MIAMI (AP) — U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida has been indicted on charges accusing her of stealing $5 million in federal disaster funds and using some of the money to aid her 2021 campaign, the Justice Department said Wednesday.
The Democrat is accused of stealing Federal Emergency Management Agency overpayments that her family health care company had received through a federally funded COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract, federal prosecutors said. A portion of the money was then funneled to support her campaign through candidate contributions, prosecutors allege.
“Using disaster relief funds for self-enrichment is a particularly selfish, cynical crime,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “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.”
A phone message left at Cherfilus-McCormick’s Washington office was not immediately returned.
Cherfilus-McCormick was first elected to Congress in 2022 in the 20th District, representing parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties, in a special election after Rep. Alcee Hastings died in 2021.
In December 2024, a Florida state agency sued a company owned by Cherfilus-McCormick’s family, saying it overcharged the state by nearly $5.8 million for work done during the pandemic and wouldn’t give the money back.
The Florida Division of Emergency Management said it made a series of overpayments to Trinity Healthcare Services after hiring it in 2021 to register people for COVID-19 vaccinations. The agency says it discovered the problem after a single $5 million overpayment drew attention.
Cherfilus-McCormick was the CEO of Trinity at the time.
The Office of Congressional Ethics said in a January report that Cherfilus-McCormick’s income in 2021 was more than $6 million higher than in 2020, driven by nearly $5.75 million in consulting and profit-sharing fees received from Trinity Healthcare Services.
In July, the House Ethics Committee unanimously voted to reauthorize an investigative subcommittee to examine allegations involving Cherfilus-McCormick.
FILE - Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., condemns hate speech and misinformation about Haitian immigrants during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
DENPASAR, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia delayed on Wednesday the deportation of a Scottish crime boss arrested on the resort island of Bali in connection with large-scale drug trafficking and money laundering.
Steven Lyons, a senior figure in an international crime syndicate who had spent months on the run, would now be deported on Thursday, according to Husnan Handano, a spokesperson for Bali’s immigration office, without giving a reason for the delay.
Lyons, 45, was originally to be sent to Spain via Doha by Qatar Airways on Wednesday evening.
Lyons was detained on Saturday on arrival at Bali’s Ngurah Rai international airport from Singapore, after the immigration system flagged him based on an Interpol Red Notice issued at Spain’s request. A Red Notice is an alert issued by Interpol at the request of a member country for police worldwide to arrest a suspect for extradition.
The alleged leader of the Lyons crime family, he was based in Scotland and was wanted in Spain and Britain. He has been on Spain’s wanted list for about two years, following a murder there in 2024.
Bali Police Chief Daniel Adityajaya said his arrest was part of a joint investigation involving Spanish and Scottish police.
Lyons is alleged to have led a transnational criminal network operating out of Scotland that controlled narcotics trafficking routes from Spain to the United Kingdom. His organized crime ring is suspected of using shell companies for money laundering in Europe and the Middle East — including in Spain, Scotland, England, Dubai, Qatar, Bahrain and Turkey.
Prior to his arrest in Bali, police in Scotland and Spain had carried out raids in connection with the case that led to several arrests. Suspects were also detained in Turkey, the Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates.
Scottish media have reported that Lyons survived a 2006 shooting in Glasgow that killed his cousin and later moved to Spain before settling in Dubai, in the UAE. Last May, his brother and an associate were shot and killed in a suspected gangland shooting at a beachfront bar in Fuengirola, southern Spain.
Karmini reported from Jakarta, Indonesia.
A Scottish man identified as Steven Lyons, who is described as a senior figure in an international crime syndicate, center, is escorted by police officers at the regional police headquarters in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo)
A Scottish man identified as Steven Lyons, who is described as a senior figure in an international crime syndicate, center, is escorted by police officers at the regional police headquarters in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo)
