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A formal accusation shakes the United States Congress: the Democratic representative from Florida, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, has been charged by a federal grand jury in Miami, along with several co-defendants.
He is accused of allegedly stealing five million dollars in federal disaster relief funds, laundering the money, and using some of those funds in his 2021 electoral campaign.
According to the Southern District of Florida's prosecutor's office, the case represents a serious misappropriation of public funds.
The funds were intended to address the COVID-19 emergency through a contract with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
"Public money belongs to the American people", warned federal prosecutor Jason A. Reding Quiñones.
"When FEMA funds are diverted for personal or political gain, trust is eroded and it harms us all," he added.
A scheme for embezzling funds from a family business
The events date back to July 2021, when Trinity Healthcare Services, the family business of the congresswoman and her brother Edwin Cherfilus, received an overpayment of five million dollars for a federal contract to hire personnel to administer COVID-19 vaccines.
Instead of returning the money, the accused "conspired to steal those five million dollars and funneled them through multiple accounts to conceal their origin", according to the court document.
The money, the accusation states, was partly allocated to contributions for Cherfilus-McCormick's congressional campaign in 2021, and partly for the "personal benefit of the defendants."
Simulated donations and a network of front men
The tax statement also outlines a scheme of simulated political donations through front individuals.
Cherfilus-McCormick and Nadege Leblanc, another one of the accused, "organized additional contributions using intermediary donors, channeling other funds from the Covid-19 contract financed by FEMA to friends and family who then donated to the campaign as if they were using their own money."
This maneuver allowed for the disguise of real donations, seemingly inflating citizen support for his candidacy, while the true source of the funds remained hidden.
Tax fraud: Political expenses as business deductions
In addition to the previous charges, there are tax offenses.
The congresswoman and her 2021 tax preparer, David K. Spencer, were charged with conspiracy to file a false federal tax return.
According to the accusation, "they falsely declared political expenses and other personal expenses as business deductions and inflated charitable donations to reduce their tax liabilities."
The prosecutors assigned to the case, Alejandra L. López and Yeney Hernández, along with the litigator from the Department of Justice, John P. Taddei, requested the court to impose multiple criminal charges that could lead to severe sentences:
-Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick: up to 53 years in prison.
-Edwin Cherfilus: up to 35 years.
-David K. Spencer: up to 33 years.
-Nadege Leblanc: up to 10 years.
Tax and federal statements: "Nobody is above the law."
The authorities emphasized the seriousness of the alleged crimes. Attorney General Pam Bondi was firm in stating: “Using funds intended for disaster relief for personal enrichment is a particularly selfish and cynical crime.”
"No one is above the law, and certainly not powerful individuals who steal from taxpayers for their personal gain. We will follow the facts of this case, and justice will be served," he added.
For his part, prosecutor Reding Quiñones reiterated:
"This accusation reflects our office's commitment to investigating the facts, applying the law, and protecting the American taxpayer."
Cherfilus-McCormick, who represents Florida's 20th congressional district - areas of the Democratic-majority counties of Broward and Palm Beach - entered Congress in 2022 after winning a special election.
At the time of the alleged crime, she was serving as the executive director of Trinity Healthcare Services, the same company that received funds from FEMA.
It has not yet been confirmed whether she has legal representation, and her team did not respond to requests for comments following the public disclosure of the accusation.
The case was announced jointly by the federal prosecutor for the Southern District of Florida, special agent Brett D. Skiles of the FBI in Miami, and agent Ronald A. Loecker of the IRS-CI Criminal Investigation Division in Florida.
The investigation is ongoing and is being led by the FBI in Miami and the IRS-CI field office in Florida.
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