(The Center Square) – U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida, indicted on charges of stealing $5 million in federal disaster funds and using some of it for her campaign, said Thursday she is innocent and has no plans to resign.

In the meantime, she will step down from her position as the top Democrat on a subcommittee in the House of Representatives, as required by caucus rules, House Democratic leaders said.

The indictment, announced Wednesday, accuses Cherfilus-McCormick of stealing an overpayment of $5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency funds made to her family's health care company through a contract to register people for COVID-19 vaccinations. Prosecutors say some of the funds were funneled to friends and family who then donated the money to her 2021 campaign.

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