Florida Rep. Cherfilus‑McCormick Arraignment Delayed Again in $5M COVID‑Funds Case

A federal judge in Miami on Jan. 20, 2026 again postponed the arraignment of U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus‑McCormick, D‑Fla., who is charged with conspiring to steal $5 million in federal COVID‑19 disaster funds tied to her family’s health‑care company, Trinity Healthcare Services. Judge Enjoliqué A. Lett granted a two‑week continuance to Feb. 3 so the congresswoman can finalize a fee agreement with defense attorney David Oscar Markus, with prosecutors not objecting. Cherfilus‑McCormick, who has pleaded not guilty and maintained her innocence, faces 15 counts including theft of government funds, making and receiving straw donor contributions, aiding and assisting a false tax return, money laundering and related conspiracy charges. Prosecutors allege Trinity mistakenly received $5 million instead of a requested $50,000 under a COVID vaccination staffing contract in 2021 and did not return the overpayment, and say more than $100,000 went toward a 3‑carat yellow diamond ring while other funds were routed through friends and relatives into her congressional campaign. She was arrested in November and released on $60,000 bond, has surrendered her personal passport, and is restricted to travel between Florida, Washington, D.C., Maryland and the Eastern District of Virginia, though she may use a congressional passport for official duties. The case keeps a sitting House member under a cloud of alleged pandemic‑relief fraud and campaign‑finance abuses as the 2026 cycle ramps up.