US politician accused of stealing $5m in disaster funds

US prosecutors on Wednesday said a Florida politician has been indicted on allegations she stole $5 million in federal disaster funds and used the money to finance her 2021 campaign.

Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Democrat elected from south Florida, is accused of teaming up with her brother and others to keep a $5 million overpayment to her family's health care company for a COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract, the US Attorney's office said in a statement.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds wrongly landed in the family company's account in July 2021, the statement said.

The 46-year-old Democrat then allegedly laundered the ill-gotten gains into campaign contributions by "funneling other monies from the FEMA-funded Covid-19 contract to friends and relatives who then donated to the campaign as if using their own money," federal prosecutors said.

If convicted, Cherfilus-McCormick faces a maximum sentence of 53 years in prison.