Miami — A congresswoman from Florida is accused of Conspiracy to steal $5 million In federal COVID-19 disaster funds, she formally pleaded not guilty on Tuesday, nearly three months after she was charged.
U.S. Rep. Sheila Chervilus McCormick was not present at the arraignment hearing in Miami federal court, but her attorney, William Barzee, filed a motion on her behalf. He explained that she was in Washington, D.C., where Congress Funding for the Department of Homeland Security has been discussed.
“She is eager to get back to work,” Barzee said after the hearing. “She is now in Washington fighting for her constituents, and her main focus is representing the people in her district.”
Barzee just took on the case of Chervilus McCormick this week. Her former attorney, David Oscar Marcus, asked to reschedule the arraignment several times while Cherfilus-McCormick resolved issues with her finances, but he ultimately dropped the case, citing scheduling conflicts.
Chervilus McCormick faces 15 federal charges accusing her of stealing money that was overpaid to her family’s health care company, Trinity Healthcare Services, in 2021, before she was elected to Congress. The company has a contract to register people for coronavirus vaccines.
Cherfilus-McCormick was arrested in November and then released on $60,000 bail. In addition to bail, the judge said Chervilus McCormick must surrender her personal passport and is only allowed to travel between Florida, Washington, D.C., Maryland and the Eastern District of Virginia.
She was allowed to retain her congressional passport to perform certain duties of her job.
According to the federal indictment, prosecutors said that within two months of receiving the money in 2021, more than $100,000 was spent on a 3-carat yellow diamond ring for the congresswoman.
The indictment alleges that the health care company owned by the Chervilus McCormick family received payments through an employment contract for coronavirus vaccinations. Her brother, Edwin Cervelos, asked for $50,000, but they mistakenly received $5 million and did not return the difference.
Money received by Trinity Healthcare was distributed to various accounts, including those of friends and relatives, who then donated to Cherfilus-McCormick’s congressional campaign, prosecutors said.
Florida Department of Emergency Management Previously sued Trinity Healthcare is in civil court, and the company agreed to repay all the money last year as part of a settlement with the state.
“It is surprising that the US Department of Justice would take over this case after it was resolved and after there was an agreement to repay all the money that was improperly sent to it,” Barzee said.
Chervilus McCormick won a special election in January 2022 to represent Florida’s 20th District, which includes parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties, after the death of Rep. Alcee Hastings in 2021.
The charges she faces include theft of government funds; making and receiving donor contributions; Aiding and assisting in making a false and fraudulent statement on a tax return; and money laundering, in addition to the conspiracy charges associated with each charge.