Florida Representative Caught Spending $109,000 of Disaster Relief on a Single Ring
Hmm… yeah, I don’t think that will help people rebuild their homes.
Published 3 weeks ago in Facepalm
Florida has been repeatedly hit by disasters. Sometimes, these disasters are natural; other times, they’re due to the people they put into office.
Concerning the latter, let’s introduce you to U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick. Last week, she was indicted on charges that she stole millions in federal disaster relief funds in order to, among other things, buy one really expensive ring.
In short, the indictment accuses Cherfilus-McCormick of being part of a scheme to steal $5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds that were accidentally overpaid to her family’s health care company in 2021, per the Miami New Times. They took these millions and, allegedly, ran them through a series of accounts to conceal their source, eventually depositing much of it into Cherfilus-McCormick’s campaign.
But they didn’t just spend the money on politics. The indictment alleges that she spent over $100,000 of the stolen money on a single ring. Not only that, but the Miami New Times speculates that this fancy ring could be the same one she ended up wearing in her official portrait for the U.S. House of Representatives.
There’s no word on what punishment Cherfilus-McCormick could be facing, but as of right now, she’s still set to run for reelection next year — and still wearing the ring.