Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida is under the microscope for some seriously murky campaign finance dealings.
The Daily Caller reported that the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) are both digging into allegations of unreported contributions and questionable financial ties involving her family and a political consultant with a curious past, while Florida Republicans eye a chance to redraw her district.
Let’s rewind to 2021, when Cherfilus-McCormick teamed up with political consultant Mark Goodrich, a man who previously worked for Republicans, during her special election bid for a South Florida House seat.
It’s an odd pairing for a Democrat, raising eyebrows about what kind of backroom deals might have been struck. And now, that relationship is at the heart of a federal probe.
Fast forward to 2022, and things get stickier with a nonprofit called Truth and Justice Inc. (TJI), tied to a man named Gary Eugene Beasley, allegedly funneling money for Cherfilus-McCormick’s reelection campaign.
TJI wired $150,000 in three payments to a printing vendor, Image Plus Graphics, for campaign materials, per FEC filings. Yet, her campaign failed to report these as in-kind contributions, which also conveniently exceeded legal limits.
Here’s where it gets personal—Cherfilus-McCormick’s husband, Corlie McCormick Jr., and sister-in-law, Chantrell McCormick, are linked to Progressive People Inc., a Florida LLC that donated $725,000 to TJI in 2022. Smells like a family affair, doesn’t it? If this isn’t a red flag for potential conflicts of interest, what is?
Emails and texts reviewed by the OCE show Cherfilus-McCormick knew about Goodrich’s role in at least one campaign mailer and even asked him to handle it.
Former staffers also confirmed Goodrich effectively ran her 2021-22 special election and 2022 general election campaigns, despite another name listed as the official manager. This kind of shadow leadership doesn’t exactly scream transparency.
Adding fuel to the fire, the Coolidge-Reagan Foundation filed a complaint on Aug. 11, 2025, pointing fingers at financial ties between Cherfilus-McCormick’s family and Goodrich’s access to TJI funds.
Their attorney, Dan Backer, didn’t mince words, saying, “You don’t accidentally magically happen to have [multiple entities] ready to go.” His point? This looks like a well-oiled machine of questionable ethics, not a happy accident.
Then there’s Trinity Health Care Services LLC, where Cherfilus-McCormick was CEO in 2021, now accused of mishandling taxpayer funds. The company, registered to her mother and stepfather with her brother as a key officer, reportedly received over $5 million due to a clerical error from a state contract, far exceeding the requested $50,000.
Cherfilus-McCormick’s response to all this scrutiny? “I fully respect the process and remain committed to cooperating with the Committee as it works to bring this inquiry to a close.”
That’s a nice platitude, but it sidesteps the meat of the accusations—voters deserve more than rehearsed talking points when millions in taxpayer dollars are in question.
While the FEC and OCE investigations unfold, Cherfilus-McCormick faces another battlefield—Florida Republicans are itching to redraw her safely Democratic district before the 2026 midterms.
Governor Ron DeSantis has called the district’s odd, claw-shaped lines unconstitutional, arguing they’re racially gerrymandered. “One hundred percent,” he said, signaling that this map could be forced to change if the courts agree.
The state legislature, meeting between October 2025 and March 2026, could redraw lines with just a joint resolution. If that happens, Cherfilus-McCormick might find herself in a tougher political fight, on top of legal headaches. It’s a double whammy that could test her staying power.
Let’s not forget a side drama—around the time of TJI’s first wire transfer in summer 2022, Cherfilus-McCormick filed a $1 million defamation lawsuit against a former opponent, Dale Holness, over a campaign text accusing her of misusing taxpayer money. The irony isn’t lost here: while suing over her reputation, she’s now defending against similar claims on a much larger scale.
Back in 2020, Cherfilus-McCormick herself criticized a sitting representative for being “untrustworthy” due to scandals, stating, “It is nearly impossible to effectively legislate on behalf of your constituents when you are preoccupied with being a defendant in congressional investigations.”
Well, those words might come back to haunt her now that she’s the one under scrutiny. Pot, meet kettle. These allegations—ranging from unreported campaign funds to mishandled taxpayer dollars—paint a troubling picture of potential abuse of power and privilege, the very things conservatives often warn against in bloated government systems.