Florida Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigns from Congress amid fraud charges

Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick has resigned from Congress, stepping down as the Florida Democrat faced possible House sanctions and federal criminal charges tied to allegations that she stole disaster relief funds and used the money to support her 2021 campaign.

Cherfilus-McCormick announced her resignation Tuesday in a statement, making it effective immediately. Her departure came shortly before the House Ethics Committee was set to move forward with disciplinary action against her.

In her resignation statement, Cherfilus-McCormick said the process had not been fair and accused the committee of denying her new lawyer enough time to prepare a defense. She also argued that moving ahead while her criminal case is still pending prevented her from defending herself.

“I hereby resign from the 119th Congress, effective immediately,” she said. “I simply cannot stand by and allow my due process rights to be trampled on, and my good name to be tarnished.”

NOTUS reported that Cherfilus-McCormick resigned as the Ethics Committee was scheduled to convene to recommend what punishment the House should impose. The outlet also reported that Rep. Greg Steube, a Florida Republican, said before the announcement that he planned to file an expulsion resolution once the ethics process was complete.

In March, a House ethics panel found Cherfilus-McCormick committed more than two dozen violations related to accusations that millions of dollars in Federal Emergency Management Agency funds were funneled into her congressional campaign.

Federal prosecutors announced in November that a grand jury in Miami had indicted Cherfilus-McCormick and several co-defendants on charges including theft of federal disaster funds, money laundering and campaign finance-related offenses.

According to the indictment, Cherfilus-McCormick and her brother worked through their family health-care company on a FEMA-funded COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract in 2021. Prosecutors allege the company received a $5 million overpayment in FEMA funds and that the money was then routed through multiple accounts to hide its source.

Prosecutors said a substantial portion of the money was used as candidate contributions for Cherfilus-McCormick’s 2021 campaign and for the personal benefit of the defendants. The indictment also alleges that additional contributions were arranged through straw donors, with money from the FEMA-funded contract routed to friends and relatives who then donated to the campaign as if it were their own.

Cherfilus-McCormick was also charged with conspiring with her 2021 tax preparer to file a false federal tax return. Prosecutors allege political spending and other personal expenses were falsely claimed as business deductions and that charitable contributions were inflated to lower her tax bill.