Latest news with #SheilaCherfilus-McCormick
Miami Herald
5 days ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Florida Democrats file bill to block federal funds to Alligator Alcatraz
Florida's Democratic congressional delegation has introduced legislation aimed at shutting down the controversial immigration detention center in the Everglades. Dubbed the 'No Cages in the Everglades Act,' the six-page bill is led by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston. It aims to ban the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement from operating or funding the detention center known as Alligator Alcatraz, or any other 'immigration detention facility located within or adjacent to the Everglades ecosystem.' The bill also seeks to increase transparency and federal oversight of immigration detention centers nationwide. 'Trump and Ron DeSantis have exploited legal ambiguity around this Everglades internment camp to avoid any scrutiny of abuses there,' said Wasserman Schultz in an statement. 'Our bill would shut down this atrocity, strengthen oversight of detention facilities nationwide, and mandate public reporting on costs, conditions, and the treatment of detainees, as well as report on any harms to the environment and nearby tribal lands.' Wasserman Schultz is joined by fellow Florida Democrats Reps. Kathy Castor, Frederica Wilson, Lois Frankel, Darren Soto, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Maxwell Frost and Jared Moskowitz. The bill is unlikely to gain traction in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. The facility — operated and funded by Florida's state government, with the expectation of federal reimbursement — has drawn sharp criticism from environmental advocates, Miccosukee tribal leaders and human rights groups, who call it both inhumane and ecologically disastrous. Multiple reports allege detainees are being held in unsafe, unsanitary conditions without access to clean water, medical care or legal support. Florida's Division of Emergency Management, which is overseeing the detention center, says those stories are false. READ MORE: Miccosukee Tribe moves to join environmental lawsuit against Alligator Alcatraz The detention center sits on an airstrip on the edge of the Big Cypress National Preserve, a protected wilderness area that is home to endangered species. The bill coincides with a rapidly growing MoveOn Civic Action petition demanding the immediate closure of the Everglades detention camp. The petition has now surpassed 43,000 signatures, amplifying public pressure on state and federal officials. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick emphasized the broader moral stakes of the legislation. 'No one should be subjected to unsafe, degrading treatment, and we cannot meet these injustices with silence or symbolic gestures. We have a moral responsibility to act decisively,' Cherfilus-McCormick said. 'Every person in our custody deserves dignity, safety, and basic human rights.' The legislation has garnered support from major human rights and immigration organizations, including the ACLU, Detention Watch Network, Church World Service and the National Immigration Law Center. The bill comes just days after Wasserman Schultz, Moskowitz and Frost visited the facility alongside Florida state representatives. The visit followed complaints by detainees and attorneys about conditions inside and a lack of transparency. During the visit, Frost said they were denied permission to speak with any detainees, without explanation. Republicans who took the tour said the facility was clean and properly run. The Florida Division of Emergency Management and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
After decimal error cost Florida $5M in COVID vendor deal, company agrees to repay state
A South Florida health care company that was overpaid millions by the state for a COVID-related contract is going to pay the state back. Trinity Health Care Services, which was contracted by the state to register people for COVID-19 vaccinations, recently settled a lawsuit filed against it by the Florida Division of Emergency Management, court records show. Trinity agreed to pay the agency $5,624,659.43 over the next several years. But it's going to do so in installments. According to the lawsuit, filed in Leon County and settled April 9, FDEM entered into a contract with Trinity for $50,578.50 in 2021, but the agency instead paid the company $5,057,850 to Trinity – an overage of five million bucks. At the time the contract was signed, the CEO was Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, now a member of Congress and the subject of an unrelated House ethics complaint. Edwin Cherfilus, who was the CEO of Trinity at the time of the lawsuit and is now the vice president of operations, is the congresswoman's brother. Requests for comment for both the state and Trinity are pending with spokespeople. As previously reported, the state argued that Trinity, as a contractor, "was required to return any overpayments of invoices for work not actually performed and money not actually owed." According to the invoices attached to the lawsuit, many were submitted and paid in 2021. The letter to Trinity demanding repayment, however, was dated June 13, 2024. Trinity denied the allegations and the two parties agreed to settle the lawsuit to avoid the cost of future litigation. The company agreed to pay: $25,000 on or before April 18, 2025. $25,000 on or before May 8, 2025. $92,910.99 on or before Jan. 2, 2026. $92,910.99 on or before the first day of each quarter thereafter for 15 years until the settlement amount is paid in full. More: Florida files COVID-19 related suit after accidentally overpaying company $5 million Ana Goñi-Lessan, based in Tallahassee, is State Watchdog Reporter for USA TODAY - Florida. She can be reached at AGoniLessan@ This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: State settles after $5M overpayment on $50K COVID contract
