Amid indictment charges on Florida congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, her family has come under the spotlight as investigators and the public probe both the business ties and campaign finances connected to her congressional rise.
Her family’s long-standing ties to health care through the company Trinity Health Care Services, co-founded by her family and run by her and her brother, are central to the prosecution.
A federal grand jury charged Sheila with stealing $5 million in Covid-19 disaster funds. A chunk of that money was then illegally contributed to her 2021 congressional campaign, the Department of Justice said Wednesday, November 19.
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Family and healthcare services firm
Sheila was born to Haitian parents. Her mother, Marie Cherfilus, remarried her stepfather, Dr Gabriel Smith, after her father died when she was very young. Her mother supported the family by working nights and attending business classes, a background she has described as shaping her commitment to public service.
Sheila moved with her family to Miramar, Florida, where she later went on to study at Howard University (B.A. in political science) and St. Thomas University School of Law (J.D.).
{{/usCountry}}Sheila moved with her family to Miramar, Florida, where she later went on to study at Howard University (B.A. in political science) and St. Thomas University School of Law (J.D.).
{{/usCountry}}Her stepfather, Gabriel Smith, co-founded Trinity Health Care Services, the family's home-health company. Sheila later became vice president for operations and eventually became CEO of the organisation.
Her brother Edwin Cherfilus is also implicated in the case. The indictment says both siblings conspired to mislead FEMA overpayments through the family business.
Sheila has been married to attorney Corlie McCormick since 2017, and both have two children together.
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Sheila's political rise
Sheila first ran for Congress in 2018 and 2020 but was unsuccessful. However, after Congressman Alcee Hastings died in 2021, she won a special election to represent Florida's 20th District, investing millions of her own money in her campaign.
The indictment, unsealed in November 2025, alleges that in 2021, Trinity Health Care Services received a $5 million overpayment under a FEMA-funded COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract.
Prosecutors claim Sheila, her brother Edwin, and others routed the excess funds through various accounts, obscuring their origin, and used a “substantial portion” for her congressional campaign.
The indictment also charges Sheila and her 2021 tax preparer, David K. Spencer with conspiring to file a false tax return. They allegedly inflated charitable deductions and misclassified political expenses as business costs.
If convicted, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick faces up to 53 years in prison, while her brother Edwin could face up to 35 years.