In what prosecutors are calling “a bold attempt to combine public service with personal enrichment,” U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida was indicted Tuesday on charges of siphoning $5 million in disaster relief funds, allegedly for what aides described as “urgent, deeply personal emergencies,” including a luxury backyard grotto and a hurricane-proof walk-in closet.
Federal investigators say the scheme unraveled when staffers noticed the congresswoman’s district office receiving more contractor invoices than constituent complaints, a first in modern political history. One invoice reportedly listed “emotional storm recovery therapy” next to a request for a marble hot tub.
Cherfilus-McCormick denies wrongdoing, insisting the spending was “innovative resilience planning” and that her enhanced personal comfort would have inspired the nation in times of crisis.
House leadership, meanwhile, expressed shock, noting they “didn’t realize disaster funds could be stolen that efficiently,” and vowed to form a bipartisan committee to study the method, strictly for oversight purposes, of course.
