Florida Rep Faces Serious Accusations Over COVID Funds

A Florida congresswoman is in hot water. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Democrat representing parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties, has been hit with serious charges. The Justice Department says she took $5 million meant for disaster relief and used some of it for her 2021 campaign. Here’s the deal: Cherfilus-McCormick’s family health care company got too much money from a federal contract for COVID-19 vaccination staffing. Instead of returning the extra cash, prosecutors say she kept it and funneled some into her campaign. That’s not cool. Attorney General Pam Bondi didn’t hold back. She called the alleged actions "particularly selfish" and "cynical. " She made it clear that no one, especially powerful people, should get away with stealing from taxpayers. This isn’t the first time Cherfilus-McCormick has been under scrutiny. In December 2024, a Florida state agency sued her family’s company for overcharging the state by nearly $5. 8 million. The agency said it found a big overpayment of $5 million, which raised red flags. Back in 2021, Cherfilus-McCormick was the CEO of Trinity Healthcare Services, the company involved in the overpayments. That same year, her income skyrocketed by over $6 million, thanks to fees from Trinity. Coincidence? Probably not. The House Ethics Committee is also looking into this. In July, they voted to keep investigating the allegations against her. So, it looks like Cherfilus-McCormick has some serious explaining to do.