Florida congresswoman sues opponent for message claiming she ‘embezzled’ funds

Democratic U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick is suing campaign opponent Dale Holness for more than $1 million, accusing his campaign of sending a defamatory text message that refers to allegations the congresswoman used taxpayer money to fund her race against Holness last year.

In a lawsuit filed Wednesday night in Broward County Circuit Court, Cherfilus-McCormick said Holness and one of his campaign staffers made “maliciously false statements” about her in a fundraising message sent to voters by text.

“I am disappointed that Dale can simply make up lies that are hurting my family, friends, and supporters with mailers, text messages, and signs all in hopes of winning an election,” Cherfilus-McCormick said in a statement Thursday.

Holness did not respond to requests for comment.

Financial fraud allegations against Cherfilus-McCormick surfaced after a Florida Politics column last month called into question the timing of more than $6 million in loans that she made to her 2021 congressional campaign and over $8 million in federal funds that her healthcare company, Trinity Health Care Services, received through state contracts.

“We are running a campaign powered by grassroots supporters like you,” the text message sent from the Holness campaign read in part, according to the libel suit. “We don’t need to embezzle $6 million in taxpayer dollars to buy a seat in Congress. Our opponent may think she can do that. (She probably needs to do so to win).”

The text, sent on or around July 19, continued: “We don’t need to lie and steal our way to victory. We have you and tons of supporters like you contributing to our campaign. Could you please make a contribution today? Help us win the right way by pitching in before our midnight deadline.”

The Holness campaign staffer who sent the message is identified in the lawsuit as Justin Porter, a former aide to Holness at the Broward County Commission. He could not be reached for comment Thursday.

The rematch

Cherfilus-McCormick and Holness are running against each other for the second time in less than a year in the Aug. 23 Democratic primary. Cherfilus-McCormick won the special election for Florida’s 20th Congressional District last November by a margin of five votes against Holness in a crowded field of 11 candidates.

She did not serve a full two-year term because she was succeeding U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings after his death. She is now running for reelection alongside other U.S. House members after the Florida Legislature certified new district maps in the once-in-a-decade redistricting process.

Cherfilus-McCormick has been previously attacked by Holness for filing late financial disclosures in the 2021 race, but the timing of Trinity Health Care Services’ five contracts with the state to help vaccinate underserved communities against COVID-19 did not receive the same attention. According to her federal financial disclosures filed December 2021, after the contentious primary, Cherfilus-McCormick listed over $83,000 in income from the company, which she heads as CEO.

She also listed an additional $6.2 million in earned income from two companies — The EC Firm, LLC and SCM Consulting Group — both of which were registered with the state on the same day in March 2021. The payments, according to the disclosure form, were “consulting fees and profit sharing fees received for work for Trinity Health Care Services, Inc.”

The EC Firm is registered under the name Edwin Cherfilus, whom Florida Politics identified as Cherfilus-McCormick’s brother.

Ahead of the 2021 special election, Cherfilus-McCormick loaned over $6 million to her campaign, according to Federal Election Commission records. Of that total, she’s repaid a little over $2 million.

The companies’ locations are listed at two different single-family home addresses in Miramar that are owned by the founders of Trinity Health Care Services, according to Broward property records.

Cherfilus-McCormick has defended her company’s efforts to vaccinate elderly and minority communities during the pandemic, telling the South Florida Sun Sentinel that “we risked our lives to serve the community.” On Thursday, she accused Holness of trying to “tarnish my good name that I worked so hard to achieve.”

“The D in Democrat stands for Dignity & Decency,” Cherfilus-McCormick said in her statement. “We have bigger battles to fight — the fight for our equality, votes, reproductive rights, respect for marriage, and economic justice are on the battlefield.”