House Dem Indicted On Fraud Charges, Facing Up To 53 Years In Prison
A federal grand jury in Miami on Wednesday indicted Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick and several co-defendants on charges that they stole about $5 million in FEMA disaster-relief funds and funneled the money into her 2021 congressional campaign, the Justice Department announced.
According to the indictment, Cherfilus-McCormick — who represents Florida’s 20th District in Broward and Palm Beach counties — and her brother, Edwin Cherfilus, diverted an overpayment tied to a COVID-19 vaccination-staffing contract awarded to their family’s home-health-care company, Newsweek reported.
Prosecutors allege the money was moved through multiple accounts to conceal its source, with a significant share ultimately directed from the FEMA-funded contract into political contributions.
The indictment also accuses the congresswoman of conspiring with her tax preparer to file a false federal tax return.
The ongoing ethics and criminal investigations continue to overshadow the congresswoman’s already troubled reputation, even prior to this indictment.
If found guilty, she could face a prison sentence of up to 53 years, while her brother could receive up to 35 years, prosecutors said.
The indictment comes as Cherfilus-McCormick, 46, is already under increased scrutiny for her family company’s pandemic-era finances.
In late 2024, Florida’s Division of Emergency Management filed suit against Trinity Healthcare Services — the firm she led before entering Congress — alleging the company overcharged the state by nearly $5.8 million for COVID-19 vaccine registration services and refused to repay the funds.
State officials said the dispute surfaced after a single $5 million overpayment triggered alarms, raising broader questions about Trinity’s handling of major public contracts during the pandemic, Newsweek reported.
The allegations in Florida have sparked an ethics investigation into the congresswoman’s significant increase in personal income. According to the Office of Congressional Ethics, Cherfilus-McCormick’s earnings in 2021 surpassed her income from the previous year by over $6 million.
The increase was largely attributed to nearly $5.75 million in consulting and profit-sharing fees from Trinity, the outlet reported.
In July, the House Ethics Committee unanimously voted to extend its investigation into whether she improperly benefited from the company’s government contracts, placing her under rare bipartisan scrutiny even before the federal indictment issued on Wednesday.
According to the indictment, the family company received a FEMA-funded COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract in 2021 and in July of that year received an overpayment of about $5 million.
Prosecutors say the defendants conspired to divert those funds and subsequently created straw-donor schemes: The indictment contends that Cherfilus-McCormick and co-defendant Nadege Leblanc arranged for friends and relatives to “donate” money to the campaign that actually came from the illicit FEMA funds.
The document also charges her and preparer David K. Spencer with conspiring to file a false tax return by mislabeling campaign expenditures and personal expenses as business deductions and inflating charitable contributions to reduce tax liabilities, Newsweek noted.
Born in Brooklyn, Cherfilus-McCormick holds a B.A. from Howard University and a J.D. from St. Thomas University School of Law. Before her 2022 special-election victory, she served as CEO of Trinity Health Care Services, the Miramar-based company now at the center of the contract dispute.
She won the seat following the death of longtime Rep. Alcee Hastings, becoming the only Haitian-American Democrat currently serving in Congress.
“Using disaster relief funds for self-enrichment is a particularly selfish, cynical crime. 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,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said.
Elijah Manley, who is running against Cherfilus-McCormick in the Democratic primary for her House seat, noted on the X platform, “Today’s indictment of my opponent, Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, is a sad moment for the people of Florida’s 20th Congressional District. I am disappointed that the Congresswoman for abusing the power she was given and instead used it to enrich herself and her family. The people of FL-20 are ready to move past this era of fraud, corruption, and distractions.”
Nearly 150,000 California Mail Ballots Rejected In Primary
California election officials are examining why nearly 150,000 mail-in ballots were rejected during the state’s June primary, with late-arriving ballots accounting for most of the increase.
The higher rejection rate comes despite years of election law changes designed to make voting more accessible and ensure more ballots are ultimately counted.
According to data compiled by the California Secretary of State’s office, 148,241 mail-in ballots were rejected during the June primary, representing 1.73% of all mail ballots returned.
That marks an increase from the 2024 primary, when 108,982 ballots were rejected, or 1.56% of all mail ballots cast.
The largest reason for rejection was ballots arriving too late to qualify under California law.
State data shows that 93,479 ballots were rejected because they failed to meet the state’s deadline requirements.
California allows mail ballots to arrive up to seven days after Election Day, provided they are postmarked on or before Election Day.
Voting experts believe many of the rejected ballots received postmarks dated after Election Day, making them ineligible to be counted even if they arrived within the seven-day grace period.
Kim Alexander, president of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation, said the timing of postal processing appears to be a significant concern.
“Ballots rejected due to lateness are caused primarily to being postmarked too late to count, not because they arrived too late to count,” Alexander said.
Election experts have questioned whether recent operational changes within the U.S. Postal Service may be contributing to delayed postmarks.
Earlier this year, a group of mostly Democratic U.S. senators wrote to the Postal Service expressing concern that mail-processing changes could affect ballot handling during federal elections.
Updated Postal Service procedures mean postmarks may reflect when mail is processed at regional facilities rather than when it first enters the mail system.
Because processing centers have been consolidated in some areas, election officials have warned that postmark timing could be affected.
Before the June primary, California election officials encouraged voters to mail ballots as early as possible because of potential postal delays.
The June election also featured a highly competitive race for governor, which some experts believe encouraged many voters to wait until the final days before casting ballots.
In addition to late-arriving ballots, approximately 44,000 ballots were rejected because election officials determined the voter’s signature did not match the signature on file.
Another 8,300 ballots were rejected because the return envelope did not contain a signature.
State records also show that 743 ballots were rejected because those voters had already cast another ballot.
Other rejected ballots involved missing ballots inside return envelopes or multiple ballots submitted in a single envelope.
The highest rejection rate in the state occurred in Tulare County, where 3.52% of returned mail ballots were rejected.
Alpine County and Merced County followed closely, each recording rejection rates of 3.36%.
California has frequently faced criticism for taking weeks to complete vote counting after major elections, largely because state law permits ballots meeting certain requirements to continue arriving after Election Day.
Following the June primary, President Donald Trump again criticized California’s election system, while the Department of Justice opened an investigation into election administration in Los Angeles County.
Election experts emphasize that the increase in rejected ballots should not be interpreted as evidence of widespread voter fraud.
A 2025 report by the Brookings Institution found documented cases of mail ballot fraud remained extremely rare, estimating roughly four cases for every 10 million mail ballots cast, The Associated Press reported.
State officials have not identified evidence of widespread fraud connected to the June primary, but the increase in rejected ballots is expected to receive additional scrutiny as election administrators evaluate whether changes in postal operations, voter behavior or election procedures contributed to the higher rejection rate.
