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House Ethics Sets April 21 Sanctions Vote for Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick

The full committee will weigh penalties after a panel found she violated House rules tied to alleged diversion of COVID-era funds into her 2021 campaign.

Overview

  • House Ethics announced a public meeting for April 21 to decide possible penalties, which could include recommending expulsion to the full chamber.
  • Eight members who heard the March adjudicatory hearing will sit on the full panel that now meets in public for the first time on the case.
  • Ethics findings traced roughly $14 million in state payments to Trinity Health Care Services into family-run contractors, including $4.4 million to SCM Consulting, after a clerical error produced a $5 million check.
  • Prosecutors charged Cherfilus-McCormick in November 2025 and she pleaded not guilty, while her lawyer says the money stemmed from a lawful profit-sharing deal and raised Fifth Amendment concerns about the Ethics process.
  • Any sanction the committee approves goes to the House floor, where expulsion would require a two-thirds vote, as Florida’s ongoing redistricting could also reshape or dismantle her district.