South Florida Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick is speaking out after she was charged with stealing $5 million worth of federal disaster funds, laundering the proceeds and then using the money for her 2021 congressional campaign.

The U.S. Justice Department announced the indictment on Wednesday of the 46-year-old Democrat and several co-defendants.

Cherfilus-McCormick and her brother Edwin Cherfilus are accused of working through their family's health care company on a FEMA-funded COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract, and in July 2021, the company received an overpayment of $5 million in FEMA funds, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida.

The indictment alleged that those funds were routed through multiple accounts to disguise their sourc

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