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Allies of a former House Democrat under federal indictment are now facing potential criminal charges themselves.
The House of Representatives unanimously agreed to hold two people in contempt of Congress on Tuesday — North Miami Beach, Florida, Mayor Michael Joseph and Hector Roos, a former aide to ex-Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla. — for failing to work with the House Ethics Committee’s investigation into the disgraced Sunshine State Democrat.
It’s now up to the Department of Justice (DOJ) whether it pursues criminal charges against both. A contempt of Congress conviction carries a fine of up to $100,000 and up to a year in jail.
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“The committee cannot fulfill its obligations to safeguard the integrity of the House for witnesses, ignore its subpoenas, and the House cannot accept such willful disregard of its authorities. Mr. Roos and Mr. Joseph willfully fail to comply with multiple subpoenas issued by the committee,” Committee Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., said.
“They impeded the investigative subcommittee’s investigations into the allegations concerning former Representative Cherfilus-McCormick. Those allegations were serious and included violations of federal law to which Mr. Roos and Mr. Joseph were party there. Their conduct warrants referrals to the United States Department of Justice for contempt of Congress.”
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The measure passed by voice vote on Tuesday afternoon, meaning lawmakers were not individually put on the record over where they stand. Any lawmaker can stand and object to a voice vote and call for a roll call instead, which none did.
The Democrats present instead signaled they were fully in support of the bid against their fellow left-wingers.
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“At a time when public confidence in Congress is at historic lows and the House’s ability to self-police member conduct is under intense scrutiny, enforcing lawful congressional process is vital to delivering swift transparency and accountability for any misconduct,” Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Calif., said. “A witness who refuses to cooperate with the Ethics Committee hinders the thoroughness and swiftness of an investigation.”
Guest charged that Roos “filed inaccurate reports” with the Federal Election Commission while working for Cherfilus-McCormick. He said Roos did not provide adequate justification for not complying with the committee.
“Mr. Joseph was the president of a company that improperly provided corporate funds for the congresswoman’s campaign, influenced her staff to submit community funding project requests for entities that he supported,” Guest said of the other target.
He said Joseph cited attorney-client privilege in his decision not to comply with the committee, but that lawmakers argued it was not a valid justification to dodge the probe.
INDICTED DEMOCRAT SHEILA CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK REFUSES TO RESIGN AS EXPULSION VOTE LOOMS
Cherfilus-McCormick resigned from Congress earlier this year amid intense pressure from both the left and right. Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., had been threatening to push a resolution to expel her at the time.
The DOJ said she and her co-defendants “conspired to steal” $5 million in emergency federal funds and used the money to bankroll her 2021 congressional campaign.
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“According to the indictment, Cherfilus-McCormick, 46, and her brother Edwin Cherfilus, 51, both of Miramar, worked through their family healthcare company on a FEMA-funded COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract in 2021. In July 2021, the company received an overpayment of $5 million in FEMA funds,” the DOJ said in November 2025. “Prosecutors allege that a substantial portion of the misappropriated funds was used as candidate contributions to Cherfilus-McCormick’s 2021 congressional campaign and for the personal benefit of the defendants.”
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She has pleaded not guilty.
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