Tag Archives: COVID

Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus McCormick Charged with Stealing $5 Million in FEMA Funds and Making Illegal Campaign Contributions

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Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick was indicted by a Federal Grand Jury for stealing COVID relief (PPP) funds and using them for her campaign. The allegations came to light years ago when Cherfilus-McCormick upset Dale Holness in the race to replace Congressman Alcee Hastings. A Congressional report revealed investigators used REDBROWARD to guide them through her web of corporations and operatives. The same report showed Cherfilus-McCormick believed Holness and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz were behind the investigation.

“Using disaster relief funds for self-enrichment is a particularly selfish, cynical crime,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “No one is above the law, least of all powerful people who rob taxpayers for personal gain. We will follow the facts in this case and deliver justice.”

More to come.

Here is the press release from the United States Attorney:

MIAMI – A federal grand jury in Miami has returned an indictment charging Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick and several co-defendants with stealing federal disaster funds, laundering the proceeds, and using the money to support her 2021 congressional campaign.

According to the indictment, Cherfilus-McCormick, 46, and her brother Edwin Cherfilus, 51, both of Miramar, worked through their family health-care company on a FEMA-funded COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract in 2021. In July 2021, the company received an overpayment of $5 million in FEMA funds.

The indictment alleges that the defendants conspired to steal that $5 million and routed it through multiple accounts to disguise its source. Prosecutors allege that a substantial portion of the misappropriated funds was used as candidate contributions to Cherfilus-McCormick’s 2021 congressional campaign and for the personal benefit of the defendants.

The indictment further alleges that Cherfilus-McCormick and Nadege Leblanc, 46, of Miramar, arranged additional contributions using straw donors, funneling other monies from the FEMA-funded Covid-19 contract to friends and relatives who then donated to the campaign as if using their own money.

The indictment also charges Cherfilus-McCormick and her 2021 tax preparer David K. Spencer, 41, of Davie, with conspiring to file a false federal tax return. According to the indictment, they falsely claimed political spending and other personal expenses as business deductions and inflated charitable contributions in order to reduce her tax obligations.

“Using disaster relief funds for self-enrichment is a particularly selfish, cynical crime,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “No one is above the law, least of all powerful people who rob taxpayers for personal gain. We will follow the facts in this case and deliver justice.”

U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida stated, “Today’s indictment shows no one is above the law. This indictment reflects our Office’s commitment to follow the facts, apply the law, and protect the American taxpayer. Public money belongs to the American people. When FEMA funds are diverted for personal or political gain, it erodes trust and harms us all. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure that American taxpayer dollars are used as intended and that the public’s trust is safeguarded.”

If convicted, Cherfilus-McCormick faces up to 53 years in prison. Edwin Cherfilus faces up to 35 years, Leblanc up to 10 years, and Spencer up to 33 years.
U.S. Attorney Reding Quiñones; Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles of the FBI, Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Ronald A. Loecker of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Florida Field Office, made the announcement.

FBI Miami and the IRS-CI Florida Field Office are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alejandra L. López and Yeney Hernández and DOJ Criminal Division Trial Attorney John P. Taddei are prosecuting the case.

Former Dale Holness Campaign Guru Omar Smith Sentenced To Fifteen Months In Federal Prison

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Omar Miguel Smith, a longtime political operative of former Broward County Commissioner Dale Holness, was sentenced to fifteen months in prison by a Federal Judge on Wednesday. In July, Smith was charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud related to COVID-19 relief loans. REDBROWARD broke the news on the suspicious Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan Smith received in 2021 for Smith’s single person company, A Star For I, Inc.

Smith received $212,500 in COVID relief after claiming he had more than twenty employees.

According to court records, Smith lied to FBI agents when he claimed he got the idea for obtaining the loan at a local Caribbean restaurant. In fact, Smith was assisted by Sophia A. Nelson, a political consultant and former commission aide to Dale Holness.

Court records show Smith repaid the money after his meeting with FBI agents even though he spent all but $6,000 of the money. Smith told agents he raised the money from friends and family.

Smith told FBI agents that Dale Holness told him not to get a PPP loan.

Holness’ daughter Damara Holness remains in Federal prison on charges related to PPP loan fraud.

REDBROWARD broke the news how Damara Holness received a $300,000 PPP loan for her single person corporation by claiming to have numerous employees.

Omar Smith will face two years probation following the completion of his prison term.

Heres the press release from the US Attorneys Office:

MIAMI—Omar Smith, 42, of Royal Palm Beach, Fla., who has worked on South Florida political campaigns, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison and two years of supervised release for lying on a coronavirus relief loan application and fraudulently obtaining hundreds of thousands of dollars intended to help small businesses financially survive the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the information to which he pled guilty, in June 2020, Smith applied for a $212,500 forgivable, federally guaranteed Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan on behalf of A Star For I Inc., a Florida company he owned. To justify the requested loan amount, Smith claimed in the on-line loan application, and through supporting fraudulent payroll tax forms, that his company employed 30 people and spent an average of $85,000 each month on payroll. In fact, A Star For I Inc had zero employees and no payroll expenses. A bank in Utah approved A Star For I Inc.’s PPP loan application based on the lies and wired $212,500 to the company’s bank account in Florida.

Once the money hit the bank account in July 2020, Smith spent the next few months creating a paper trail to make it appear as if A Star For I Inc. had employees and was spending the PPP money on legitimate, approved expenses. Smith issued checks from the company bank account made out to others who did little or no work for A Star For I Inc.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and acting Special Agent in Charge Robert M, Dewitt, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

FBI, Miami Field Office, investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Kaplan prosecuted it.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is a federal law designed to provide emergency financial assistance to millions of Americans who suffered financially from the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of hundreds of billions of dollars in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses through the PPP.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud. It does this by augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts.