November 21, 2025 – One day after a Miami federal grand jury unsealed an 18-count indictment accusing her of stealing and laundering roughly $5 million in FEMA COVID-19 relief funds, U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) faced a swarm of cameras outside her Capitol Hill office and delivered a defiant 60-second statement.
“I want to be very clear: I am innocent. This is an unjust, baseless, sham indictment,” the congresswoman declared, speaking rapidly as reporters shouted questions. “I have done nothing wrong. I will continue to fight these false allegations in court, and I will continue to serve the people of Florida’s 20th District with everything I have.”
When pressed on calls for her resignation and whether politics played a role in the timing of the charges, Cherfilus-McCormick added, “This is clearly an attempt to intimidate and silence me,” before turning and walking away without taking further questions.
The brief exchange – captured by C-SPAN, PBS NewsHour, CBS12, and other outlets – marked her first public comments since the indictment was made public on Wednesday.
Prosecutors say that in July 2021, Trinity Healthcare Services – the Miramar-based company co-owned by Cherfilus-McCormick and her family – received a $5 million overpayment from FEMA for a COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract. Rather than return the money, the congresswoman and three co-defendants (her brother Edwin Cherfilus, former chief of staff Nadege Leblanc, and tax preparer David K. Spencer) allegedly laundered it through multiple accounts.
A significant portion, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, was used for illegal straw-donor contributions that helped fuel her razor-thin five-vote victory in the November 2021 Democratic primary, and ultimately her January 2022 special-election win to succeed the late Rep. Alcee Hastings.
If convicted on all counts, Cherfilus-McCormick faces a maximum of 53 years in prison.
Aides confirmed Thursday afternoon that the congresswoman has no intention of resigning and will remain in office while the case proceeds. She is scheduled to be arraigned in Miami federal court next week.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) reiterated the Democratic leadership’s stance: “Congresswoman Cherfilus-McCormick is entitled to the presumption of innocence, and we will let the legal process play out.”
Republicans, meanwhile, have been far less restrained. House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) called the allegations “stunning corruption” and said the committee will examine whether any taxpayer funds were misused during her time in office.
As Cherfilus-McCormick left the cameras behind and headed back into her Longworth House Office Building suite, one thing was clear: the first Haitian-born woman elected to Congress from Florida is digging in for what promises to be a long and bruising fight.
This is a developing story. Arraignment is expected early next week in the Southern District of Florida.
