Florida congresswoman accused of stealing COVID-19 funds pleads not guilty 3 months after indictment
A Florida congresswoman charged with conspiring to steal $5 million in federal COVID-19 disaster funds has formally pleaded not guilty nearly three months after her indictment. U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick was not present for Tuesday’s arraignment in Miami federal court, but her attorney, William Barzee, entered the plea on her behalf. He explained that she was in Washington, D.C., where Congress has been debating funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Cherfilus-McCormick is facing 15 federal counts that accuse her of stealing funds that had been overpaid to her family’s health care company, Trinity Healthcare Services, in 2021, before she was elected to Congress. The company had a contract to register people for COVID-19 vaccinations.