WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The Florida Department of Emergency Management is requesting the return of $5.7 million after a clerical error resulted in overpayments to Trinity Health Care Services, according to a lawsuit filed in Leon County.
Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., was the healthcare company’s CEO when the overpayment occurred in June 2021. She is no longer with the company after being elected to congress in January 2022.
According to the lawsuit, Trinity Health Care Services was contracted with the state to help perform vaccination registration at churches, and other heavily requested locations, including going door-to-door.
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Staffers for Cherfilus-McCormick said they couldn’t comment on the lawsuit in their official capacity. They directed us to a lawyer, who then directed us to a different lawyer specifically for the congresswoman.
Our news team is pushing for answers, because a “Findings of Fact and Citation to Law” report from the House of Representatives said Cherfilus-McCormick’s salary increased by $6 million from 2020 to 2021.
The report said the congresswoman might have broken House rules and federal law. It alleges a company she owned payed more than $250,000 to a state political action committee called Leadership in Action. Then the group, who was governed by her campaign manager Mark Goodrich, paid himself and for various campaign materials.
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The report also alleged Mark Goodrich participated in creating “Franken” materials while being paid by campaign funds.
Cherfilus-McCormick refused to participate in their report, according to the Ethics Commission’s report. She said the recommendation for “further review” from the Ethics commission doesn’t mean wrong doing occurred.
“The fact that the allegations were referred for further review does not indicate any violation has occurred,” she wrote in a statement. “I plan on continuing to collaborate with the Committee and its Investigative Subcommittee.”
No charges have been filed or consequences handled out been filed in relation to either ethics report or lawsuit. A reply to the lawsuit hasn’t been filed as of Thursday.
