Florida congresswoman shows up in court a third time, but doesn't enter plea

Jay Weaver, Miami Herald on Jan 20, 2026

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MIAMI — Florida Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick showed up in Miami federal court on Tuesday but again did not enter a plea to charges of stealing a $5 million overpayment of federal disaster relief funds to her family’s healthcare company.

An indictment filed in mid-November accuses the Fort Lauderdale-area representative of using some of that money to funnel $1.14 million to her 2021 congressional campaign and purchase a 3.14-carat yellow diamond ring.

Cherfilus-McCormick, 46, a Democrat, put off her arraignment for the third time because she has not permanently hired her defense team, led by attorneys David O. Markus and Margot Moss. Permanent counsel is required before a defendant can formally enter a plea in the Southern District of Florida.

Markus told a magistrate judge that he and his client would need another two weeks to resolve the hiring matter, delaying her arraignment to the first week in February.

“At some point we’re going to have to decide what’s going on,” said Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett, who noted that the congresswoman’s brother and two other defendants have already been arraigned and pleaded not guilty as their case heads for trial before U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles later this year.

“You’re absolutely right, your honor,” Markus said, citing an issue over “finances,” which would likely include his law firm’s retainer fee. “I think we can work this out.”

In late November, Cherfilus-McCormick made her first appearance in Miami federal court after being charged in the 15-count conspiracy indictment, including theft of government funds, money laundering, making and receiving straw-donor contributions, and making false statements on a tax return.

While she was granted a bond, she did not enter a plea at her first appearance, nor did she again in late December and on Tuesday.

In November, Lett set two bonds under an agreement between federal prosecutors and the defense team: 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 in the amount of $50,578.50 for work performed by the Miramar-based healthcare company, Trinity Health Care Services, where the siblings worked.

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

Two months later, the department added a couple extra zeros and issued a payment of $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 instead of returning it to the state, according to the indictment returned by the grand jury in Miami.

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.

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 a copy of the settlement obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat.

The civil case notwithstanding, the Justice Department has 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.