Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida is under scrutiny following multiple allegations of violating House rules, including the alleged misuse of congressional funds for a for-profit entity—raising serious ethics concerns and triggering an investigation into her office’s financial practices.
According to Punchbowl News, the Office of Congressional Conduct (OCC) has called for a full investigation, alleging that $5 million allocated from the 2023 congressional budget was redirected to a for-profit organization rather than the intended recipient, the Figgers Foundation, a Florida-based telemedicine nonprofit. Cherfilus-McCormick also faces separate allegations related to potential misuse of campaign funds dating back to 2023.
The Office of Congressional Conduct (OCC) filed a referral regarding the potential misuse of congressional funds over a year ago. Because the matter remained unresolved within that timeframe, the House Ethics Committee was required to publicly release the OCC report, Punchbowl News reported.
The OCC’s report alleged Cherfilus-McCormick’s Congressional office could have “made payments to an entity in violation of House committee rules and standards of conduct.” Moreover, the lawmaker’s campaign may have “accepted and failed to report in-kind contributions that may have exceeded applicable limits,” the report says.
The report also claims Cherfilus-McCormick “may have dispensed special favors or privileges to friends in connection with her congressional office’s requests for community project funding,” and her campaign may have “misreported the source of a campaign contribution or accepted a campaign contribution made by one person in the name of another.”
The Office of Congressional Conduct (OCC) is required to vote on each allegation it gathers before the House Ethics Committee can review them. All five allegations against Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick were approved to advance to the investigative subcommittee, marking the next phase of the inquiry.
Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick D-FL has been in Congress for just over 3 years. And yet she has piled up so many ethics questions that the House Ethics Committee had to release more background today – because the panel hasn’t finished this particular probe after one year. pic.twitter.com/2NdU7Oa9qh
— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) May 29, 2025
“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,” Cherfilus-McCormick said in a statement. “I fully respect the process and remain committed to cooperating with the Committee as it works to bring this inquiry to a close.”