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Report alleges Cherfilus-McCormick may have accepted campaign contributions ‘linked to an official action'
An official report outlining potential ethics violations by U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., said there was probable cause to believe that she 'accepted campaign contributions linked to an official action.' If proven, the allegation contained in a document released Thursday by the House Ethics Committee could be a violation of House rules, standards of conduct and federal law. The Office of Congressional Conduct determined in May 2024 that the matter warranted review by the Congressional Ethics Committee, which said it has been reviewing the allegation for the last year. The official document provided no details, just a total of three sentences in two different places. It was one of five alleged violations. The board of the Office of Congressional Conduct recommended further review of three and dismissal of two. The document was released one year after the conduct office, which reviews allegations of misconduct against members, referred the case to the committee, which investigates and adjudicates alleged violations of House rules and related laws. In a joint statement accompanying the release of the referral, the Republican chair and top Democrat on the Ethics Committee said that 'the mere fact of a continued investigation into these allegations does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred.' For the three violations it said warranted further investigation, the congressional conduct office said Cherfilus-McCormick 'may have' taken actions that, if substantiated, mean 'she may have violated House rules and standards of conduct.' For two of the allegations, it said violations may have violated federal law. Besides the allegation about 'campaign contributions linked to an official action,' the office said she may have requested community project funding that would be directed to a for-profit entity. It also said her congressional office may have 'made payments to an entity in violation of' the rules or 'alternatively, that her campaign may have accepted and failed to report in-kind (campaign) contributions that may have exceeded applicable limits.' In each of the three allegations, the conduct office's board voted 6-0 to recommend further review by the Ethics Committee. The board voted 5-1 to recommend dismissal of the allegation that she 'may have dispensed favors or privileges to friends' in connection with official requests for community project funding. It voted 6-0 to recommend dismissal of an allegation that her campaign misrepresented the source of a campaign contribution or accepted a contribution made by one person in the name of another. In both dismissal recommendations, the board found there was 'not substantial reason to believe' the allegations. In a statement provided by her communications director, Cherfilus-McCormick said, 'The Committee on Ethics has not yet concluded its review of the allegations, and no decision has been made at this time. As outlined in the Committee's public statement, the referral for further review does not imply that any violation has occurred. I fully respect the process and remain committed to cooperating with the Committee as it works to bring this inquiry to a close.' In 2023, the Ethics Committee received an earlier referral. A limited summary was released in 2024 — similar to the one put out Thursday. In January, 576 pages of materials were released. In the earlier case, which has not been publicly resolved, the Office of Congressional Conduct said there was 'substantial reason to believe' four allegations including that she 'made payments to a state political action committee in connection with her campaign and failed to report these payments as contributions to her campaign' and that her campaign campaign committee 'accepted and failed to report contributions exceeding contribution limits.' Cherfilus-McCormick was first elected in a January 2022 special election in the Broward-Palm Beach county 20th Congressional District. A Democrat, she was elected to a full term in November 2022. No Democratic primary challenger or Republican general election challenger came forward to run against Cherfilus-McCormick in 2024, making her the only one of Florida's 28 members of Congress returned to office without facing a primary or general election. A young Democratic activist, Elijah Manley, who has run unsuccessfully for office before, is challenging Cherfilus-McCormick in the 2026 Democratic primary. 