By Ray Cardello for March 30, 2026, Season 34 / Post 43

With the uptick in crime over the last few years, with a big help from the Biden Administration for allowing millions of unvetted criminals to enter our country and roam freely, we are becoming numb to a certain level of crime. It was reinforced when states like California set minimum thresholds for theft to be prosecuted. A young criminal could go into a shopping center in LA, steal up to $1,000 worth of merchandise, but not hit or exceed the $1K, and you could walk the streets freely, go home, and put your new possessions away. Unfortunately, not unlike the Stockholm Syndrome, we have become tolerant, if not complicit, to low-level crimes. We have become numb to people in general. or specifically, in the case of illegals committing crimes. The other reason for our tolerance is ignorance of the situation, should you get your news from legacy media outlets, if they even mention the situation on air? Case in point is the recent shooting and killing of a young lady in Chicago by an illegal alien, which received less than 4 minutes of cumulative reporting by the Big 3 News outlets in Illinois.

So, when a black, female member of the House of Representatives steals $5M from FEMA, we have hearings in Congress to decide her political fate while her personal fate is being decided in the court. This recently happened in the State of Florida:

Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Democrat representing Florida’s 20th Congressional District, was indicted in November 2025 on federal charges for allegedly stealing $5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds. To anyone familiar with the aftermath of the two hurricanes that hit Florida a week apart in 2025, you know that FEMA was out of control in its own actions and was ripe for abuse by people outside the agency. Cherfilus-McCormick seized the opportunity to enrich her financial situation at the expense of taxpayers.

If this happened in the private sector, the accused would be placed on administrative leave immediately, possibly with pay, which is fodder for another conversation, until the case was settled in the courts and guilt or innocence determined. Not the case in Congress. Congress has to hold hearings to decide on the political future, which some would argue protects the innocent or wrongly accused, but, please, when the evidence is so damning, and the person is going to trial, do we really want this person representing nearly a million people in Congress?

According to the Department of Justice and the federal indictment:

• The Scheme: Cherfilus-McCormick and her brother allegedly stole $5 million in FEMA overpayments that were mistakenly paid to her family’s company, Trinity Health Care Services, in July 2021, rather than reporting the mistake.
• Usage of Funds: Prosecutors allege the funds were laundered through multiple accounts and used to support her 2021 special election campaign and for personal expenses, including a luxury 3.14-carat yellow diamond ring worth over $100,000.
• Indictment Details: She was charged with 15 counts, including theft of government funds, money laundering, and conspiracy, and faced up to 53 years in prison.
• Ethics Investigation: In March 2026, a bipartisan House Ethics Committee found “clear and convincing evidence” that she was guilty of 25 ethics violations, paving the way for a potential expulsion vote by the House. 

Representative Cherfilus-McCormick continue to serve her district pending the outcome of her trial. The finding of the committee was regarding action to be taken at a later date. In the meantime, District 20 in Florida has a well-dressed representative in Washington who is flaunting a very big, beautiful diamond at your expense.