Florida
Congresswoman accused of stealing COVID funds maintains innocence
MIAMI (AP) — U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick reiterated her innocence Monday outside a Miami federal courthouse, where she faces charges of conspiring to steal $5 million in federal COVID-19 disaster funds.
Cherfilus-McCormick was scheduled to be arraigned, but her attorney requested the proceeding be rescheduled to Jan. 20 so that she could finalize her legal team. Prosecutors didn’t object, and Judge Lisette Reid agreed to the new date. The hearing lasted less than five minutes.
“I just want to make it very clear that I am innocent,” Cherfilus-McCormick said immediately after leaving court. “In no way did I steal any kind of funds. I’m committed to the people of Florida and my district.”
Cherfilus-McCormick, a Democrat, has pleaded not guilty. She is facing 15 federal counts that accuse her of stealing funds that had been overpaid to her family’s health care company, Trinity Healthcare Services, in 2021. The company had a contract to register people for COVID-19 vaccinations.
Cherfilus-McCormick’s attorney, David Oscar Markus, said the case involves mistakes that generally aren’t even misdemeanors, let alone felonies. He said he believes the case is politically motivated.
Cherfilus-McCormick was arrested in November and then freed on a $60,000 bond. In addition to bail, the judge said Cherfilus-McCormick must surrender her personal passport, and is allowed to travel only between Florida, Washington, D.C., Maryland and the Eastern District of Virginia.
She has been allowed to retain her congressional passport so she can perform certain duties for her job.
According to the federal indictment, prosecutors said that within two months of receiving the funds in 2021, more than $100,000 had been spent on a 3-carat yellow diamond ring for the congresswoman.
The health care company owned by Cherfilus-McCormick’s family had received payments through a COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract, the indictment said. Her brother, Edwin Cherfilus, requested $50,000, but they mistakenly received $5 million and didn’t return the difference.
Prosecutors said the funds received by Trinity Healthcare were distributed to various accounts, including to friends and relatives who then donated to Cherfilus-McCormick’s campaign for Congress.
Cherfilus-McCormick won a special election in January 2022 to represent Florida’s 20th District, which includes parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties, after Rep. Alcee Hastings died in 2021.
The charges she faces include theft of government funds; making and receiving straw donor contributions; aiding and assisting a false and fraudulent statement on a tax return; money laundering, as well as conspiracy charges associated with each of those counts.
According to a previous statement provided by Cherfilus-McCormick’s chief of staff, she doesn’t plan to resign from office. She said she has cooperated with “every lawful request” and will continue to do so until the matter is resolved.
California
Judge dismisses criminal case against TikTok streamer held in immigration detention
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed a criminal case against a popular Los Angeles TikTok streamer, citing constitutional violations after his lawyers were denied access to him while he was in immigration detention.
U.S. District Judge Fernando Olguin issued a ruling Saturday dismissing an indictment against Carlitos Ricardo Parias, who is known for documenting police and immigration enforcement activity online. Parias’ rights were violated when federal authorities repeatedly failed to allow his criminal defense lawyers to visit or speak with him in immigration detention so he could prepare for trial this week, Olguin wrote, adding that the dismissal was with prejudice, which prevents the government from refiling the same charges against him again.
“In short, the government’s failure to coordinate the overlapping actions of its separate agencies while relentlessly pursuing Mr. Parias’s criminal proceedings created a situation from which constitutional violations could — and did — occur,” Olguin wrote.
The U.S. Attorney’s office in Los Angeles said in a statement that the agency is evaluating its options for appeal. “We strongly disagree with the court’s version of the facts as well as its legal conclusions,” the statement said.
Parias was indicted last month and pleaded not guilty to charges of assault on a federal officer using a deadly or dangerous weapon and depredation of government property.
The charges stemmed from an October incident in which federal authorities said Parias rammed his vehicle into theirs while they tried to arrest him on an immigration warrant and shot him in the elbow. Parias was released on bond pending his trial and taken to an immigration detention facility in Adelanto, California, where he remained Monday, according to the government’s online database. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility is about 70 miles (113 kilometers) northeast of downtown Los Angeles and run by The GEO Group.
U.S. authorities say Parias is a Mexican citizen living in the country illegally. A message seeking comment was left for immigration attorney Carlos Jurado.
Parias is well-known in South Los Angeles for his Spanish-language videos posted on TikTok on two accounts with more than 340,000 combined followers. Videos on his page dating back to 2024 document police activity, car accidents and fires, as well as tortilla-making and rainy days in Los Angeles. This year, the footage has also focused on demonstrations against immigration enforcement and arrests by federal deportation authorities.
Parias is one of many social media users who post about immigration raids and arrests across Southern California, often relaying information in real time to alert community members. He was hospitalized initially after he was shot during his October arrest.
