
- Co-defendants include her brother Edwin Cherfilus, staffer Nadege Leblanc and tax preparer David K. Spencer, who are accused of roles in the alleged diversion and laundering of funds.
- If convicted on all counts, Cherfilus-McCormick faces up to 53 years in prison, with maximums of 35 years for Edwin Cherfilus, 33 for Spencer and 10 for Leblanc, according to DOJ.
- She called the charges a “baseless” sham and vowed to fight them, as House Democrats said she would step down from a subcommittee ranking post and Republicans moved to censure her and seek committee removals.