WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security has suspended former Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) as well as her family, associates and businesses from receiving future federal funds after she was indicted for allegedly stealing $5.7 million in taxpayer money.
DHS general counsel James Percival told The Post in a statement that Cherfilus-McCormick “abused Americans’ trust in the most egregious way” by having “manipulated the COVID-19 crisis to funnel over $5 million dollars of FEMA relief funds to her and her family members.”
Among those blacklisted from future monies are her brother, Edwin Cherfilus; her sister, Marjorie Cherfilus; her parents, Gabriel and Marie Smith; her former congressional chief of staff, Nadege Leblanc; and her tax preparer David Spencer.
“This is outright fraud. That’s exactly what a federal grand jury and the US House of Representatives found,” Percival said. “I am proud that my office is taking the first step to ensure she is held accountable and American taxpayers’ money is protected from further misuse.”
A Miami federal grand jury indicted the then-congresswoman this past November on charges of using most of the stolen money to fund her 2021 House campaign for Florida’s 20th District.
Prosecutors alleged that Cherfilus-McCormick and her co-defendant brother, Edwin, funneled the $5 million through multiple accounts to conceal its source.
They also claimed that Leblanc assisted with the scheme via so-called “straw donor contributions” made in the names of her friends and relatives.
Spencer then allegedly filed a tax return for Cherfilus-McCormick falsely claiming political spending or personal expenses as business deductions and inflating purported charitable donations.
Cherfilus-McCormick faces up to 53 years in prison if convicted of all charges, while Edwin Cherfilus faces up to 35 years, Leblanc up to 10 years, and Spencer up to 33 years.
The 47-year-old Democrat resigned from Congress April 21 — minutes before the House Ethics Committee was to hold a vote to censure or possibly expel her from office.
An adjudicatory subcommittee of the panel voted to find her “guilty” of at least 25 ethics violations related to the stolen FEMA dollars on March 27 — after a rare public hearing on Capitol Hill.
The FEMA disaster relief funding was made possible through Florida’s Public Assistance program as part of a COVID vaccination effort that contracted with Cherfilus-McCormick’s family firm, Trinity Healthcare Service.
Florida’s Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) later sued Trinity, alleging the firm overcharged the state by more than $5.7 million — and wasn’t returning the funds.
That sum flowed to a consulting firm that Cherfilus-McCormick “wholly owned” between March 2021 and October 2022, when it was voluntarily dissolved, a January House ethics report determined.
Those funds were then distributed to Cherfilus-McCormick, her family members and associated LLCs, the ethics investigation found, with at least $3.6 million eventually making their way into her campaign.
The LLCs that will also be debarred from federal funding include Marjorie Cherfilus’ MC Nursing Journey Consulting Firm, LeBlanc’s Finance & Fitness Consulting, and Spencer’s tax and consulting company.
As part of a Dec. 30, 2024, settlement, Trinity agreed to repay more than $5.6 million to FDEM over the next 15 years.
Cherfilus-McCormick is scheduled to stand trial in February 2027..
A DHS rep indicated that the announcement of the funding suspension was consistent with actions already taken by the Trump administration’s fraud task force, chaired by Vice President JD Vance.
Cherfilus-McCormick’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