Congresswoman accused of stealing COVID funds maintains innocence
MIAMI (AP) — U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick reiterated her innocence Monday outside a Miami federal courthouse, where she faces charges of conspiring to steal $5 million in federal COVID-19 disaster funds.
Cherfilus-McCormick was scheduled to be arraigned, but her attorney requested the proceeding be rescheduled to Jan. 20 so that she could finalize her legal team. Prosecutors didn’t object, and Judge Lisette Reid agreed to the new date. The hearing lasted less than five minutes.
“I just want to make it very clear that I am innocent,” Cherfilus-McCormick said immediately after leaving court. “In no way did I steal any kind of funds. I’m committed to the people of Florida and my district.”
Cherfilus-McCormick, a Democrat, has pleaded not guilty. She is facing 15 federal counts that accuse her of stealing funds that had been overpaid to her family’s health care company, Trinity Healthcare Services, in 2021. The company had a contract to register people for COVID-19 vaccinations.
Cherfilus-McCormick’s attorney, David Oscar Markus, said the case involves mistakes that generally aren’t even misdemeanors, let alone felonies. He said he believes the case is politically motivated.
Cherfilus-McCormick was arrested in November and then freed on a $60,000 bond. In addition to bail, the judge said Cherfilus-McCormick must surrender her personal passport, and is allowed to travel only between Florida, Washington, D.C., Maryland and the Eastern District of Virginia.
She has been allowed to retain her congressional passport so she can perform certain duties for her job.
According to the federal indictment, prosecutors said that within two months of receiving the funds in 2021, more than $100,000 had been spent on a 3-carat yellow diamond ring for the congresswoman.
The health care company owned by Cherfilus-McCormick’s family had received payments through a COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract, the indictment said. Her brother, Edwin Cherfilus, requested $50,000, but they mistakenly received $5 million and didn’t return the difference.
Prosecutors said the funds received by Trinity Healthcare were distributed to various accounts, including to friends and relatives who then donated to Cherfilus-McCormick’s campaign for Congress.
Cherfilus-McCormick won a special election in January 2022 to represent Florida’s 20th District, which includes parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties, after Rep. Alcee Hastings died in 2021.
The charges she faces include theft of government funds; making and receiving straw donor contributions; aiding and assisting a false and fraudulent statement on a tax return; money laundering, as well as conspiracy charges associated with each of those counts.
According to a previous statement provided by Cherfilus-McCormick’s chief of staff, she doesn’t plan to resign from office. She said she has cooperated with “every lawful request” and will continue to do so until the matter is resolved.
California
Judge dismisses criminal case against TikTok streamer held in immigration detention
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed a criminal case against a popular Los Angeles TikTok streamer, citing constitutional violations after his lawyers were denied access to him while he was in immigration detention.
U.S. District Judge Fernando Olguin issued a ruling Saturday dismissing an indictment against Carlitos Ricardo Parias, who is known for documenting police and immigration enforcement activity online. Parias’ rights were violated when federal authorities repeatedly failed to allow his criminal defense lawyers to visit or speak with him in immigration detention so he could prepare for trial this week, Olguin wrote, adding that the dismissal was with prejudice, which prevents the government from refiling the same charges against him again.
“In short, the government’s failure to coordinate the overlapping actions of its separate agencies while relentlessly pursuing Mr. Parias’s criminal proceedings created a situation from which constitutional violations could — and did — occur,” Olguin wrote.
The U.S. Attorney’s office in Los Angeles said in a statement that the agency is evaluating its options for appeal. “We strongly disagree with the court’s version of the facts as well as its legal conclusions,” the statement said.
Parias was indicted last month and pleaded not guilty to charges of assault on a federal officer using a deadly or dangerous weapon and depredation of government property.
The charges stemmed from an October incident in which federal authorities said Parias rammed his vehicle into theirs while they tried to arrest him on an immigration warrant and shot him in the elbow. Parias was released on bond pending his trial and taken to an immigration detention facility in Adelanto, California, where he remained Monday, according to the government’s online database. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility is about 70 miles (113 kilometers) northeast of downtown Los Angeles and run by The GEO Group.
U.S. authorities say Parias is a Mexican citizen living in the country illegally. A message seeking comment was left for immigration attorney Carlos Jurado.
Parias is well-known in South Los Angeles for his Spanish-language videos posted on TikTok on two accounts with more than 340,000 combined followers. Videos on his page dating back to 2024 document police activity, car accidents and fires, as well as tortilla-making and rainy days in Los Angeles. This year, the footage has also focused on demonstrations against immigration enforcement and arrests by federal deportation authorities.
Parias is one of many social media users who post about immigration raids and arrests across Southern California, often relaying information in real time to alert community members. He was hospitalized initially after he was shot during his October arrest.
