Broward Congresswoman pleads not guilty to stealing $5M in government funds

A new defense attorney for Broward Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick entered a not guilty plea on her behalf in Miami federal court on Tuesday to charges of stealing a $5 million overpayment of government disaster funds to her family’s healthcare company.

Cherfilus-McCormick, who was charged in a 15-count conspiracy indictment along with her brother in November, waived her appearance in court after previously showing up three times but not entering a plea because she didn’t have a permanent lawyer.

Permanent counsel is required before a defendant can formally enter a plea in the Southern District of Florida. The congresswoman’s new attorney, William Barzee, replaced colleagues David O. Markus and Margot Moss this week. Her arraignment will now formally launch the case for trial, which is set for April 20 before U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles.

Barzee said after the brief arraignment that the congresswoman “is eager to get this case resolved.” He said Cherfilus-McCormick could not attend her arraignment because she had to be in Washington to vote on a House funding bill to prevent a shutdown of the government. “She is up in Washington right now fighting for her constituents,” Barzee said.

The indictment accuses the Fort Lauderdale-area representative of using some of the overpayment that she received from the state for COVID-19 services, including $1.14 million for her 2021 congressional campaign and $109,000 for a 3.14-carat yellow diamond ring.

In late November, Cherfilus-McCormick, 46, a Democrat, made her first appearance in Miami federal court after being charged with theft of government funds, money laundering, making and receiving straw-donor contributions, and making false statements on a tax return.

In November, a magistrate judge set two bonds for her: a $25,000 personal surety bond and a separate $35,000 bond. Cherfilus-McCormick was released after making a $1,750 down payment on the latter bond.

As a condition of bond, Cherfilus-McCormick had to surrender her personal passport but was allowed to retain her congressional passport. However, she’s only allowed to travel within the Southern District of Florida, the District of Columbia, the Eastern District of Virginia and the District of Maryland.

$5 million overpayment by feds

According to the indictment, the congresswoman’s brother submitted an invoice to the Florida Division of Emergency Management in May 2021 for $50,578.50 for work performed by the Miramar-based healthcare company, Trinity Health Care Services, where the siblings worked as executives.

Trinity had a contract with the state to provide staffing and other services for COVID-19 vaccination sites funded by the U.S. government through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Two months later, the department added a couple extra zeros and deposited $5,057,850 into a Trinity-affiliated bank account controlled by Cherfilus-McCormick and her brother, Edwin Cherfilus. The congresswoman texted her brother a screenshot of the deposit, which “was the result of a clerical error by FDEM,” the indictment says.

The siblings then conspired to launder the money and use the millions for their personal benefit and the politician’s 2021 campaign instead of returning it to the state, according to the indictment returned by the grand jury in Miami. Their illicit bank transfers occurred between August and October 2021, the indictment says.

Cherfilus-McCormick, who since 2022 has served a Black-majority congressional district in and around Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, said after the indictment’s unsealing that she’s been falsely accused. “This is an unjust, baseless, sham indictment — and I am innocent,” she said.

Civil suit

In late 2024, the Florida Division of Emergency Management sued Trinity in civil court over the same overpayment, and her family’s healthcare company agreed to pay back the full $5 million in installments over the next few years, according to the settlement.

The civil case notwithstanding, the Justice Department lodged new criminal charges against Cherfilus-McCormick and Edwin Cherfilus, who is named as a defendant in the main theft conspiracy count and related money-laundering counts. The brother is represented by the federal public defender’s office.

Two other defendants, Nadege Leblanc and David Kofi Spencer, are also accused along with the congresswoman of straw-donor and income tax-related violations, respectively. They have court-appointed defense lawyers.

On a parallel track, the House Ethics Committee found “substantial reason to believe” that Cherfilus-McCormick violated several laws, regulations and standards of conduct as a member of Congress, according to a report released by the panel last week.

The report said the House Ethics Committee’s investigative subcommittee is “bringing the charges” against Cherfilus-McCormick related to campaign finance laws and regulations, criminal laws implicated by campaign finance misconduct, the Ethics in Government Act, the Code of Ethics for Government Service and certain House rules, according to The Hill, a Washington-based news organization.

“The ISC’s [Investigative Subcommittee] investigation has revealed substantial evidence of conduct consistent with the allegations in the indictment, as well as more extensive misconduct as laid out in the following Statement of Facts in Support of Alleged Violations related to violations of federal laws and regulations, as well as ethical standards,” the report said.

Cherfilus-McCormick condemned the findings, declaring she “did nothing wrong.”

“Today’s action was taken without giving me a fair opportunity to rebut or defend myself due to the constraints of an ongoing legal process,” she said. “I reject these allegations and remain confident the full facts will make clear I did nothing wrong. Until then, my focus remains where it belongs: delivering for my constituents and continuing the work they sent me to Washington to do.”

The subcommittee said that it reviewed more than 33,000 documents, conducted 28 witness interviews, sent 30 requests for information, issued 59 subpoenas and met 12 times to conduct the investigation.

The report also noted that while Cherfilus-McCormick had “initially produced some documents” to the subcommittee, she ended up invoking her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination after a subpoena to obtain documents and a subpoena to obtain her testimony.

The investigative subcommittee has scheduled a hearing on the ethics charges for March 5.

This story was originally published February 3, 2026 at 3:11 PM.