'The people of Florida are sick and tired of political corruption, ethical scandals, and the legal maneuvers the wealthy and powerful use to escape accountability,' Manley said in a statement, adding that in his view the information released by the Ethics Committee shows the incumbent's 'inability to serve the people of Florida's 20th District with honesty and transparency.' Congressional ethics investigations move slowly, and the system is byzantine to outsiders. The Office of Congressional Conduct has its own staff and is governed by a bipartisan board of private citizens who aren't members of Congress and don't work for the federal government. Half the members are chosen by the House speaker and half by the minority party leader. Currently there are only four members instead of the six members and four alternates. Another change: Until January, it was called the Office of Congressional Ethics. This year 'conduct' was substituted for 'ethics' in the name. The House Ethics Committee includes equal numbers of Republican and Democratic members, which is unusual. The majority party has a majority of spots on all other committees. The panel conducts its business behind closed doors and is circumspect about its activities. The joint statement Thursday from U.S. Rep. Michael Guest, a Mississippi Republican and committee chair, and U.S. Rep. Mark DeSaulnier of California, the top Democrat on the panel, was the usual, brief format, totaling four paragraphs. 'No other public comment will be made on this matter except in accordance with Committee rules,' Guest and DeSaulnier said. In cases — such as this one — in which the committee hasn't finished its investigation within a year receiving a referral from the Office of Congressional Conduct, House rules require the release of the referral. The referral contains some details, but the supporting materials the committee gets at the same time, which can be voluminous, aren't included. Two pages were released Thursday, but pages 3 to 17 were not. If there has been no resolution of the investigation and at least one year has passed, all the supporting documents are publicly released at the end of the two-year session of Congress. In this case, that would be January 2027. Currently the matter is in the hands of an investigative subcommittee of the Ethics Committee, which is still considering the earlier ethics referral. Separately, a lawsuit involving Cherfilus-McCormick's former company, Trinity Health Care Services, has been settled. In December, the Florida Division of Emergency Management sued Trinity to recover what it said was $5.8 million in overpayments. Before she was elected to Congress, Cherfilus-McCormick was the CEO of the family-owned company. The case involved the company, not Cherfilus-McCormick. Her brother, Edwin Cherfilus, is vice president of operations, according to his LinkedIn page. In 2021, the emergency management agency hired Trinity to administer COVID-19 vaccinations and employ canvassers to sign people up to get vaccinated. In its lawsuit, the state said that on June 28, 2021, the emergency management division sent Trinity an 'overpayment of $5,057,050.00' instead of the $50,578.50 it actually owed 'due to a clerical error.' It later discovered 'several' additional overpayments, totaling $5.78 million. The Leon County Circuit Clerk's Office website shows the case is closed. The most recent filing, from an attorney representing the Division of Emergency Management, said there was 'an executed settlement agreement in the matter,' and that both the state agency and Trinity Healthcare Services would each pay their own attorneys' fees. Trinity did not admit any wrongdoing in the settlement, and it agreed to repay $5.62 million. Though the total repayment is almost as much as the state wanted, it is effectively much less because it is being repaid over many years without interest. Under the terms of the settlement Trinity agreed to pay $25,000 in April and $15,000 in May. Starting in 2026, the company agreed to repay $92,910.99 each quarter, which works out to $371,644 a year. The repayments last 15 years, which means the final payment would be made in the fourth quarter of 2040. _____
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Official report alleges Cherfilus-McCormick may have accepted campaign contributions ‘linked to an official action'
An official report outlining potential ethics violations by U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick said there was probable cause to believe that she 'accepted campaign contributions linked to an official action.' If proven, the allegation contained in a document released Thursday by the House Ethics Committee could be a violation of House rules, standards of conduct and federal law. The Office of Congressional Conduct determined in May 2024 that the matter warranted review by the Congressional Ethics Committee, which said it has been reviewing the allegation for the last year. The official document provided no details, just a total of three sentences in two different places. It was one of five alleged violations. The board of the Office of Congressional Conduct recommended further review of three and dismissal of two. The document was released one year after the conduct office, which reviews allegations of misconduct against members, referred the case to the committee, which investigates and adjudicates alleged violations of House rules and related laws. In a joint statement accompanying the release of the referral, the Republican chair and top Democrat on the Ethics Committee said that 'the mere fact of a continued investigation into these allegations does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred.' For the three violations it said warranted further investigation, the congressional conduct office said Cherfilus-McCormick 'may have' taken actions that, if substantiated, mean 'she may have violated House rules and standards of conduct.' For two of the allegations, it said violations may have violated federal law. Besides the allegation about 'campaign contributions linked to an official action,' the office said she may have requested community project funding that would be directed to a for-profit entity. It also said her congressional office may have 'made payments to an entity in violation of' the rules or 'alternatively, that her campaign may have accepted and failed to report in-kind (campaign) contributions that may have exceeded applicable limits.' In each of the three allegations, the conduct office's board voted 6-0 to recommend further review by the Ethics Committee. The board voted 5-1 to recommend dismissal of the allegation that she 'may have dispensed favors or privileges to friends' in connection with official requests for community project funding. It voted 6-0 to recommend dismissal of an allegation that her campaign misrepresented the source of a campaign contribution or accepted a contribution made by one person in the name of another. In both dismissal recommendations, the board found there was 'not substantial reason to believe' the allegations. In a statement provided by her communications director, Cherfilus-McCormick said, 'The Committee on Ethics has not yet concluded its review of the allegations, and no decision has been made at this time. As outlined in the Committee's public statement, the referral for further review does not imply that any violation has occurred. I fully respect the process and remain committed to cooperating with the Committee as it works to bring this inquiry to a close.' In 2023, the Ethics Committee received an earlier referral. A limited summary was released in 2024 — similar to the one put out Thursday. In January, 576 pages of materials were released. In the earlier case, which has not been publicly resolved, the Office of Congressional Conduct said there was 'substantial reason to believe' four allegations including that she 'made payments to a state political action committee in connection with her campaign and failed to report these payments as contributions to her campaign' and that her campaign campaign committee 'accepted and failed to report contributions exceeding contribution limits.' Challenger raises 18 times as much campaign money as Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick ICE pushes back, says congresswomen arrived at Broward facility with 'hostile intentions' Seeking answers about death at Broward ICE center, congresswomen say they encounter 'hostility and evasiveness' As many Congress members avoid anger-filled town halls, a few still take place Health care company says it didn't refuse to return $5.8 million demanded by state Ethics report details allegations of campaign violations by Cherfilus-McCormick Cherfilus-McCormick was first elected in a January 2022 special election in the Broward-Palm Beach county 20th Congressional District. A Democrat, she was elected to a full term in November 2022. No Democratic primary challenger or Republican general election challenger came forward to run against Cherfilus-McCormick in 2024, making her the only one of Florida's 28 members of Congress returned to office without facing a primary or general election. A young Democratic activist, Elijah Manley, who has run unsuccessfully for office before, is challenging Cherfilus-McCormick in the 2026 Democratic primary. 'The people of Florida are sick and tired of political corruption, ethical scandals, and the legal maneuvers the wealthy and powerful use to escape accountability,' Manley said in a statement, adding that in his view the information released by the Ethics Committee shows the incumbent's 'inability to serve the people of Florida's 20th District with honesty and transparency.' Congressional ethics investigations move slowly and the system is byzantine to outsiders. The Office of Congressional Conduct has its own staff and is governed by a bipartisan board of private citizens who aren't members of Congress and don't work for the federal government. Half the members are chosen by the House speaker and half by the minority party leader. Currently there are only four members instead of the six members and four alternates. Another change: Until January, it was called the Office of Congressional Ethics. This year 'conduct' was substituted for 'ethics' in the name. The House Ethics Committee includes equal numbers of Republican and Democratic members, which is unusual. The majority party has a majority of spots on all other committees. The panel conducts its business behind closed doors and is circumspect about its activities. The joint statement Thursday from U.S. Rep. Michael Guest, a Mississippi Republican and committee chair, and U.S. Rep. Mark DeSaulnier of California, the top Democrat on the panel, was the usual, brief format, totaling four paragraphs. 'No other public comment will be made on this matter except in accordance with Committee rules,' Guest and DeSaulnier said. In cases — such as this one — in which the committee hasn't finished its investigation within a year receiving a referral from the Office of Congressional Conduct, House rules require the release of the referral. The referral contains some details, but the supporting materials the committee gets at the same time, which can be voluminous, aren't included. Two pages were released Thursday, but pages 3 to 17 were not. If there has been no resolution of the investigation and at least one year has passed, all the supporting documents are publicly released at the end of the two-year session of Congress. In this case, that would be January 2027. Currently the matter is in the hands of an investigative subcommittee of the Ethics Committee, which is still considering the earlier ethics referral. Separately, a lawsuit involving Cherfilus-McCormick's former company, Trinity Health Care Services, has been settled. In December, the Florida Division of Emergency Management sued Trinity to recover what it said was $5.8 million in overpayments. Before she was elected to Congress, Cherfilus-McCormick was the CEO of the family-owned company. The case involved the company, not Cherfilus-McCormick. Her brother, Edwin Cherfilus, is vice president of operations, according to his LinkedIn page. In 2021, the emergency management agency hired Trinity to administer COVID-19 vaccinations and employ canvassers to sign people up to get vaccinated. In its lawsuit, the state said that on June 28, 2021, the emergency management division sent Trinity an 'overpayment of $5,057,050.00' instead of the $50,578.50 it actually owed 'due to a clerical error.' It later discovered 'several' additional overpayments, totaling $5.78 million. The Leon County Circuit Clerk's Office website shows the case is closed. The most recent filing, from an attorney representing the Division of Emergency Management, said there was 'an executed settlement agreement in the matter,' and that both the state agency and Trinity Healthcare Services would each pay their own attorneys' fees. Trinity did not admit any wrongdoing in the settlement, and it agreed to repay $5.62 million. Though the total repayment is almost as much as the state wanted, it is effectively much less because it is being repaid over many years without interest. Under the terms of the settlement Trinity agreed to pay $25,000 in April and $15,000 in May. Starting in 2026, the company agreed to repay $92,910.99 each quarter, which works out to $371,644 a year. The repayments last 15 years, which means the final payment would be made in the fourth quarter of 2040. Anthony Man can be reached at aman@ and can be found @browardpolitics on Bluesky, Threads, Facebook and Mastodon.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Watchdog links Florida Dem to more potential House rules violations
A congressional watchdog office has found reason to believe that Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick requested community project funding, also known as earmarks, on behalf of a for-profit entity — a potential violation of House rules. The findings of a new report made public Thursday by the Office of Congressional Conduct — which reviews outside ethics complaints against House members and recommends further action to the House Ethics Committee — builds on the allegations the Florida Democrat has been facing since 2023. In addition to investigating a litany of campaign finance allegations against the lawmaker, the OCC has now revealed that Cherfilus-McCormick may also have accepted campaign contributions linked to an official action and failed to report in-kind payments. The OCC board also said in the report released Thursday it voted unanimously to recommend the Ethics panel take further official action. Cherfilus-McCormick said in a statement she "fully respect[ed] the process and remain[ed] committed to cooperating with the Committee as it works to bring this inquiry to a close." "The Committee on Ethics has not yet concluded its review of the allegations, and no decision has been made at this time," she continued, adding, "the referral for further review does not imply that any violation has occurred." The OCC did not release details about the community project for which Cherfilus-McCormick might have improperly sought funding, though for fiscal year 2023 Cherfilus-McCormick had requested funding forthe Salvation Army; Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami; a first-time homebuyers program for the City of Tamarac; and MorseLife Health System of West Palm Beach, among other projects. The report the Ethics Committee released in the previous Congress, which also originated in the OCC, found 'substantial reason to believe that Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick made payments to a state political action committee in connection with her campaign and failed to report these payments as contributions to her campaign.' The watchdog also found reason at that time to believe that someone not employed by Cherfilus-McCormick's official office conducted official work on her behalf; that her campaign did not report contributions it received that were greater than the federal limits; and that her campaign did not report transactions between the campaign account and the congresswoman's business accounts. This investigation is still under the review of an investigative subcommittee convened to probe the existing allegations against Cherfilus-McCormick, but the OCC board announced Thursday it had voted to dismiss allegations that Cherfilus-McCormick granted favors in exchange for receiving earmark funding or misreported the source of certain campaign contributions.
