A watchdog group is asking federal elections officials to sanction embattled ex-U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-FL, and others related to allegations a company tied to the Haitian government funneled money to her campaign.
The Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint to the Federal Elections Commission a day before Cherfilus-McCormick resigned on April 22, against the backdrop of a criminal indictment against her and fresh revelations from the U.S. House Ethics committee.
According to the group, the reason for the complaint is that the House Ethics committee is unable to reprimand her — beyond expelling her from Congress, which is now a moot point — nor the other entities involved in the alleged scheme. The criminal indictment against Cherfilus-McCormick, to which she has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing, does not involve the straw donor accusations.
“It is imperative that the FEC take action to enforce the law,” the CLC wrote in an Apr. 21 press release.
Cherfilus-McCormick told Local 10 News in a recent interview that she’s the victim of a Republican smear campaign.
“There was never foreign money in my campaign. There was never this collusion of people,” she said. “This never happened.”
Petrogaz-Haiti, a Florida oil company that received $12.5 million from Haiti’s Ministry of Economy and Finance, transferred over $725,000 to two corporations benefiting Cherfilus-McCormick’s campaign, according to the House Ethics investigation.
The first corporation was Progressive People Inc. (PPI), which was incorporated by North Miami Beach Mayor Michael Joseph and whose vice president was Cherfilus-McCormick’s husband. The second was Truth and Justice Inc. (T&J), whose accounts and funds Cherfilus-McCormick’s campaign manager accessed to pay campaign costs, the report said.
Petrograz began transferring funds to PPI just four days after Joseph organized a meeting between the company’s owner, Frederic Elusma, Elusma’s wife and Cherfilus-McCormick, House investigators said.
The complaint alleges that “strongly indicate(s) an intent to funnel money to finance Cherfilus-McCormick’s campaign.”
Elusma’s son was later hired as a paid intern for Cherfilus-McCormick after she took office, according to the House Ethics report.
The FEC forbids campaign donations made through another person and the Department of Justice has often prosecuted or held liable those who circumvent campaign finance caps through straw donors.
The Federal Elections Campaign Act caps donations to congressional campaigns in aggregate, prohibits corporations from directly donating to a candidate and restricts foreign nationals from donating to a campaign.
You can read the full complaint here.
