(Miami, FL) - South Florida Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick will be arraigned in January. She appeared in Miami Federal court Monday afternoon on charges involving the $5 million theft of Federal Emergency Management Agency funds. The judge postponed the Congresswoman's arraignment until January 20th.
According to the FBI, a federal grand jury in Miami indicted Cherfilus-McCormick and several co-defendants and charged them with stealing federal disaster funds, laundering the proceeds, and using the money to support her 2021 congressional campaign.
Cherfilus-McCormick says she's innocent even though a large ring that one appeared in her official Congressional portrait has been edited out on her social media posts.
The lawmaker is accused of using the FEMA funds to buy the ring, but her office released a statement indicating that the decision to edit out the ring was not authorized by the congresswoman and should not have occurred.
The Florida lawmaker was indicted on 15 different charges and if convicted, she could face more than 50 years in federal prison and be forced to pay more than $2 million in fines.